Indiana's Josh Hoover (10) during Indiana University's football camp practice on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co Towards the middle August, just after the MLB All-Star Break but before college football officially kicks off, we enter the Take Zone for football writers. In the absence of bigger stories like transfers, coaching moves or injuries, a few topics surrounding big-name programs get taken up by the big media outlets. At that point, everyone is required to weigh in, from TV personalities to Twitter burners, and of course, bloggers in our mom’s basements. Entering this season for Indiana, a program that’s only been the subject of this kind of discourse since Curt Cignetti took over, the debate surrounds the quarterback position. How will Cignetti move on from the first Heisman winner in program history, Fernando Mendoza? Football Experts across the spectrum have been quick to point out that Josh Hoover is not Fernando Mendoza, something I don’t really think any of us doubted at this point. They have different names, after all.
A Big 12 DC on Indiana QB Josh Hoover, per @ESPNRittenberg "It's going to be a step down. He's not going to be Mendoza. I wasn't a hater of his, but I thought he was a pretty average to slightly above-average guy. I don't think he's going to go there and win the Heisman." pic.twitter.com/a3ocdWDwS5 — SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) August 14, 2026
This has become the refrain, mostly, that Indiana will be taking a step back at the position. Again, whether you believe in Hoover or not, it isn’t really going out on a limb to declare that Indiana won’t suddenly win back-to-back Heismans after nearly a century of being shut out of the award. So why does this comparison keep coming up? I truly do not know, but it seems mostly like a different way for people to keep expressing their doubts in Indiana and Cignetti. The first sign that this discussion is being had for dubious reasons should be obvious to Indiana fans and anyone who has paid attention to the sport generally over the last few seasons: Cignetti did not need Mendoza to rewrite college football history. Led by Kurtis Rourke, a seventh round NFL selection, Indiana went 10-2, appeared in the college football playoff, and set just about every program record in existence before the 2025 season. The Hoosiers even beat Washington, a program one year removed from its own playoff berth, with Tayven Jackson starting at quarterback while Rourke recovered from a thumb injury. More educated college football fans know that Cignetti’s success with quarterbacks predates his time at Indiana. Per an article in the Daily Hoosier, Cignetti’s last six quarterbacks have improved their touchdown to interception rating by 275%. In that context, it doesn’t make sense to compare TCU Hoover to Indiana Mendoza. Like the last six quarterbacks who played under Cignetti, Hoover should be expected to make substantial strides in his game, especially in regard to taking care of the ball. But did comparing Mendoza to Hoover ever make sense? Not really. As Indiana’s quarterback in 2026, Hoover will be competing against Julian Sayin and Dante Moore for the Big Ten title, not Mendoza. Indiana’s defense humbled both Moore and Sayin, to the point that the Hoosiers beat Oregon and Ohio State. Of course, Mendoza’s heroics powered Indiana to wins against Penn State, Iowa, and Miami, but even last year, Indiana won games when he was not necessarily playing like the first overall pick. There’s no reason to think the same won’t be true when 2026 Hoover isn’t playing like 2025 Mendoza. Hoover is coming to Bloomington with flaws in his game, as Rourke and Mendoza did before him. That’s not news. He’s also competing with a couple of quarterbacks who were not good enough to challenge Mendoza for the top spot last year. In the absence of a better explanation for why a seemingly pointless conversation has been given so much air time, you have to assume that it’s just a vehicle for people to continue doubting Indiana. There has to be some justification for the coach’s poll having Oregon and Ohio State ahead of Indiana, after all.
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