By Mallory Mattingly
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza led his team to a National Championship for the first time in program history, praising God for the victory.
With just a few minutes left in the fourth quarter and only leading by three points, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti decided to go for it on fourth down. That was the play in which Mendoza ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.
The Hoosiers defeated Miami 27-21 on Sunday night.
When asked what Cignetti said to Mendoza right before that play, the quarterback could only give credit to God.
“That’s one thing about our team. We’re always going to put it all on the line and, you know, I want to give all the glory and thanks to God there,” Mendoza told ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “My offensive lineman blocked perfectly and we were able to execute as a team towards a common goal. Had the Indiana Hoosier synergy to score and then give our team a chance to win the game.”
Related: Fernando Mendoza Glorifies God After Historic Season, Heisman Win
To make that final play happen, Mendoza had to go airborne to make it into the end zone, a dive that could have gotten him seriously injured.
“I had to go airborne and I’ll die for my team. Whatever they need me to do, they need me to take shots in the front and the back. Whatever it is, I’m going to die for my team out there. And I know they’re going to do the same for me. That’s what makes us so close. And that’s what makes this National Championship so special,” he said.
Prior to the game, Mendoza pointed to God as the source of his success this season.
“I really give a lot of what I have accomplished this season in my life to the Lord, and really give thanks to God,” Mendoza said, per Christhlete.
Ironically, Mendoza grew up going to Miami games, dreaming that he would one day play for the university. But he was denied a walk-on spot after his high school career.
“He wanted to go to Miami in the worst way. He went there for all their camps and stuff…we never heard back,” Dave Dunn, Mendoza’s high school coach, told ESPN.
“I was a 2-star recruit coming out of high school. I got declined a walk-on offer to the University of Miami,” Mendoza said after the National Championship game.
In what was a thrilling game that came down to the final minutes, Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers made history by winning the University of Indiana’s first-ever College Football National Championship. The quarterback knows that without God, it wouldn’t have been possible.
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