Indiana's Curt Cignetti Calls Out Refs After Viral Video of Hit on Fernando Mendoza

Curt Cignetti was not a fan of some of the hits his quarterback took in the first half of the national championship game against Miami.

The Indiana head coach called out the officials after Fernando Mendoza took a handful of bit hits.

"There's three personal fouls on the quarterback not called in one drive," Cignetti told ESPN's Holly Rowe at halftime. "They need to be called because they're obvious personal fouls. I'm all for letting them play, but when you cross the line you got to call it. And they were obvious, black and white calls."

The most controversial play of the game so far came during Indiana's second drive. Mendoza ran what appeared to be an option play and handed the ball off to Kaelon Black while feigning that he still had it. While Mendoza didn't have the ball, he still took a big hit from Miami's Jacoby Thomas.

The hit left Mendoza on the ground for a moment, and when he stood up, his lip was bloodied.

Rules analyst Terry McAulay said on social media that it should have been a targeting call, noting that Mendoza was defenseless because he "clearly no longer has the ball." McAulay added that there was "forcible contact to the head/neck area and it's with the crown of the helmet."

The big hits didn't slow Mendoza down too much, as he managed to throw for 117 yards on 12-of-17 passing in the first half to help give Indiana a 10-0 lead heading into the break. If he and the Hoosiers can hold onto that lead, they'll bring Indiana its first-ever national championship in football.

Mendoza has enjoyed an outstanding season in his first year with the Hoosiers. The junior has thrown for 3,349 yards, 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions while adding 284 rushing yards and six scores on the ground on his way to a Heisman Trophy.

The Miami native is hoping to take down his hometown team to cap off his tremendous college football career, but he'll have to avoid the tough pressure from the Hurricanes' defensive front.