Fernando Mendoza Jokes About NSFW Postgame Interview in Video After Indiana's CFP Title Win
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza had a laugh Monday night when discussing his rare utterance of a curse word after the Hoosiers' College Football Playoff National Championship Game win over Miami.
While on the podium with his teammates to receive the CFP trophy, Mendoza concluded an interview by yelling, "Let's f--king go!" While speaking to reporters afterward, Mendoza provided some insight into the moment:
"Yeah, I would say overcome by emotion and the pinnacle peak," Mendoza said. "All season I've sometimes had these cookie-cutter responses, media-trained responses where it's like, 'Onto the next game, onto the next play.' And now we did it, we did it, so at that point I think it was only fitting to kind of open the floodgates for a second."
Mendoza's response got a laugh out of reporters, and Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti kept it going by remarking, "He's been around Coach Cig too long."
After transferring from California to Indiana, Mendoza enjoyed what many would categorize as a fairytale season.
An Indiana program that had never come particularly close to winning a national title went undefeated during the regular season, defeated Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship and entered the CFP as the team to beat.
Mendoza was a massive part of the team's success, as he went from a little-known player to a Heisman Trophy winner.
The presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft completed 72.0 percent of his passes on the season for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and only six interceptions, and he also rushed for 276 yards and seven scores.
Monday's 27-21 win over Miami was far from his best performance of the season, but Mendoza still came through when it mattered most.
While his line of 186 passing yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions looks pedestrian, he made perhaps the biggest play in the history of Indiana Hoosiers football.
With Indiana leading 17-14 in the fourth quarter, Cignetti decided to go for it on fourth-and-4 at the Miami 12-yard line.
Mendoza took matters into his own hands, keeping the ball and making a dash toward the end zone. Despite knowing he would take a big hit, Mendoza dove and extended the ball over the goal line for a touchdown that extended the Indiana lead to 10.
Despite Mendoza's best efforts, Miami got the ball back down six with 1:42 remaining and a chance to win the game.
However, Jamari Sharpe intercepted Miami quarterback Carson Beck with just 44 seconds left to seal the win and the first national title in Indiana football history for the Hoosiers.
Mendoza was understandably overcome with emotion after such a massive accomplishment, and in that postgame moment, he allowed himself to celebrate without restriction.
