The Offensive Most Valuable Player of the Rose Bowl game easily could have gone to Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback finished the game with more touchdown passes than incompletions , threw for 192 yards and spread the ball to three teammates on scoring plays during their 38-3 rout of Alabama.
Instead, the sportswriters and broadcasters awarded center Pat Coogan and the rest of the offensive line. After it was announced, the biggest celebration came from Mendoza, who jumped with excitement, smiled from ear to ear and pumped his fist as he swarmed his center with the rest of his teammates.
Just another assist from a leader.
“We work really hard every single day because not only do we enjoy football, we also enjoy winning,” said Mendoza, who completed 14 of 16 passes. “And we know what that takes. So every single day we’re always going to put our best foot forward.”
Coogan was the first offensive lineman to win the award since Norm Verry won it for USC in 1944.
“It’s all a credit to my teammates and my coaching staff for just believing in me and the ability to make my calls and diagnose a defense and fully entrusting in me and my abilities,” Coogan said.
Against the Crimson Tide, Indiana had its love for the game fully displayed on both sides of the field. The defense held Alabama to a field goal and 23 rushing yards while forcing two fumbles and recovering one.
The crucial recovery came as the Tide approached Hoosiers territory as the second quarter was coming to a close. With Indiana ahead 10-0, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson ran on third and seven toward Indiana’s 40-yard line. Instead of gaining a first down, Simpson fumbled on a hit by Hoosiers cornerback D’Angelo Ponds. On its next drive, Indiana scored to make it 17-0.
Ponds earned the Defensive MVP award for his pivotal hit and thanked defensive coordinator Bryant Haines for their preparation.
“He did a good job scheming [Alabama],” Ponds said. “He knew what they liked to run, their tendencies and stuff like that.”
The coaching staff set the standards for Indiana and it all started with head coach Curt Cignetti, Coogan said.
“The complacency factor, the [fear] to death of complacency, the never-ending journey of improving, taking it day-to-day, taking each day as the most important day in the history of the program,” he said. “It all starts with [Cignetti], and he makes sure all of our eyes are focused forward and we’re all thinking alike as he always says.”
Cignetti called the game a great team victory for Indiana against an opponent with great tradition and history, but there’s still football to be played.
Up next, the Hoosiers go up against Oregon at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Jan. 9. This will be the Big Ten teams’ second meeting this season.
“Good to have another rematch against Dante Moore and a great Oregon team next week,” Mendoza said.
It’ll be the third time Mendoza faces the Oregon quarterback. The first time they met was in 2023 at the Rose Bowl, when they played for Cal and UCLA, respectively. Mendoza came out victorious 33-7.
In October, they matched up again, this time with their current teams. Again, the Hoosiers quarterback came out on top, 30-20.
But can lightning strike twice in a season?
“It’s very hard to beat a really good football team twice,” Cignetti said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Indiana will take its unblemished record to Atlanta to face Oregon and hope the Hoosiers’ chemistry carries them to Miami Gardens for a shot at the national championship.
“We are efficient because we have good players with high character,” Cignetti said. “They’re great team guys and really good leaders, and they listen and they buy in.”
From Anthony Solorzano: Through tears, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza thanked every member of his family after becoming the first Hoosier to ever win the Heisman Trophy. The Cuban American quarterback recognized his family for believing in him throughout his career.
He was a two-star high school recruit who drew little attention before finally landing an opportunity to play at California. After three years with the Golden Bears, including a redshirt year, he transferred to Indiana. On Thursday, the No. 1 Hoosiers will take the field at the Rose Bowl, where they will face college football traditional power Alabama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Pressure is familiar for Mendoza. He’s faced challenges throughout his career — from proving himself as an overlooked high school athlete to earning his starting role at Cal.
Anytime Mendoza has met a hurdle, he considers how to help those around him shine.
“I know that’s my responsibility to my coaches, to my teammates and to the entire team, to be able to be sharp mentally and not have outside influences, pressures and noise able to impact my game,” Mendoza said. “I think one thing is just keeping the process on how I got here, how the entire team got to this place, which is keeping the process that I’ve kept for every single game.”
The Hoosiers finished the season undefeated. They will play for their first Rose Bowl victory in 57 years and it’ll be the second year in a row Indiana has reached the College Football Playoff.
“His leadership has increased in those crucial moments and I think that’s what makes him such a special player — because when the stakes are the highest, he steps up and gets the team going,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “He’s a guy that people want to get behind and run a play for.”
