The war is finally over for the Indiana Hoosiers. After 90 years of perseverance, Curt Cignetti’s No. 1 ranked Hoosiers finally have their Heisman in Fernando Mendoza. It’s a massive upset and Cinderella story, seeing how he went from being a total underdog to the top dog in college football. And college football’s rowdiest host, Pat McAfee, has something to say about it.

“CONGRATS FERNANDO. THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS FOR THE STATE OF INDIANA.”

Pat McAfee posted on X just minutes after Mendoza snagged the Heisman, beating the likes of Diego Pavia and Julian Sayin. Even before today, McAfee was team Mendoza all along. He was Mendoza’s biggest cheerleader all year, calling him a “special talent” and predicting his reign as much early as the Oregon game. McAfee loved the narrative: a kid with an unbelievable “will to win” who beat the odds. That’s exactly what he did.

McAfee and Mendoza had a cool little back-and-forth going throughout the season. Mendoza hopped on the show a few times, and they had great frat boy chemistry. They chatted about his insane journey and the Hoosiers’ success.

Mendoza’s 2025 campaign seriously needs to be studied. After transferring from Cal, he went off, throwing for over 2890 yards and chucking 33 touchdowns against just only 6 picks. His accuracy was wild, completing roughly 71.5% of his passes.

He led Indiana to a Big Ten title, something nobody saw coming. He basically went from a two-star recruit to winning the Heisman. Mendoza winning the Heisman really shows how much the college football world has changed with the transfer portal. Players are finding new homes and immediately thriving.

It has now become a clear trend: seven of the last 10 Heisman Trophy winners have been transfers. According to SportsCenter. That statistic is an walking proof that transfer-portal can be a lifesaver, or in this case, a dream-saver.

Is the transfer portal key secret key to the Heisman?

The transfer portal is QBs and athletes’ ticket to a fresh start and the right place to finally show what they can really do. Finding the right environment is super important for an athlete to reach their full potential.

Joe Burrow is the perfect example of this. He was waiting for his chance at Ohio State, struggling to get a shot. He dipped out and transferred to LSU, and man, did that pay off! With the right offense and coaches in 2019, he absolutely exploded, winning the Heisman in a blowout and snagging a national championship. That move to the perfect environment completely flipped his career upside down for the better.

Jayden Daniels is another awesome story. He was good, but not great, during his time at Arizona State. He decided to transfer to LSU, too, and under coach Brian Kelly, he turned into a total superstar, throwing 40 touchdowns and winning it in 2023.

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Same goes for Cam Ward and many others who came before them. It simply backs how a simple change of scenery can make all the difference in a player reaching the absolute peak of the sport.