Fernando Mendoza Rose Bowl versus Alabama, Part XIV of Las Vegas Raiders’ Mendoza Mania

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PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 01: Fernando Mendoza #15 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 38-3 in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 01, 2026 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It’s Bowl Season in Silver and Black Pride’s Mendoza Mania series, as we’ll be taking a look at the first of three Fernando Mendoza College Football Playoff games from last season. This one wasn’t much of a contest as Indiana took down Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl.

The Hoosiers didn’t need a heroic performance from the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft. Instead, the Las Vegas Raiders’ new quarterback put together an efficient outing, completing 14 of 16 passes (87.5%) for 192 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Diving deeper, he was also credited with three “big-time throws” from Pro Football Focus to earn an elite 92.9 passing grade, his highest mark as a passer for the season.

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Additionally, Mendoza had a handful of impressive runs against the Crimson Tide, recording 38 rushing yards on five attempts when removing sacks from the stat line. Among those were a couple of third-down conversions that give us a starting point for this breakdown.

This first play has to be frustrating for Alabama’s defensive coordinator because it’s a great design and call; the Heisman Trophy winner just makes a play with his legs to pick up the first down anyway.

Pre-snap, Bama shows a double-mug look with seven defenders on the line of scrimmage to force the offense to account for a blitz and make the quarterback think he has to get the ball out quickly. However, it’s a simulated pressure where the four defenders in two-point stances on the line drop in coverage while the right defensive end pinches into the B-gap and the nickelback blitzes off the edge for a four-man rush with Cover 2 behind it.

The four backers who dropped in coverage are all in perfect spots to take away Indiana’s quick game concept. Starting at the top of the screen: the flat defender (No. 8) is in the passing lane against the short route by the single receiver, the middle hook (No. 18) takes away the sit route from Omar Cooper Jr. while the curl-to-flat defender (No. 10) also steps into that window on his way to pickup the short curl from the tight end, and the other flat defender (No. 1) has the other short out taken care of.

Maybe Mendoza can squeeze the ball into the tight end before No. 10 can get there, and it looks like he considers it by rearing back to throw. However, that’s a risky decision since the defender’s momentum is taking him into the passing lane for a potential PBU or even a pick-six. So, Mendoza wisely pulls the ball down and starts to scramble.

The quarterback’s subpar change of direction skills do show up, as he takes a couple of gather steps around the 40-yard-line to pivot up the field. But once he gets north and south, his ability to read blocks and find rushing lanes comes into play. Mendoza eventually locates an opening and dives forward to pick up the first down, keeping the drive alive.

This next clip is pretty similar to the last one; it’s just a different pre-snap look and a designed quarterback run on third and three.

Granted, this is an RPO, as all the receivers are running routes instead of run blocking. The decision for the quarterback likely comes down to two factors: how many defenders are in the box, and what the right (from the defense’s perspective) edge defender does. So, with Alabama in a six-man box and the edge (who it looks like Mendoza is reading) dropping into coverage, the correct read is for the quarterback to keep the ball and run.

He starts to press toward the wide side of the field since the interior gaps/lanes are pretty congested with the defensive line slating and getting penetration. However, with his eyes on the other side of the field, Mendoza is late to see the SAM linebacker blitzing off the other edge. Also, since the right tackle has to pass off the defensive end and make sure the guard has control of the end, the linebacker penetrates the backfield unblocked.

Luckily, Mendoza recognizes the blitz before it’s too late and pivots toward cutting upfield. That action also sets up the other linebacker and helps make the running back/lead blocker’s block easier, allowing the running back to seal the backer outside.

But what makes this run really impressive is how the quarterback navigates the traffic in the backfield and squeezes through a very narrow rushing lane (see the end zone view above) to move the sticks on third down, again. That’s the result of impressive vision and a good job of setting up a second-level defender.

We’re moving on to the passing game but sticking with third-down situations, as the No. 1 pick was money on money downs against the Tide.

