The 2025 season turned into a fairytale run for Fernando Mendoza with the Heisman and the natty. But what makes him one of the most loved players in the entire nation is that he is never the one to take credit. And when facing over a million Americans, he made sure to spread the love, shouting out Curt Cignetti and giving full credit to the teammates who powered Indiana’s historic run.

“Indiana’s been predominantly a basketball [school], and football has been in purgatory for the longest time. And our team, with Cignetti and a whole bunch of unrecruited guys who have been doubted their entire lives, now finally marked as national champions, it means the world to all of us,” said Mendoza on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. 

What made Fernando Mendoza’s Tonight Show moment so powerful was the truth behind it. The teammates he was shouting out weren’t supposed to be here. When Cignetti left James Madison for Bloomington in November 2023, he brought thirteen former Dukes with him. These players carried zero-star and two-star ratings coming out of high school. 

Elijah Sarratt, the wide receiver who finished the 2025 season leading all of college football with 15 touchdowns, was completely unranked nationally as a recruit. He collected 830 yards on 65 catches while forming an unstoppable connection with Mendoza.

Kaelon Black was another James Madison transfer who’d been overlooked his entire life. He logged career highs across the board in 2025 with 1,040 rushing yards, 186 carries, 5.6 yards per carry, and 10 touchdowns. He split carries with Roman Hemby in a devastating two-headed attack. These were Cignetti’s guys, the ones who understood what winning actually cost.

But the play that might’ve sealed Indiana’s championship came from Mikail Kamara. He was a zero-star defensive end out of Stone Bridge High who’d followed Cignetti from JMU. Late in the third quarter, with Miami punter Dylan Joyce taking his time on fourth-and-1, Kamara shot the gap and blocked the punt. Linebacker Isaiah Jones scooped it up in the end zone for six points. It marked the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown in College Football Playoff history and Indiana’s eighth blocked punt in two seasons.

That’s the essence of what Cignetti built. Players who’d been doubted, overlooked, and underestimated their entire lives, suddenly standing on the biggest stage in college football and making it look routine. Fernando Mendoza knew what those moments meant. That’s why he gave them the credit on national television, with 1.3 million people watching. These were his guys. These were some of Cignetti’s guys who built a dynasty out of nothing.​

What comes next for the humble Heisman winner

The Las Vegas Raiders hold the No. 1 overall pick, and every mock draft has Mendoza’s name at the top. Mel Kiper called it “an easy one” and a “no-brainer,” praising Mendoza’s ball placement. He notes that Mendoza could join Joe Burrow and Cam Newton as the only players to go undefeated, win the Heisman, capture a national title, and get drafted No.1, all within a 12-month window. 

The Raiders desperately need a quarterback after Geno Smith’s disastrous 2025 season, where he finished 27th out of 28 qualified passers with a 34.1 QBR and 17 interceptions. Mark Davis and Tom Brady, the Raiders’ owner and minority owner, respectively, were both on the field after Indiana’s championship win.

But the doubters are still out there, whispering the same questions they’ve asked all season. Danny Parkins argued on Fox Sports’ First Things First that the Raiders shouldn’t rush to turn in the card. He mentioned concerns about Mendoza’s ceiling: “He is not a Drake Maye level athlete, that he is not a natural talent like Caleb [Williams]. There are some questions about Mendoza’s ceiling in the pros.” 

The criticism isn’t new. Mendoza has heard it since his Cal days, when he took 41 sacks in 2024 before slicing that number to 25 in 2025 by getting the ball out quicker. He’s not the flashiest athlete. But he finished his college career with 8,247 yards, 71 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions across three seasons, including a playoff run where he threw eight touchdowns with just five incompletions in the first two CFP games. So, maybe the doubters should reconsider. Then again, Mendoza’s spent his whole life proving people wrong. Why stop now?