Texas Christian running back Jeremy Payne carries the ball during a 30-27 win over USC in Alamo Bowl.
(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
From Ryan Kartje: Two years ago, a day after he decided to fire Alex Grinch as USC‘s defensive coordinator, Lincoln Riley made a promise to those concerned about the future of the Trojans’ defense.
“I have complete belief, conviction. We will play great defense here,” the coach said in November 2023. “It is going to happen. There’s not a reason in the world why it can’t.”
Two years later, another defensive coordinator is out the door at USC. The day after Grinch’s replacement, D’Anton Lynn, left to take the same job at Penn State, Riley stood in front of reporters, assuring everyone once again that soon enough, USC would be great on that side of the ball.
“The arrow,” he said Tuesday, “is pointing straight up.”
“The opportunity for us to make a hire, to continue to make us better and to go from being a very good defense to being a great defense is the goal.”
UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close reacts during a win over Penn State on Wednesday.
(Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
From Ben Bolch: As she spoke about her team’s growth amid its first conference trip, Cori Close steered her comments toward something else she would like to nurture: coverage of women’s college basketball.
It was a topic that the UCLA coach had thrust into the national spotlight three days earlier when she voiced her frustration with a lack of reporting on a top-20 showdown involving her No. 4 Bruins and No. 19 Ohio State.
Now, after her team’s runaway 97-61 victory over Penn State on Wednesday inside Rec Hall, Close glanced at the 10 reporters on a Zoom call and doubled down on her previous remarks.
“The reality of what my comments were after Ohio State were, I have two really passionate agendas in regards to this, and that is, I want to be a pioneer of growing the game, period,” Close said. “I want to really be a part of the surge that’s happening and I want to be a part of telling these amazing stories that these players have, and they’re incredible young women as well as amazing basketball players.”
Tired from hosting family for the holidays and planning on rising early for a workout, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner and star USC quarterback did not stay up to catch the end of his alma mater’s game against Texas Christian in the Alamo Bowl on Tuesday night.
He likely does not regret that decision.
After allowing a 10-point lead to slip away in the final minutes of regulation, the Trojans eventually lost 30-27 in overtime after TCU running back Jeremy Payne caught a check-down pass on third-and-20 and broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone for a 35-yard, game-winning touchdown.
Lakers coach JJ Redick reacts during a loss to the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The Lakers started the day by singing “Happy Birthday” to LeBron James as the superstar forward turned 41 on Tuesday. They ended by singing another familiar, but more somber tune.
The Lakers got blown out again Tuesday, letting a close game devolve into a 128-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons. James scored 17 points with four assists and five turnovers while the Lakers (20-11) lost by 20 points for the sixth time this season. They are tied for the third-most 20-point losses in the league, yet somehow are still clinging to fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
“The intent and the, like, effort was there for the most part tonight,” coach JJ Redick said. “… The turnovers and the fast-break points, they kill you.”
The year 2025 was more tumultuous than any silly football game and its accompanying overwrought metaphors. It was a year that knocked me flat, tearing me apart from so many things that once anchored me, setting me afloat in a sea of guilt and despair and ultimate uncertainty.
JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is gearing up to defend his state championship in the high jump.
(Craig Weston)
From Eric Sondheimer: It’s time to peer into my crystal ball to see what 2026 has in store for the Southland’s high school athletes (and a few former ones), coaches and fans:
JJ Harel of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, armed with passports from the United States, Israel and Australia, will soar so far past 7 feet in the high jump that national organizations from three different countries will fight to have him represent their team.
Striker Pence, a sophomore pitcher at Corona Santiago with a 100-mph fastball, will receive an endorsement deal from a radar gun company.
The UCLA-USC women’s basketball games will have so many celebrities and former players wanting to be seen that TMZ won’t need to pay for video.
Tampa Bay defenseman Darren Raddysh, left, scores on Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal in overtime of the Lightning’s 4-3 win Wednesday at Honda Center.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press:Darren Raddysh scored midway through overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning blew three one-goal leads before beating the Ducks 4-3 on Wednesday for their fifth consecutive victory.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper celebrated his 1,000th regular-season game in charge with his 595th victory as the longest-tenured bench boss in the NHL. The Lightning’s coach since March 2013 has also led them in 155 playoff games, won two championships and reached four Stanley Cup Finals.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist as the Lightning skated off with a win in the opener of their three-game California trip when Raddysh converted a pass from Brandon Hagel, who had three assists.
