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A lot can happen over 11 weeks of a college football season. On a day when Fernando Mendoza emerged as the Heisman favorite, preseason darlings like Garrett Nussmeier and DJ Lagway were benched. An Alabama team that opened the season with an embarrassing loss to Florida State won its eighth straight game. Wisconsin, well, it went from hope via transfer quarterback Billy Edwards to a punter leading them in passing … in a win! There were fake punts galore, onside kicks, miraculous catches and the emergence of a new-money contender out in West Texas. In other words, it was another zany week of college football. Week 11 is over and you know how this works: Let's run through the week that was in college football, starting with a pair of teams who should no longer be considered Cinderella. ONE BIG THING: A PERFECT TRANSFER MARRIAGE IN BLOOMINGTON Penn State brought pressure with impunity as Indiana attempted a go-ahead drive in the final minutes. The drive started with a sack. It ended with eight in the box and a pair of free rushers as the Nittany Lions attempted to end the No. 2 Hoosiers' unbeaten season. It looked close to over when Mendoza faded away from the 17-yard line on third-and-goal, throwing up a hopeful ball to Omar Cooper in the back of the end zone as Penn State hit him once again. That's when Cooper made the catch of the year, a leaping feat of acrobatics and spatial awareness that allowed him to get a toe down while being pushed out of the end zone. Touchdown, Indiana. Perfect season alive. And perhaps Heisman secured? I wouldn't go as far as Gus Johnson did in the madness of the moment and declare Mendoza the Heisman winner. There's still a Big Ten Championship Game showdown with Ohio State and its pair of candidates, quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, ahead. But Mendoza could not have responded better to adversity. For the second time this season in a raucous road environment (first Oregon and then Penn State), Mendoza threw a crippling fourth-quarter interception. And for the second time this season, Mendoza made up for it with a game-winning drive. "(We) refused to lose," said Indiana coach Curt Cignetti after the Hoosiers improved to 10-0 with a 27-24 win at Penn State (3-6). There will be plenty of time to debate the Heisman. For now, it's worth appreciating the foresight of the Indiana staff to go get Mendoza out of the transfer portal. It's the 2025 season's most consequential transfer addition, changing the fortunes of Mendoza's career and the ceiling of the Indiana program. Scouts viewed Mendoza as a potential draft pick last year at Cal. He needed another good year of film, but the tools were there for a 6-foot-5, 225-pound passer with good mobility for his size. Maybe with a good 2025 campaign he could emerge as a Day 2 pick. He could have just returned to Cal for his redshirt junior season. The Bears found him as the No. 134 quarterback in the 2022 class. They developed him. They wanted to keep him, too, offering well into seven figures, per a source, for Mendoza to return. Mendoza broke the hearts of many in Berkeley, choosing to portal — it's worked out fine for Cal with freshman sensation Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele — and fielding interest from annual contenders like Georgia. Instead, he picked Indiana. It's where Alberto Mendoza, his younger brother, was already on the roster. It's also where Mendoza saw his best path for NFL development. Ten months later, Mendoza is the favorite to be QB1 in the 2026 NFL Draft, according to an ESPN scout survey. In Cignetti's RPO-heavy scheme, Mendoza emerged as a deadly accurate passer (71.3%) and an accelerant for an Indiana offense that ranks first nationally in points per game. Kurtis Rourke ably executed Indiana's system a year ago and the 49ers selected him in the seventh round because of it. But the Hoosiers don't just have a draft pick under center this year. They have a potential first-rounder, someone who can create on his own and execute a wider array of throws. The Hoosiers paid well into seven figures for Mendoza, but he still came cheaper than higher-profile transfers like John Mateer and Carson Beck. It's been a perfect marriage in Bloomington, a relationship that just might change what's possible for a nerdy business major and a college football program that's defying history with its second straight 10-0 start. REPORT CARD A. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS Good teams win. Great teams dominate. Texas Tech is undoubtedly in the latter category after a 29-7 win over BYU. The No. 7 Cougars (8-1) entered the week unbeaten but as 10.5-point road underdogs. No. 8 Texas Tech (9-1) showed why, holding the BYU to 4 yards per play and forcing three turnovers in a game that wasn't even as close as the scoreboard would indicate. Check out a few stats for Texas Tech when quarterback Behren Morton starts: – 44.3 points per game – 33.2-point average scoring margin – Outscoring Big 12 opponents 225-65 Texas Tech is anything but a fluke through 10 games. The Red Raiders are a national title threat.
