Undefeated Indiana Proves Past Doesn’t Dictate Future Success
In college football, bluebloods often rule the day. Think: Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan. This year, however, there’s a new challenger. And it’s led by the latest Heisman Trophy-winner.
On Saturday, Indiana University’s QB Fernando Mendoza received the prestigious Heisman Trophy Award after throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and an NCAA-best 33 touchdowns this season. He also ran for six more TDs. Mendoza earned the nod in a substantial win over Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love and Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin.
But more than defeating any person or school, Mendoza’s victory comes over the past. Never before has Indiana University been thought of in the class of the best of college football—in fact, the school is the sport’s biggest loser, historically.
Never before…until now.
Today, Indiana is the No. 1 seed and a top contender heading into the 2025 college football playoffs. Yes, you read that correctly. And their ascendance proves that when it comes to success, no one is defined by the narrative of the past.
Indeed, for a moment, let’s consider an alternative scenario: What If officials at Indiana looked at the school’s history and decided that football wasn’t for them. That maybe they should stick to what they know best, like basketball. Think about all that could have been lost. Instead, the program flouted is unceremonious history and decided to forge a new future.
What a difference two years can make!
In 2021, IU went a dismal 2-10 on the football field. A year later, their record was a poor 4-8. In 2023, things didn’t change and they finished 3-9. But in 2024…hope arrived. That’s when the school brought in Coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison. IU finished 11-2 that year and in the offseason, the school brought in Mendoza, a transfer from Cal.
This year Indiana is undefeated and Mendoza is the king of college football.
Cignetti was at the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday to support his player. After the announcement, the coach told his QB, “Great job, bro. You deserve that one.” But Mendoza knows that any individual award is actually a team one.
“It’s really a credit to our team. It’s a team award,” the beaming QB said, adding later, “This trophy might have my name on it, but it belongs to all of you [my teammates], it belongs, for the first time, in Bloomington. Playing in front of Hoosier Nation is one of the greatest privileges of my life.”
Read that again. What poise, what maturity. While success isn’t necessarily determined by the past, it often takes a big effort to change a school’s trajectory. A program doesn’t go worst to first overnight without something new entering the equation. For Indiana, it was Coach Cignetti’s influence. But it was also what Mendoza highlighted. Teamwork.
For a football squad to win, it needs more than, say, just standout wide receivers. Even an all-world quarterback can’t do it by himself. No, the offensive and defensive linemen need to be working together. The running backs need to block. The coaches need to come up with a good gameplan.
It’s the same in business. If a company isn’t functioning properly top-down, it will encounter problems. Similarly, if a business is floundering, the only way to change its trajectory is to infuse it with something new. Maybe that’s different leadership, maybe that’s fresh talent. Maybe it’s a clearer mission statement.
Whatever it is, history can change—but it doesn’t happen on its own.
Earlier this month, Indiana defeated longtime power Ohio State, 13-10, in the Big Ten Championship. The win kept the Hoosiers’ undefeated season alive and it also announced them officially as a new power on the college landscape. After securing the victory, the team’s QB could only gush about what IU has accomplished.
“We were never supposed to be in this position, but now we’re the flipping champs,” Mendoza said after the game, just prior to being named the contest’s MVP. “We are brothers, we know how to stick together and we’re the toughest glue ever.”