NOTEBOOK: Mendoza Ripping the Ball; the Iowa Challenge
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Is any quarterback in America playing better than Fernando Mendoza?
The junior has reached a cartoonish level of execution entering Saturday’s game at Iowa (3-1). In the last two games, he’s completed 40-of-43 passes for 537 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.
“It’s the coaching and also the confidence my teammates have in me,” he said.
It’s a major improvement from Mendoza’s Hoosier debut against Old Dominion, when he was 18-for-31 for 191 yards with no touchdowns while missing multiple open receivers.
“Early in the season, like Old Dominion, I wanted to have too perfect of a season,” he said. “I was trying to force completions here and there.”
Mendoza said working with head coach Curt Cignetti, quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan got him back on track.
“They said, ‘You have to stick to the process, one play at a time, a zero-zero score, no emotion.’ That got me back to being who I am. I’m trying to accelerate my footwork; finish throws; really just trust my eyes; and rip the ball.”
Mission accomplished. For the season, Mendoza completes 76.8 percent of his passes (second in the nation to Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, who’s at 78.9 over three games) for 975 yards, a nation’s-best 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. His 206.16 passer rating also is second nationally.
That’s a huge jump from last year at the University of California, when Mendoza had a 144.6 rating while completing 68.7 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns and six interceptions.
“I feel locked in,” Mendoza said. “I've gone into a good routine here where I'm trusting my preparation. I know what's going to work. I know how it's going to pay off. And the intentionality that our offense is able to bring to practice is at the next level.”
What sets Mendoza apart?
“It’s his knowledge and his IQ of the game,” cornerback D’Angelo Ponds said. “He can tell what coverage you're in, even if you're disguising it. His IQ of the game is very high.”
Cignetti points to Mendoza’s physical abilities and arm talent that separate him from the other outstanding quarterbacks he’s worked with.
“It’s physical attributes. He's got a quick whip, strong arm, accurate, mobile. The biggest thing when he came to us was working with him in the pocket and the drop-back game, being a little bit more patient, more poised going through his progressions.
“He's got a tremendous upside. He prepares. He's a tremendous person. He will do everything he can to be the best he can be. It means a lot to him.”
Cignetti said Mendoza’s strong recent performances have boosted his confidence and belief, just as it did with other quarterbacks he’s coached.
“I've seen it with all these quarterbacks. He probably has more physical ability -- he does -- than all the other ones. And I think Chandler is doing a great job with him, too.
“I like the way it's going in the game-plan sessions. Fernando is the kind of guy who won't get big-headed. He's going to keep his nose to the grindstone. He’s doing a great job preparing and improving.”
That won’t change, Mendoza said.
“It’s the drive to be perfect. You can never be complacent. That’s the reason I came here, to be the best quarterback I could become. Seeing my development accelerate is what I want. I want it to keep accelerating, keep having exponential growth all season.”
The No. 11/12 Hoosiers (4-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big Ten) face their first road game of the season at 70,600-seat Kinnick Stadium against an Iowa team under the direction new quarterback Mark Gronowski. It averages 33.0 points a game. It won at Rutgers 38-28 last Friday night to follow wins over UMass 47-7 and Albany 34-7. Its loss came at top-15 Iowa State, 16-13. It gives up 14.5 points a game.
“Kinnick Stadium is a tough place to play,” Cignetti said. “They sell out almost every Saturday. It’s loud. We’re going to have to play well. This will be a more difficult challenge than the last one, for sure. The sooner our guys realize that, the better.”
Gronowski rushed for three touchdowns against Rutgers, giving him a team-high six for the season. He completes 60.5 percent of his passes for 492 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He’s rushed for 143 yards.
A former South Dakota State standout where he won two FCS national titles before joining the Hawkeyes for this season, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Gronowski has the NCAA record for most career Division I victories with 52.
“He’s won a lot of games,” Cignetti said. “He’s a great competitor. He’s a bigger guy with good mobility. They’ll run him with design runs. In the pocket, he can make the throws. He’s got a strong arm. They built the offense around the quarterback. He finds a way to get it done.”
The Hawkeyes top running backs are Jaziun Patterson (198 yards) and Xavier Williams (186 yards). Jacob Gill is the leading receiver with eight catches for 91 yards. Sam Phillips has five catches for 115 yards.
Kaden Wetjen returned the opening kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown at Rutgers. He’s also returned a punt 95 yards for a TD. He averages 35.5 yards per kickoff and 33.6 yards per punt return.
“He’s a great returner, a great returner,” Cignetti said. “He’s also an excellent punt returner. We’re going to have to do a great job there, be prepared, give great effort, tackle in space, and defeat blocks.”
Linebacker Jaden Harrell is the top tackler with 28, including a sack and a forced fumble.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz is the winningest coach in Big Ten history with 207 overall victories at Iowa. He has eight seasons of 10-or-more wins.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Ferentz and everything he’s accomplished as a head coach, and an assistant, too,” Cignetti said.
“I congratulate him on the big win a couple of weeks ago to make him the winningest coach in the Big Ten.”
IU ranks second in the Big Ten scoring at 54.8 points behind Washington (55.7). It outscores opponents by a conference-leading 46.5 points a game.
The Hoosiers lead the conference in rushing at 308.8 yards per game, 48.8 more than second-place Washington. It has a program-record four-straight 300-yard rushing games.
Something will have to give on Saturday with Iowa allowing just 60.8 rushing yards per game.
“There have been some tweaks,” Cignetti said, “but they’ve been running basically the same defense for a long time. They’ve always played great defense.”
IU has had at least 10 tackles for loss in three-straight games, a total of 40 in that span. The reason, defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker said, is following Cignetti’s approach of playing “fast, physical, and relentless.”
“Just keep going vertical and attacking, attacking, attacking,” he said. “It’s good that we've been able to keep getting this done, but we have to get better and better every week.”
IU’s 219 total points are the most it’s ever scored in a four-game stretch, breaking the record of 213 set last year.
Both came with Cignetti as head coach.
“You’ve got to play from the first play to the last,” he said. “I was proud of the way we approached every play last week, the mental intensity and the urgency we had, regardless of score.”
Still, in the aftermath of last Saturday’s 63-10 win over top-10 Illinois, Cignetti wants more, including better receiver blocking.
“I would like to see them block every play,” he said, “because we played in the second half (against Illinois). I don’t think our (H receivers) blocked anybody the whole second half.
“Regardless of the final score, there are always things that show up on tape that have got to get corrected. Believe me, there’s plenty there.”