Silver And Black Pride
We’re on to Part III of Silver and Black Pride’s Mendoza Mania, providing film breakdowns on every game from the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NFL draft and new Las Vegas Raiders franchise quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s last season at Indiana.
This Week 3 matchup against Indiana State was the Heisman Trophy winner’s and the Hoosiers’ final “tune-up” game before conference play began. Mendoza certainly took advantage of facing FCS-level competition, completing 19 of 20 passes (95 percent) for 270 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. He also added 19 yards and another score on the ground to cap off Indiana’s 73-0 victory.
Of course, a prospective top draft pick is expected to dominate against this type of opponent. But something different about Mendoza’s performance compared to the rest of the year was that he was attacking the middle of the field. That was one of the knocks or questions as a prospect, since he typically operated on the perimeter or outside of where the NFL numbers would be on the field.
Granted, some of the throws he made would be risky decisions against better competition, but it is interesting to see the No. 1 pick make a handful of plays that are outside of his comfort zone.
This first throw is also a good example of Mendoza reading the field and working through his progressions.
Pre-snap, Indiana State gives a two-high look before the boundary safety starts to cheat toward the middle of the field after the tight end’s motion, and the defense rotates in to Cover 7 post-snap, which is a hybrid between zone and man coverage.
That’s the perfect coverage for the frontside of Indiana’s playcall, because it gives the defense a numbers advantage with three defenders to take away two routes. The safety picks up the post from the outside receiver, and the corner has the tight end in the flat. Also, the safety on the other side of the field is essentially in man coverage against the slot receiver to take away the backside drag route.
Mendoza quickly recognizes that his first three reads aren’t open and quickly gets to the backside dig. The running back in the flat at the top of the screen is supposed to occupy the nickelback and keep the nickel low to widen the window for the dig route. However, the defender doesn’t take the bait and, wisely, works for depth to make that a more difficult throw.
Still, that nickel is going to have a hard time making a play against a route that he can’t see because it’s behind him. So, Mendoza lets it rip anyway, throwing with good timing and velocity to hit the open window in zone coverage while giving the receiver enough time to protect himself and secure the catch before contact.
In the NFL or against better competition, the safer decision is to take the easy completion to the running back in the flat, especially on first down. But Mendoza takes advantage of...
