Notebook: Efficient Quarterback Play; Dynamic Running Back Duo Fuel Hoosiers
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
MIAMI - Fernando Mendoza is home again, a Miami native embracing his heritage athletically as an alum of nearby Christopher Columbus High School and ethnically as a Cuban American who understands what is the foundation of the veteran quarterback’s historic performance during Indiana’s unprecedented season.
“I would say it all goes to the offensive line,” Mendoza said during Saturday’s Media Day ahead of Monday night’s national title game against 10th-seeded Miami (13-2) at Hard Rock Stadium. “Without those guys, I wouldn't be able to do it.”
What Mendoza has done is win a Heisman Trophy and lead the top-seeded Hoosiers to a 15-0 record and their first-ever national title game. He completes 73.0 percent of his passes for 3,349 yards and a program-record 41 touchdown passes.
“With them,” he says about the offensive line, “I'm able to get through my entire progression. Read 1 through read 5 or 6. I'm able to get through it, have time to get through it, and just check it down.
“That's why my completion percentage has been so high because I haven't really had to throw the ball away much because they've been efficient up front.
“Also, I have such great teammates, such great receivers, tight ends, running backs. I just get to be a point guard. I get to dish it out to Elijah Sarratt, over there to Omar Cooper Jr., Charlie Becker, or hand the ball off or check it to a run.
“I facilitate it all, and the talent is around me. That's how I've been so efficient.”
Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black fuel a run game as imposing as any in a college football, a big reason why IU is in the title game. Hemby has rushed for 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 5.0 yards a carry. Black has rushed for 961 yards and 10 TDs while averaging 5.7 yards a carry.
What makes them such a dynamic duo?
“The fact that we have no egos in the running back room,” Hemby said. “We want to see each other be successful. We like to bounce things off one another.
“We'll come out of the game and I’ll ask him, ‘Hey, did you see anything different there?’ And he'll ask me, ‘Was there something different that I could have done?’ We want to see each other be successful not for ourselves, but for the offense and the team.
“We like to feed the hot hand. Whoever can help us be successful in that moment, should be in the game. Sometimes it's him, sometimes it's me. Sometimes it might be even Khobie Martin (505 yards, six touchdowns, 6.5 yards a carry) who has the hot hand. We want to do whatever we can to help the offense stay ahead of the chains, score points, and win.”
Calling Miami an underdog against IU doesn’t bother Hurricanes’ offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.
“Underdog, alpha dog, it don't matter,” he said with a laugh. “You still have to go against us. We still have to go against them. We'll all see it to the end.”
Playing in their home Hard Rock Stadium was a Hurricane motivator even before the season. Regular season losses to Louisville and SMU nearly ended their hopes. As the 10th seed, they beat out Notre Dame for the final playoff spot. A big reason -- Miami beat the Irish to open the season.
“After our last home game in the season (a Nov. 15 41-7 win over North Carolina State),” Mauigoa said, “we made a deal that we're not done with Hard Rock yet. That wasn’t going to be our last game at Hard Rock Stadium. We weren’t leaving anything behind.”
Miami won its final four regular season games, and then three playoff contests, including a win over second-seeded Ohio State, to reach the title game.
As for the Hoosiers, Mauigoa said, “Indiana has gotten here for a reason. They have a lot of guys that are great at what they do on the defensive side.
“Talking about their D-line, they're always constantly moving; they're always chasing the ball. They have a motor.
“Talking about their backs and their skill guys on the defensive side, they're all elite at what they do. What we have to do is play our brand of football, do our jobs, and go 1-0.”
Indiana arrives with ferocious offense and defense. Blowout wins over Alabama and Oregon fuel Hoosier optimism, but don’t diminish head coach Curt Cignetti’s awareness of the challenge Miami presents behind quarterback Carson Beck and an aggressive defense.
“We've got a lot of momentum,” he said, “but we're playing a great team in Miami. They’re tenacious up front on the defensive line. They’re really physical on the offensive line. They have a big running back, athletes everywhere, playmakers at wide receiver. Their special teams are very good. They're playing on their home field. They didn't have to travel.
“It's a big mountain we have to climb.”
Beyond that, Cignetti added, “They're playing with an edge. They're a tough team. Both lines are really good, and they get after it. They've got athletes. They're tenacious. It's a start-stop game. You need twitch and explosion. Then you've got to have a little edge about you. They do. They're impressive.”
Mendoza projects as the possible No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, but he refused to go there when asked about it.
“I'm really focused on the next game in that this is for the national championship. This is what we worked all year for.
“I owe it to my teammates and my coaches and the entire Hoosier Nation to give it my all. This is an important game in my life and my teammates' lives. I'm going to give it my all.
“I'm not focused on the future. My whole thing is staying in the present in order to make the most of the present. That's how you make a great future for yourself.”
Miami tailback Mark Fletcher Jr., who has rushed for nearly 1,100 yards this season, said he’s ready to carry the ball 50 times if necessary Monday night. He understands he’ll face an IU defense that allows just 75.0 rushing yards per game.
“They’re No. 1 for a reason,” Fletcher Jr. said. “They fly around. They're not going to be in the wrong spot. They’re high-effort guys.
“I wouldn't want to play anybody else. This is a great challenge for us.”
Mendoza has faced Miami once before – last year while he played for the University of California. During the Hurricanes’ one-point victory, Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe knocked Mendoza out of the game in the fourth quarter with a big hit.
“I remember dropping back in the coverage, and I told myself, if (Mendoza) runs, I'm going to make him pay for it,” Bissainthe said.
“So, he took off. And I took off, too. And everything just happened.”
Still, Bissainthe recognizes the challenge Mendoza represents.
“He’s a great player. He's smart; he's mobile; and he gets the job done for his team.”
How do you explain Indiana’s dominance this season? It starts, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said, because the Hoosiers are a “complete team.”
“They are smart, physical, tough, fast, relentless. Schematically, they're challenging because of what they do to stop the run. Their back end, their entire team has elite talent. They’re a very experienced team. I think 27 players are in their last year of eligibility. Several others are near three or four, as well.
“You're looking at a team that's extremely talented, coached really well, and plays really hard. We could get into for hours on what they do schematically, but those are some of the key components of them being such a great team.”
National title hype won’t distract the Hurricanes, Cristobal says, because they’ve basically been in win-or-else mode since the Nov. 1 overtime loss to SMU. They’ve won seven-straight since then.
“Our headspace has been good since that Tuesday practice,” he says. “It wasn't all the way there, but it was headed in the right direction.
“I feel that we have been building it stronger and stronger as the weeks have gone by and through action, not just a speech or words or inspiration or motivation, but through daily action. These guys have taken their role as being men of action. It’s gotten stronger and stronger. We fully understand that. This thing isn't won with the outside stuff. It's won with the 11 versus 11 on the field, and execution is at a premium.”