This far into his career, Indiana football star Fernando Mendoza has heard it all, including jokes about the Hoosiers quarterback and 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and ABBA's hit song, “Fernando.”
Meeting with the press before the Peach Bowl, Mendoza was asked if he had any thoughts about his future NFL team's fan bases singing “Fernando” as his anthem.
Fernando Mendoza on the growing popularity of ABBA's “Fernando” in Bloomington pic.twitter.com/nG0BdIoexa
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) January 8, 2026
“I mean, it's a great song by ABBA,” he said. “I've heard it a little throughout my high school career, and then early in my college career—it was kind of like a joke with all my friends, and now [it's] just accelerated to a whole other level. So, I mean, I bet if ABBA was checking their phone, [they'd be] like, Wow, this song's getting a lot of plays all of a sudden.
“It's great; I think it's a funny fan song—not fan song, but a funny song that everybody could rally around, especially IU fandom,” he continued.
While he may not say it publicly, Mendoza is likely going to be drafted by an NFL team early in the 2026 Draft. Will that team begin playing ABBA's “Fernando” in the stadium? Time will tell.
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza broke out in 2025
After transferring to Indiana from California, Mendoza hit the ground running. He won the Heisman Trophy (the first Hoosier to win it), Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, and Davey O'Brien Award for his 2025 season.
He passed for 3,172 yards, 36 touchdowns, and just six interceptions in 2025. This was, by far, the best season of Mendoza's collegiate career. He built off his impressive 2024 campaign, during which he passed for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Mendoza also rushed for 256 yards, a career best, and six touchdowns in 2025.
Mendoza helped Indiana go undefeated during the season. They blew out Alabama in the Rose Bowl to advance to the Peach Bowl. Now, they will play the Oregon Ducks on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
