MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The hard hits. The bloody lip. Being chased by havoc-seeking defenders. The back-shoulder passes. And who will forget the 12-yard touchdown run, pinballing off several defenders and landing in the end zone?
Indiana needed Fernando Mendoza to be at his best, his toughest when it mattered most. No. 15 in crimson did not disappoint in leading Indiana – Yes, Indiana! – to the national championship with a 27-21 win over Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on a Monday evening that spilled into Tuesday morning with thousands of Hoosiers’ fans staying long after the trophy presentation.
“Let me tell you, Fernando, I know he’s great in interviews and comes off as the All-American guy, but he has the heart of a lion when it comes to competition,” said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. “That guy competes like a warrior. He got really smacked a few times in this game.”
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The warrior led the way by putting his team on his back and carrying it into the end zone with a will-not-be-denied effort to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive that gave IU a 24-14 lead with a 9:18 remaining in an edge-of-your seat fourth quarter. It was a fourth-and-four from the 12, and followed a timeout with the field goal until returning to the sideline.
“It wasn’t the perfect coverage for it, but I trust my linemen and everybody in that entire offense,” said Mendoza, of the play call. “The entire team had a gritty performance (tonight), and we were all putting our bodies on the line. So, it was the least I could do for my brothers.”
Mendoza did much more, including four plays earlier when, on a fourth-and-five from the Miami 37, he threw a back-shoulder beauty to receiver Charlie Becker for 18 yards.
Mendoza was not through. Miami’s Malachi Toney came to life in a big way in the fourth quarter, and his 22-yard catch-and-run TD on the ensuing possession brought the Hurricanes back to within three at 24-21 with 6:32 remaining.
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Mendoza returned to work and delivered another big and timely play connecting with Becker for 18 yards on a third-and-seven to set up a Nico Radicic 35-yard field with 95 seconds on the clock. That put the Hoosiers up 27-21 and forced Miami to make it into the end zone. Defensive back Jamari Sharpe took care of that with a game-sealing interception.
Mendoza is the first player from a Big Ten team to win the Heisman and a national championship in the same season since Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997. He is the first quarterback from a Big Ten team to do both, and the tenth overall.
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