Winning a national title does take a physical toll, as Fernando Mendoza’s body proved in the aftermath of Indiana’s 27-21 victory over Miami in the College Football Playoff on Monday night. <\/p>\n
The 2025 Heisman winner had bruises covering his arms following the game after being sacked four times by Miami’s ferocious defense. <\/p>\n
Given how Indiana’s first two playoff games played out, Mendoza might have gotten used to not being hit. He only had to throw 36 total passes in wins over Alabama and Oregon. <\/p>\n
The combined final score in those games was 94-25. The last time Indiana played a competitive game prior to Monday night was Dec. 6 against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. <\/p>\n
Miami made sure that Mendoza felt its defensive presence right away. After a handoff in the first quarter, Hurricanes cornerback Jakobe Thomas delivered a hard hit to Mendoza that appeared to leave him with a bloody lip. <\/p>\n
Mendoza took such a beating in the first half that Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti ripped the officials as he was being interviewed by ESPN’s Holly Rowe while walking to the locker room for halftime. <\/p>\n
“There’s three personal fouls on the quarterback not called on one drive that need to be called because they’re obvious personal fouls,” Cignetti said (h\/t The Athletic’s Justin Williams<\/a>). “I’m all for letting them play, but when you cross the line, you gotta call it. They were black-and-white calls.”<\/p>\n Things remained hard-hitting in the second half, including on the biggest play of the game. Facing a fourth-and-5 from Miami’s 12-yard line and leading 17-14, Cignetti opted to go for it rather than kick a field goal. <\/p>\n The play call was a quarterback draw for Mendoza, who was hit by at least four Miami defenders on his way into the end zone to put the Hoosiers up 24-14. <\/p>\n Mendoza finished the game 16-of-27 for 186 yards through the air. He was also credited with seven rushing attempts that lost eight yards, which indicates how often he was being pressured considering he also had the 12-yard touchdown run. <\/p>\n