The Play, The Message and A Magical Hoosier Season
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Days later and The Play still resonates, the one that defines Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s toughness, a rib-rocking highlight in a dramatic fourth quarter filled with them in an epic national championship game. It’s a play that requires a great player, a passionate player, a player so competitively in tune with what’s required that nothing, not even a ferocious Miami defense primed with future NFL players could stop him.
This is why Mendoza is the Heisman Trophy winner, why he’s such a great leader, why hundreds of Hoosier fans endured cold and long lines for an autograph and a photo at Bloomington’s Dick’s Sporting Goods, why he will make an outstanding NFL quarterback.
And why IU (16-0), once the owner of the most losses (715) in major college history, is a first-time national champion, never trailing in three playoff games.
“I think we sent a message to society that if you keep your nose to the grindstone and work hard and you've got the right people, anything's possible,” head coach Curt Cignetti says.
“We have the right people on our staff, in the weight room, the locker room. If you prepare the right way, which this team did week in and week out, and put it on the field …
“Are there eight first-round draft choices on this team? Probably not. No, there aren’t. But for this team, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.”
Flash back to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on a 50-degree Jan. 19 night. The top-seeded Hoosiers cling to a 17-14 fourth-quarter lead. Facing fourth-and-four at the Miami 12-yard line, they have automatic field goal kicker Nico Radicic, who has made 18-of-19 attempts this season, and 29-of-31 for his career, but three points won’t work against a Hurricanes team that has found its offensive groove.
Cignetti, who would go on to win the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award, knows it. You play to win. No exceptions.
“A big constant we’ve had this year,” Mendoza says, “is always bet on ourselves.”
Flash to the sidelines, and it’s all there for Cignetti. The hands-on hips posture. The glare. The scowl. The all-business game face where smiles have no chance because he’s too focused on what needs to be done. This is why he coaches. You prepare. You compete. You gamble on yourself and your players.
This is why he wins. Why he always wins. Google him.
IU’s first-half control has morphed into a second half “dogfight.” It’s now about who wants it more, who sacrifices more, who stays focused and disciplined under fierce mental and physical pressure more.
Mendoza is the target and the catalyst.
At one point, he takes a helmet to the face that bloodies his lip, followed by a couple of other nasty shots that seem to warrant penalties that never come. An angry Cignetti vents to officials, then during a halftime interview and then in the aftermath.
“I’m all for letting them play,” he says, “but when they cross the line, you’ve got to call them.”
Mendoza takes it and delivers blows of his own. In the fourth-quarter pressure cooker, that includes a pair of clutch 19-yard completions to receiver Charlie Becker, one on fourth down, one on third down. It’s a continuation of Becker’s elite down-the-stretch performance.
“Fernando has full faith in me that I can make plays, that we all can make big plays,” Becker says.
More is required. Boldness is required. The Play is required.
A field goal attempt is out. A quarterback draw is in, but not the normal one. During pre-game preparations, coaches spent 45 minutes devising a way to block it differently. Now, it’s about execution.
“Get out on the field,” Cignetti shouts to the offense. “We’re going for it.”
Want to know what separates good from great, and winning from losing? This is a textbook example.
Mendoza takes the shotgun snap, gives the illusion of a pass play, then plants his foot and runs up the middle with a form that reminds no one of, say, Barry Sanders.
“Everybody on the team makes fun of my running style,” Mendoza says.
He cuts right and jumps over center Pat Coogan’s legs to secure the first down.
He wants more.
Mendoza gets past two Hurricane defenders, runs through a third at the 4-yard line. As Cignetti puts it, “He trucked the linebacker.”
Mendoza spins through the collision, pivots and dives for the end zone, exposing his back to a brutal hit from linebacker Mohamed Toure.
It’s risk vs. reward and reward wins. Touchdown. Payback for when linebacker Wesley Bissainthe knocked Mendoza out of the game last year with a big hit when he was the University of California quarterback.
“He’s a complete warrior,” Cignetti says. “He has the heart of a lion.”
Mendoza has more than that, tight end Riley Nowakowski adds.
“Any time you put the ball in Fernando’s hands, it’s not much of a gamble. It’s more of a guarantee. He delivers in every big moment when we need him.
“I thought he was just going to get the first down. Then, all of a sudden, he has a spin move.” Nowakowski pauses, smiles. “Well, a suspect spin move. He dives for the endzone. He does what the Heisman Trophy winner does.”
Receiver Elijah Sarratt calls Mendoza a “dog.” Becker says Mendoza is “an absolute beast.”
“I thought he was going to be tackled 10 yards back,” Becker says. “He was spinning and diving. That’s a testament to his character. He puts his body on the line for us.”
The game isn’t over. Miami scores another touchdown. IU adds a field goal. The Hurricanes’ drive for victory ends on cornerback Jamari Sharpe’s interception for the final 27-21 score. Sharpe, a Miami native spurned by the Hurricanes, has returned to make them pay.
“Miami didn’t recruit me, but I still love my hometown,” he says among falling confetti. “I love this team. Coach Cig turned everything around. I believed in him. I trusted him. He brought us our first national title.”
He pauses to catch his breath.
“Fernando is an amazing player. Every time he speaks, he impacts everyone.”
The aftermath leaves Hard Rock Stadium rocking to Queen’s “We are the Champions” and John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good.” The fact the Hoosiers won a cliffhanger after blowout playoff victories against Alabama and Oregon, Mondoza says, adds to the satisfaction.
“Wins are sweeter when you have to go through adversity or struggle. If it was just handed to you, then there would be no satisfaction at the end of it
“We all got some bumps and bruises, especially in such a hard-fought war up front and just all around. It’s a testament to everybody giving his all. Those are a good type of bumps and bruises because they're victorious bumps and bruises.”
Twelve hundred miles away and well after midnight, thousands of students pack Bloomington’s Kirkwood Avenue. Shirtless guys wave discarded garments, frigid temperatures be darned. Others climb light poles because, well, why not? Frosty beverages are consumed, and fireworks light up the night sky.
And somewhere, the ABBA song that defines it all is played, a theme for a remarkable player, a historical team, and a magical season:
“Fernando.”