1902 — Michigan beats Stanford 49-0 in the first Rose Bowl. Neil Snow scores four touchdowns in a game that ends with eight minutes to play. The Wolverines earned the nickname as the “Point a Minute” team, having scored 501 points in their ten games. The next Rose Bowl game does not occur until 1916.
1916 — Washington State beats Brown 14-0 in the return of the Rose Bowl. Brown halfback Fritz Pollard, the first African-American to play in the Rose Bowl, gains just 47 yards in the rain-soaked game. After a scoreless first half, Washington State scores on short runs by Ralph Boone and Carl Dietz.
1934 — Columbia upsets Stanford 7-0 in the Rose Bowl when Al Barabas scores in the third quarter on a 17-yard hidden-ball play.
1935 — Bucknell beats Miami 26-0 in the first Orange Bowl.
1935 — Tulane beats Temple 20-14 in the first Sugar Bowl. The Green Wave complete a 14-0 comeback when Temple defender Horace Mowery tips a pass into the direction of Dick Hardy, who takes it in to the end zone.
1961 — The Houston Oilers beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16 to win the first AFL Championship.
1961 — Boston Bruins rookie Willie O’Ree, the first black player in NHL history, scores his first goal in a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Boston Garden.
1971 — Notre Dame ends Texas’ 30-game winning streak with a 24-11 win in the Cotton Bowl.
1991 — Georgia Tech routs Nebraska 45-21 in the Citrus Bowl to finish as college football’s only unbeaten team (11-0-1).
1992 — Miami beats Nebraska 22-0 in the Orange Bowl, the first shutout of the Cornhuskers since 1973, and finishes with a 12-0 record.
1993 — No. 2 Alabama wins its first national championship in 13 years and deprives Miami of its fifth title as the Crimson Tide defense humbles the No. 1 Hurricanes 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl.
1993 — Florida State beats Nebraska 27-14 in the Orange Bowl to set an NCAA record by winning eight consecutive bowl games.
2000 — Georgia’s Hap Hines kicks a 21-yard field goal in overtime to complete the greatest comeback in bowl history. The Bulldogs pull out a 28-25 victory over Purdue after trailing 25-0 early in the second quarter in the Outback Bowl.
2006 — New England’s Doug Flutie converts the NFL’s first successful drop kick in 64 years during a 28-26 loss to Miami.
2007 — Boise State, after tying the game with seven seconds to go in regulation, stuns No. 7 Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime to win the Fiesta Bowl. The No. 9 Broncos win on Ian Johnson’s 2-point conversion run after receiver Vinny Perretta throws a fourth-down touchdown pass to Derek Schouman.
2008 — Sidney Crosby’s shootout goal gives Pittsburgh a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in the inaugral outdoor Winter Classic in front of a league-record 71,217 fans. In elements way more suited for football than hockey, Crosby wins the NHL’s second outdoor game — and first in the United States — in the most dramatic of fashion at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
2012 — Backup quarterback Matt Flynn throws for a franchise-record six touchdowns to give Green Bay a 45-41 victory over the Detroit Lions.
2014 — Central Florida pulls off one of the biggest upsets of the bowl season by outlasting No. 6 Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl. It’s the highest-scoring game in Fiesta Bowl history and second-highest BCS bowl ever.
2015 — Marcus Mariota and Oregon roll past defending national champion Florida State 59-20 to turn the first College Football Playoff semifinal into a Rose Bowl rout.
2015 — Cardale Jones turns in another savvy performance in his second college start and Ezekiel Elliott runs for a Sugar Bowl-record 230 yards, leading Ohio State to a 42-35 upset of top-ranked Alabama in the second semifinal of the College Football Playoff.
2018 — Sony Michel’s 27-yard touchdown run in double overtime gives Georgia a 54-48 win over Oklahoma in a Rose Bowl. It’s the first overtime game in the 104-year history of the Rose Bowl, the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever and the first College Football Playoff game to go into overtime.
2022 — Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozen becomes first player in NBA history to hit buzzer-beaters on consecutive days; hits three-pointers to beat Washington Wizards, 120-119 and previous night Indiana Pacers, 108-106.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Through tears, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza thanked every member of his family after becoming the first Hoosier to ever win the Heisman Trophy. The Cuban American quarterback recognized his family for believing in him throughout his career.
