History made, hearts spilled! Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers squad just snagged their first solo Big Ten crown since 1945. The vibe in the locker room? Electric. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza couldn’t hold back the tears, letting all the raw emotion spill after a nail-biting 13-10 victory. After all, the victory screams they are playoff-bound. 

“It sounds so beautiful, I want to give all the glory to God,” Mendoza’s voice choked as he blurted out in one breath, as found in the clip attached posted by Trey Wallace. “We were never supposed to be in this position.”

Well, we know where the feeling of insecurity in Mendoza came from. At the kickoff of the college football season, Indiana owned the unwanted title of most losses in Division I history with 715 losses. Fast-forward 15 weeks, and look where Cignetti’s squad is standing.

One could hear the hype dripping from Mendoza’s voice as the Hoosiers penned the ultimate redemption arc. They snagged their first conference crown in 80 years and finally snapped that Ohio State curse dating back to 1988. 

In front of a sea of Hoosier red at Lucas Oil Stadium, Mendoza took center stage. He dropped three throws that will live on in Indiana lore. The 17-yard touchdown to Elijah Sarratt, a 51-yard bomb to Charlie Becker that ignited the third quarter, and the cold-blooded 33-yarder to Becker up the seam that slammed the door shut.

All this success came after Cigennti’s quarterback survived an injury scare. Mendoza absorbed a direct shot to the chest from Ohio State’s Caden Curry, the Center Grove product, forcing him to sit out a play. 

“But now the Hoosiers are flipping champs,” a passionate Mendoza said.

Even with all that history-breaking heat, the squad’s buzzing even louder about what really matters at the moment. It’s the crystal-clear path laid out for them to crash the College Football Playoff.  It pushes Mendoza and the Hoosiers to the No. 1 overall seed. They’ll get a first-round bye. This, in turn, must upset Ohio State’s plan. 

“At the end of the day that’s our job to come out here and execute and win games,” Ryan Day sounded upset. “So you know we’re not going to make any excuses about any of this.”

Even with No. 1 Ohio State getting clipped by Indiana, the Buckeyes are not tumbling out of the top four. They’ll just slide to the 3 or 4 line, depending on how the committee sorts out Georgia Bulldogs-Alabama Crimson Tide and the BYU Cougars-Texas Tech Red Raiders. Bottom line? 

They’re staring at an extra home game in Round 1 thanks to straight seeding. No wonder Cignetti had the confidence to unleash that seven-word heater.

Curt Cignetti’s bold statement as Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman stock soars

The Hoosiers shut down the Buckeyes in the second half, cruising to a 13-10 win thanks to a lockdown defensive showing. Indiana stuffed Ohio State’s run game, holding them to just 58 yards on 26 carries, a miserable 2.2 yards per carry. Lucas Oil Stadium erupted in celebration, while Cignetti calmly took his seat for the post-game presser.

“We lead the country in turnover ratio,” Cignetti said with pride in his voice.

Indiana’s +1.4 turnover margin per game makes them a nightmare for playoff opponents. By forcing extra turnovers while protecting the ball, they create more scoring opportunities, swing momentum in their favor.

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What a moment for Mendoza to steal the show. After knocking off No. 1 Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, he’s now the runaway favorite for the 2025 Heisman, per FanDuel.

As of Saturday night, Mendoza is sitting pretty at -3000 for the Heisman. Behind him? Vanderbilt Commodores’ Diego Pavia at +1500, Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s Jeremiyah Love way back at +40000, and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin at +50000.

Mendoza wrapped up the conference title night with 222 yards through the air, hitting 15 of 23 passes for a touchdown and just one pick. On the season, he’s stacked 2,758 passing yards with a sparkling 32-5 touchdown-to-interception line while completing 72% of his throws. 

Add in 243 rushing yards and six ground scores, and you’ve got a full-on dual-threat problem. This automatically draws the NFL suitors swarming around the quarterback. 

Fernando Mendoza is already being hyped as one of the top arms in the 2026 NFL Draft, and Athlon Sports’ Luke Easterling just took it a step further. He has Mendoza slotted as the quarterback of the future for the Las Vegas Raiders. Before that, whether he locks down a trip to New York City remains to be seen.