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Fernando Mendoza throws 4 touchdowns in first half vs. Illinois
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Indiana football’s 2024 season was not a mirage. The Hoosiers’ incredible offense that cracked the College Football Playoff is back for more against No. 9 Illinois.
No. 19 Indiana leads No. 9 Illinois 35-10 after 2 quarters of play, and that score honestly isn’t a great representation of the beatdown that is occurring in Bloomington. A missed coverage gave Illinois an early touchdown, but since then it’s been all Indiana.
It starts with Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza, who has completed 15 of his 17 passing attempts for 220 passing yards and 4 touchdowns already. All 4 of those touchdowns were distributed to different receivers: Omar Cooper, Elijah Sarratt Riley Nowakowski and E.J. Williams.
Here’s his best throw of the day (so far):
Mendoza is a guy who has not been mentioned in Heisman conversations so far, but he will be mentioned after tonight. The former Golden Bear has now thrown for 13 touchdowns and counting on the season, all while still having yet to throw an interception. By the end of Saturday’s game Mendoza will have surpassed 1,000 yards passing on the year.
It may be too early to be having this conversation, but have we been overlooking Indiana as a College Football Playoff contender once again?
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.