He was a two-star high school recruit who drew little attention before finally landing an opportunity to play at California. After three years with the Golden Bears, including a redshirt year, he transferred to Indiana. On Thursday, the No. 1 Hoosiers will take the field at the Rose Bowl, where they will face college football traditional power Alabama in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Pressure is familiar for Mendoza. He’s faced challenges throughout his career — from proving himself as an overlooked high school athlete to earning his starting role at Cal.
Anytime Mendoza has met a hurdle, he considers how to help those around him shine.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza holds back tears while accepting the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 13 in New York.
(Todd Van Emst / Associated Press)
“I know that’s my responsibility to my coaches, to my teammates and to the entire team, to be able to be sharp mentally and not have outside influences, pressures and noise able to impact my game,” Mendoza said. “I think one thing is just keeping the process on how I got here, how the entire team got to this place, which is keeping the process that I’ve kept for every single game.”
The Hoosiers finished the season undefeated. They will play for their first Rose Bowl victory in 57 years and it’ll be the second year in a row Indiana has reached the College Football Playoff.
“His leadership has increased in those crucial moments and I think that’s what makes him such a special player — because when the stakes are the highest, he steps up and gets the team going,” Indiana linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “He’s a guy that people want to get behind and run a play for.”
Mendoza became the third player with Latino heritage to win the Heisman Trophy. His grandparents on both sides of the family were born in Cuba and during his acceptance speech, he made sure to thank them in Spanish.
In the NFL, Latino players have become a growing demographic. From 2021-25, representation jumped from 12 to 47 players who identify as Latino, with 32 on 53-man rosters at the start of the season. Mendoza is not in the league, but his elevated presence in the college football world has come with extra pressure of representing a culture and proving Latinos can succeed in football.
“To be able to play in this atmosphere in the Rose Bowl, it’s a special moment for myself, for my family, and I would say just being able to play in front of a Hispanic and Latino crowd, it’s what I do,” Mendoza said. “I want to inspire young Latino kids and I want to always represent my culture to the highest.”
On Thursday, Mendoza will take the field for the first time as a Heisman winner, adding another layer of intensity to his game. The award winner is expected to do many national media interviews and Mendoza recently was a prominent voice during a “60 Minutes” segment about Indiana.
“What you see on camera is who he is,” Jones said. “Whether it’s in the locker room or out to eat with some of my teammates, he is one of the more genuine people on the team.”
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti hopes the expectations that come with the Heisman Trophy don’t change the quarterback’s style.
“It’s really critical now that he develops a sharp edge in his preparation and doesn’t play like, ‘Oh, I’m the Heisman Trophy winner and I’ve got to do this or do that,’ because we’ve all been following this game long enough to know we’ve seen some of those performances,” he said.
Cignetti understands the difficulty of the opponent standing in front of Mendoza. The Alabama defense works to throw the quarterback off balance. The Tide have great players who play hard and fast. In order to win, Mendoza and his teammates need to play the way they have all season.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about execution, left tackle doing his job, running back, receiver, and Fernando being on point,” Cignetti said.
Mendoza said he is up to the challenge. When he takes the first snap in Pasadena, he won’t be thinking of personal statistics or awards, he’ll be thinking about the national championship.
“Now we have to get the ultimate team award,” he said.
Alabama understands that stopping Indiana’s powerful offense in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day starts with containing Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
“[Mendoza] is operating at a really high level,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “When you watch the tape and the challenge, really the cry for our guys [is] to have to operate at a really consistent level, and you’re going to have to take away those windows that he’s wanting to get the ball through.”
During top-seeded Indiana’s undefeated season, Mendoza threw for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns for a team that ranked eighth in total offense (472.8 yards per game). Despite his impressive numbers, ninth-seeded Alabama isn’t showing signs of being intimidated by Mendoza heading into the College Football Playoff quarterfinal showdown.
“He’s a man, just like me,” Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III said. “He put himself in a position to achieve the accolades, so we need to make sure we do what we need to, to play our game.”
Added Alabama safety Keon Sabb: “Congrats to him for winning [the Heisman], but we’ll play our game.”
Alabama is planning to put pressure on Mendoza in an effort to force potential turnovers and limit Indiana’s attack, cornerback Zabien Brown said.
“I want to stop quarterbacks whether they’ve won the Heisman Trophy or not,” Wommack added.
