Tough luck for Dan Lanning. Oregon has spent four seasons selling a simple promise with elite recruits, elite resources, and elite results. On paper, that formula should overwhelm a program like Indiana, a team that went 3-9 before Curt Cignetti arrived. But after the Hoosiers’ win on Friday night in Atlanta, QB Fernando Mendoza exposed the gap in star ratings in the Peach Bowl. 

“This is just such a great opportunity for my entire team,” Fernando Mendoza told ESPN after dismantling No. 5 Oregon 56-22 in the CFP semifinal. “Like Pat Guggen said, we’re a bunch of misfits. There’s zero five stars on our team. We’re just a bunch of gritty guys who are glued together and going towards a common goal, which is to win every each and single game.”

Indiana has never signed a 5-star recruit straight out of high school. The Hoosiers started only two former 4-stars in receivers E.J. Williams and Omar Cooper Jr. That was it. But Dan Lanning’s team was a stark contrast. 

Oregon has signed 21 5-stars and 73 4-stars while paying Dan Lanning $85 million over four seasons. In 2025 alone, the Ducks rostered six former 5-stars and 52 former 4-stars. The imbalance was historic but so was the outcome. What made it sting more was who Fernando Mendoza is supposed to be. He was a 2-star recruit from Christopher Columbus High School in Miami and ranked No. 2,149 overall and No. 140 among QBs in the 2022 class by 247Sports Composite. 

Fernando Mendoza’s road to this stage was anything but linear. He committed to Yale in August 2021, decommitted in January 2022, and landed at Cal a day later. He redshirted, then slowly climbed into relevance. In 2023, he threw for 1,708 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In 2024, he took a leap and recorded 3,004 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, six interceptions, and added mobility as a runner. 

After the season, Mendoza entered the transfer portal looking for development and visibility. Thirteen days later, he committed to Curt Cignetti’s Indiana, arriving as the No. 22 overall player and No. 4 QB in the portal class. 

“Indiana was the best place for me to make that jump developmentally,” he told IndyStar back then. 

On Friday night, that decision became a verdict. Fernando Mendoza delivered one of the cleanest performances the sport has seen on a playoff stage. He completed 17 of 20 passes for 177 yards and five touchdowns as No. 1 Indiana crushed Dan Lanning’s elite team. The Hoosiers scored 21 points off three Oregon turnovers and established dominance before halftime. 

Indiana took control immediately. D’Angelo Ponds intercepted Oregon QB Dante Moore on the first play from scrimmage and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. The crowd inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium tilted toward the Hoosiers, and the Ducks never recovered control. Mendoza found Omar Cooper Jr. for a first-quarter score, then kept stacking efficiency. By halftime, Indiana led 35-7. In the second half, he threw touchdown passes to E.J. Williams and Elijah Surratt, the latter coming after a blocked punt set up short field position.

Fernando Mendoza outplays Dan Lanning’s Ducks

Oregon had moments, but no momentum. Dante Moore threw for 285 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Dierre Hill Jr. broke a 71-yard run. Jay Harris was pressed into a larger role due to injuries but none of it changed the direction of the night. 

This game was a rematch of Indiana’s 30-20 win at Autzen Stadium in October. The Hoosiers became just the second program to beat the same opponent in the regular season and again in the playoff since the CFP format began in 2014. So what’s the secret? Fernando Mendoza credited culture, not rankings, after the game. 

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“It’s a collaborative effort,” he told ESPN. “And with a strong culture, you can accomplish anything. We have a strong culture in the locker room, in the coaching staff, and the entire support staff and administration. For those three things, it’s great synergy in our program.” 

Now Indiana heads to the national championship game against No. 10 Miami on January 19 at Hard Rock Stadium. For Fernando Mendoza, it will be a homecoming. Raised in Miami after being born in Boston, he will play for a title less than 20 miles from where his journey began.