Something he does well when throwing into the end zone is putting the ball up high but still in a spot where the receiver can get to it. Typically, that’s to beat tight coverage. While that’s not the case here since Charlie Becker has plenty of separation on the post route, Mendoza is facing some pressure in the pocket with the Cover 0 call from Alabama and the running back holding on for dear life against the blitzing linebacker.

So, the quarterback does have to put some air on the pass to prevent the ball from getting tipped at the line of scrimmage. That makes the catch more difficult for Becker, but the trajectory is still well within his reach to turn third down into a touchdown. Even if the defensive back had tight coverage or undercut the route, this still would be six points with where the ball was placed.

Rinse and repeat, as this is a pretty similar rep to the one we just dove into.

It’s third down again; it’s just third and short this time. Indiana appears to be expecting Cover 0 or at least a blitz from Alabama by using heavy personnel with the extra offensive lineman in the game at tight end while dialing up a pass with max protection and a two-man route.

The offense doesn’t get the exact look they were expecting from the defense with just a five-man rush where one line of scrimmage linebacker drops into coverage and one off-ball linebacker blitzes off the edge, but the Hoosiers still have the upper hand with the play call.

The Tide are in quarters, which essentially turns into Cover 0 without the blitz since the extra offensive lineman—who is ineligible because linemen can’t report as eligible in college and the outside receiver covers him up—can account for the extra pass-rusher.

Also, especially with the running back and other/eligible tight end on the same side of the formation as the receivers, there is no eligible receiver on the ride side (offense’s perspective) of the field. However, Bama has three defenders in coverage on that side, all of whom end up covering nothing but grass. On top of that, the back and eligible tight end are involved in the pass protection call, forcing the strong safety (No. 18) to bracket the slot receiver with the nickel corner.

All of that sets up for a one-on-one matchup with Elijah Sarratt against a corner with no safety help at the bottom of the screen. Mendoza immediately takes his eyes to that. Once he sees Sarratt get even with the corner, he lets the ball go and drops a beautiful pass with a great trajectory—high but still catchable—for another touchdown. It’s hard to find a pass to a go route into the end zone that is placed any better than that.

We’re shifting gears here to end with a couple of throws that likely caught Klint Kubiak’s eye. This first one comes on, you guessed it, third down!

Kubiak likes to dial up bootlegs to give quarterbacks an easy/designed escape from pressure, which is exactly what Indiana is doing against another double-mug look and Cover 0 call from Alabama. That gives all three wide receivers in the route concept one-on-one matchups, including Cooper in the slot.

Cooper is running a pylon route—a staple in Kubiak’s playbook—where he gives a hard inside release off the line of scrimmage to sell a vertical or seam route before breaking toward the sideline at a roughly 45-degree angle. The release gets the nickel cornerback to open his hips to the middle of the field, which puts the corner in a bad position to cover Cooper.

Meanwhile, Mendoza starts his read with the outside receiver, who also ends up getting open. However, he shifts his eyes to Cooper and immediately recognizes that the nickel is in a bad position to cover the pylon route. So, Mendoza lets the ball go right as Cooper gets into his break, throwing a perfect pass on the run by hitting the receiver in stride for an explosive play.

As a result, what looked like a promising drive for the defense, with the offense facing a third-and-long in their territory, becomes another scoring opportunity.

To be honest, this last clip is included because it’s a throw from under center, which is one of the biggest concerns with the No. 1 pick’s transition to the NFL. Obviously, he has to prove it on a bigger sample size, and this throw was pretty easy since both receivers are open. Mendoza just had to pick one and not choke on the pass attempt. But it is good to see that he can take snaps and operate from under center, even if those reps are few and far between.

Also, this isn’t exactly a clean pocket with a few pass-rushers breaking through the offensive line, and he does a decent job buying some extra time by getting more depth on his drop without drifting too far out of the pocket. On top of that, he throws off his back foot and does a good job of getting his hips into the throw to make sure there’s enough velocity on the ball to keep it on a line and ensure he doesn’t skip it to Cooper in the end zone.

Up next was a very similar outing for Mendoza and the Hoosiers, as they took down Oregon convincingly in their second playoff game.

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