Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza grew up in Miami dreaming of playing in a game like he and the Hoosiers will be in tomorrow.
But in those dreams, he was playing for the University of Miami – IU’s opponent in tomorrow's national championship game.
Mendoza said that he would paint his face green and orange when going to Hurricane games at Hard Rock Stadium as a kid.
"As a kid, being a University of Miami fan, I'm also right now, my loyalty lies to the Hoosiers. And so I know how much it means to both sides," he said.
Having a Cuban-American Heisman trophy winner coming home to play for a national title also means a lot to the community. Cuban-Americans make up almost 30 percent of the Miami population.
Mendoza said all four of his grandparents immigrated from Cuba chasing the American Dream.
"It means so much to myself and my family, having grown up in Miami, growing up a University of Miami fan, and basically whole identity, being, you know, a Cuban living in Miami," he said.
It will be the biggest game of Mendoza’s life – and the biggest in IU football history. But he said those are things he can reflect on after the game.
"I always tell them I'm really just focused on the next game, as this is the national championship. It's what we worked all year for," he said.
Tomorrow's game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Mendoza moved from Cal to Indiana last year because “I felt like Coach Cignetti could help me get to where it thought I could be as a quarterback.” A two-star recruit out of high school, he won the Heisman Trophy this season. The Hoosiers, who call themselves the “misfits,” have, at most, two four-star recruits on their roster.
“I’ve never looked at a star in my life,” Cignetti said of the imprecise ranking system that means nothing until those players put on pads. “If a guy can play hard and has the right stuff and the intangibles, we can work with him and he’ll develop.”
Indiana does claim the world’s largest living alumni base, several thousand of whom are gobbling up what’s turning out to be potentially the toughest ticket ever for a title game that will, ironically, be played on Miami’s home field. They also have Mark Cuban, who has added multiple millions to the effort. Indiana’s football budget has grown from $24 million to $61 million since 2021.
“It takes a village and there’s money,” Cignetti said. “But it’s not all about money.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
