Fernando Mendoza continues to burnish his Heisman Trophy resume during his first year with No. 2 Indiana in Bloomington. He dominated the Wisconsin Badgers in Week 11, throwing for 299 yards and four scores in a 31-7 win that pushed the Hoosiers’ record to a sparkling 11-0 on the year.
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And Mendoza pulled off such a win while going 22-for-24 through the air. That’s a completion percentage of over 90, which would be impressive if he hadn’t already done it twice this year. No wonder he’s emerged as the late-season favorite to lift the biggest trophy in college sports.
Going into Week 12, the final before we get into the college football postseason, Mendoza is at -115 odds to win the Heisman Trophy on sportsbooks like BetMGM. And he’s got a pretty significant advantage over the field at this point. It’s so close that Mendoza can nearly taste the Heisman dinner.
In a recent interview, Mendoza was asked who his dream dinner guest would be after winning the prestigious award, and he already had a pretty good idea.
“I would say my dream dinner guest is Tom Brady. He’s someone I’ve looked up to my entire life, and I really, not only love his play on the field, but his resilience, and the way that he’s conducted himself throughout his career,” said the 22-year-old.
Mendoza revealed that he was actually born in Boston and lived there for a year while his dad went through his medical residency. And the QB also made sure to shout out his personal heroes as well as his NFL hero:
“I was actually born in Boston, lived there one year with my dad while he was in medical residency up there. He’s been a special role model for myself. My role model and my idol is my dad and my mom, and I love them to death.”
Mendoza really harped on Brady’s resilience when talking about why he liked the GOAT so much when he was growing up in Miami. He also made reference to three times when he and his team have shown that Brady-level of fight during Indiana’s run to 11-0 this season.
“My football model to follow, is always Tom Brady as he’s had such resilience. And that’s a thing that I think that the Hoosiers have shown great this season. Whether it’s Iowa, Oregon, or Penn State, resilience has always shown up. And that’s something that I do attribute to watching Tom Brady growing up.”
Coming back from down 13-10 to win at Iowa in the fourth quarter, maintaining his cool to get the 30-20 victory over Oregon after throwing a pick-six that tied the game in the final frame, and bouncing back for a late game-winning TD toss against Penn State after allowing a big comeback for the Nittany Lions. Three signature moments from Mendoza’s Heisman season. No wonder he made sure to mention them.
And it’s getting late early in the race for the Heisman. The finalists are announced on December 8, and the winner is announced the following week on December 13. As of now, Mendoza leads the way, followed by Ohio State QB Julian Sayin (+225) and Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed (+500).
Further back are Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia (+1,600), Georgia QB Gunner Stockton (+2,500), Georgia Tech QB Haynes King (+3,500), Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love (+4,000), Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (+6,600), Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez (+12,500), and Alabama QB Ty Simpson (+15,000).
