BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza is all smiles following a win against the Indiana State Sycamores on September 12, 2025 at Memorial Stadium. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has the distinction of having been in three different conferences in as many years. He spent his first three seasons at Cal where he started 19 games with the Golden Bears, whose final year in the Pac-12 was 2023 before moving to the ACC in 2024. The redshirt junior then transferred to Big Ten country to play for Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers.
Making the move to IU has proved beneficial for the Miami native, to say the least. Through four games, all wins, Mendoza is second nationally to another Big Ten quarterback, USC’s Jordan Maiava, in pass efficiency and leads the nation in touchdown passes with 14, including five in last week’s demolition of visiting Illinois. He has not thrown an interception.
Mendoza, whose redshirt freshman brother, Alberto, is also a QB and made the move from Berkeley to Bloomington as well, heads into Saturday’s game at Iowa having completed 42 of his last 45 passes, a run that began late in the fourth quarter versus Kennesaw State on September 6. His completion percentage of 76.8 is second to another fellow Big Ten signal caller, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin.
In yet another indication of how things have changed mightily at N0. 11/12 Indiana, which went 11-2 and earned a spot at the CFP table a year ago in Cignetti’s initial season running the program, the numbers Mendoza has compiled through four games have generated Heisman hype. Indeed, it has been quite a month for the 6-foot-5 and 225-pound Mendoza.
“I feel locked in,” he said, when speaking to reporters Tuesday. “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.”
A long, winding road to Knoxville
It appeared as though Joey Aguilar was going to spend his final season of eligibility in his home state of California by playing at UCLA. He threw for 6,730 yards and 56 touchdowns in two seasons at Appalachian State before committing to the Bruins at the end of December. In April, Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA from Tennessee after his sweet NIL deal was not made sweeter. Aguilar entered the portal, Josh Heupel came calling and the 24-year-old quarterback is tied for third nationally with 12 touchdown passes, is 12th in pass efficiency and 13th in passing yards (1,161) for 3-1 UT.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. – Joey Aguilar of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on after a victory against the UAB Blazers at Neyland Stadium on September 20, 2025 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
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No. 15/15 Tennessee’s only loss? Well, after playing in the Sun Belt for two years, the nation found out about Aguilar in a thrill-a-minute overtime loss to Georgia on September 13 when he threw for 371 yards – equaling Peyton Manning’s total for most against UGA in Vols’ history — and totaled five touchdowns in his SEC debut.
College football fans have subsequently learned more and more about Aguilar and his considerable journey to Knoxville. It is a career that began in 2019 at City College of San Francisco where in two years he never took the field having redshirted his first season before the pandemic wiped away 2020. He spent two more years at another California JUCO, Diablo Valley, prior to arriving at a four-year institution, Appalachian State, in 2023.
After throwing for 281 yards and three TDs against UAB last week, Aguilar and the Vols travel to Starkville to take on Mississippi State this Saturday. It will be another opportunity to write another chapter in what has been a storybook season to this point while leading an offense that is averaging 554 points per game to rank seventh nationally.
“I’m super excited where this offense is at right now,” he said following the win over the Blazers. “I’m excited where I’m at right now, but I mean, we could still be better.”
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