Fernando Mendoza’s Rose Bowl performance left Las Vegas Raiders fans impatient for the April’s NFL Draft, where their struggling team will likely pick first overall.
The Heisman-winning quarterback tossed only 16 passes while leading undefeated, top-ranked Indiana over No. 9 Alabama, 38-3, but the Hoosiers star still cemented himself as the presumptive first pick with a near-flawless performance on Thursday in Pasadena.
Included among Mendoza’s 14 completions were three sensational touchdown passes – each more impressive than the last.
‘He’s going to resurrect the Raiders franchise in Vegas,’ one confident fan wrote on X.
‘I’ve seen enough,’ another added. ‘Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders.’
The league-worst Raiders have effectively clinched the first pick in the draft with last week’s defeat to the lowly New York Giants, but 2-14 Las Vegas can make that official on Sunday by losing to the 6-10 Kansas City Chiefs.
Mendoza holds the Leishman Trophy after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in Pasadena
A Las Vegas Raiders fan looks on before a September game against the Los Angeles Chargers
And of course, the Raiders have no motivation to win that game.
As SiriusXM and NFL on CBS host Adam Schein joked after one brilliant moment from Mendoza: ‘Raiders just deactivated the rest of the roster seeing that Mendoza throw.’
Mendoza’s yardage numbers haven’t been overwhelming, and Thursday wasn’t any different. He accumulated just 193 against one of the better defenses in the country.
But as has been the case since Mendoza transferred from Cal, he was simply too efficient, completing 87.5 percent of his passes without taking unnecessary risks with the football.
‘#1 overall pick in the upcoming draft and for good reason,’ another fan wrote online.
And it’s not just Raiders fans who feel this way. One Dolphins supporter called for his team to move up in the draft for Mendoza, a Miami native.
‘I’m sold,’ he wrote. ‘Trade the farm to get the number one pick for Mendoza.’
Obviously, there is still a lot of time between now and the first round of the NFL Draft on April 24 in Pittsburgh. Mendoza could have as many as two more games to play this postseason, not to mention Indiana’s Pro Day and the NFL Scouting Combine, both of which could impact teams’ perceptions of the 6-foot-5, 225-pound 22-year-old.
Plus, Oregon’s Dante Moore could have an outside chance at going to the Raiders with the first pick, especially after a strong 234-yard effort in Thursday’s Orange Bowl win over Texas Tech.
Mendoza dives during the third quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Pasadena
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) smiles after a win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl
But as well as Moore has played this season, fans seemed overwhelmingly in favor of taking Mendoza.
‘… and with the first pick in the 2026 NFL draft,’ one wrote on X, ‘the Raiders select FERNANDO MENDOZA.’
The Raiders have several needs on their roster and may also be looking to replace head coach Pete Carroll after his miserable first season in Las Vegas. But they were particularly bad at quarterback, where veteran Geno Smith failed to reproduce as he did under Carroll in Seattle.
As a result, the Raiders ranked 27th in the NFL with just 172.8 passing yards per game.
Next up for Indiana in the Peach Bowl will be Oregon, a team the Hoosiers have already beaten this year. The CFP semifinal will be played in Atlanta on January 9.
The winner of that game will advance to play in the CFP championship in Miami on January 19.
