Following his transfer from Cal this past offseason, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza has been turning heads. Even though he has a tough act to follow in Kurtis Rourke, Curt Cignetti’s leader under the center is looking the part so far. Of course, it helps that he’s coming off a great 2024. Add to that the early rumors that he could be selected highly in the 2026 NFL Draft and the growing buzz that he is one of the Big Ten’s best signal-callers this season. It’s all trending upwards.

At the same time, it’s not just Mendoza who is following a tough act. The head coach is in the same act. The act he is following? His own. Of making a basketball program go crazy for football again. That was built up on the back of a near-perfect first year at the Hoosiers. An 11-1 regular season finish was something that even the decision-makers couldn’t have imagined. Not in their wildest dreams. But Cignetti did. He believed and delivered. The team was featured on the August 11 episode of Big Ten Football, and we got the QB1 talking up the offense.

Mendoza was asked about the key things of the Indiana offense that will propel the team to success in 2025. “All the offensive coaches have a very clear mindset that they portray to us.” That includes offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and head coach Curt Cignetti. But beyond the mindset, Mendoza highlighted the key thing that matters the most.

“First of all, it’s executing. We execute at a high level and protect the ball. We do those two things. Like execute at the high level. We’re strong up front, and we protect the point, protect the ball, we’re going to be an extremely explosive offense like Indiana was last year. The scheme is amazing, and we’re really excited,” Cignetti’s new QB1 said.

When it comes to protecting the ball, the offense can take a leaf out of last year. The Hoosiers had 9 total turnovers across the season. Of those, six were interceptions, and three were lost fumbles. Even better? They were tied with Rutgers for the lowest offensive turnovers across the Big 10. So, it’s not really surprising that even in 2025, it starts with protecting the ball.

When asked about Fernando Mendoza’s development, the head coach said, “I like where Fernando is at right now. He has areas to improve, and he knows what they are. But I see progress.” Reflecting on Mendoza’s skill set, the coach added, “You’re going to find out once we start playing. I’m not going to give away all the secrets right now. That’s where it all begins, your playmakers, your offensive line.”

Last year, it fell apart for Indiana against Ohio State in the Big 10. Until that game, they were going perfectly. Then, in the playoffs, they met the team that made it to the final. A similar challenge lies ahead. Both in the conference and if they make it to the playoffs. Unfortunately, it won’t just be the likes of Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State from last year. Michigan will be better this year. Illinois would like to make its mark. On top of that, teams like Nebraska can upset the big boys on their day. An interesting season awaits the Hoosiers.

Cignetti reflects on scrimmage and team progress

After seeing the first AP rankings for the 2025 season, Indiana football fans may feel a little let down. Despite coming off a historic 2024 season in which they finished No. 9 nationally and cracked the top 10 for five weeks, the Hoosiers ended up at No. 20. Many people believe that the ranking does not adequately reflect the work that Curt Cignetti and his team have accomplished. After all, the Hoosiers retained a strong defense full of AP All-Americans, filled crucial offensive line positions, and added a talented new QB in Fernando Mendoza.

Cignetti is aware that it’s still early, particularly after one of their most recent scrimmages. “Too many penalties; like every first scrimmage we’ve ever had. Too many missed assignments. There was good, there was bad, there was ugly. The effort and competition was good,” he said. Due to a slight defensive shortage, some players had to take on different responsibilities, but fortunately, there haven’t been any serious injuries yet. “We had pretty good offensive success overall last week in practice, but still a lot of mistakes, and there’s a lot of areas that we’ve got to get better in.” He seemed pleased with the offense.

The apparent boost week after week is encouraging. “I think we’re progressing. And where I see the progress, aside from the scrimmage, as the week went on, I thought the competition picked up the speed and the tempo picked up, and the execution was starting to improve.” Cignetti explained. The season opener against Old Dominion is in less than three weeks, and the Hoosiers are getting ready to show up and even take some of the AP poll’s skeptics by surprise.