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Dante Moore Vs Fernando Mendoza Qb1 Showdown For The 2026 Nfl Draft

Bonisiwe Shabane
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dante moore vs fernando mendoza qb1 showdown for the 2026 nfl draft

With only two games left before a national champion is crowned, the College Football Playoff Semifinals deliver a headline matchup that transcends wins and losses. When Indiana and Oregon meet again, the spotlight won’t just be on schemes or star receivers, it will be firmly fixed on the two quarterbacks at the center of it all. Fernando Mendoza vs. Dante Moore isn’t just a rematch. It’s a referendum on the future of the 2026 NFL Draft. Both quarterbacks have been elite this season, and many evaluators already view them as the two best quarterback prospects in college football.

Now, with a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship on the line, this semifinal matchup becomes “good on good” at the highest level, two premier signal-callers, two elite defenses, and a chance... To stream WKYC on your phone, you need the WKYC app. Example video title will go here for this video Example video title will go here for this video The Jets, as you know already, don’t have a playoff game to play this week. There is, however, a playoff game taking place Friday night that could have a seismic impact on the future of their franchise.

When Indiana plays Oregon in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta in a College Football Playoff semifinal, the matchup will feature the two top quarterbacks in college football — Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore. Indiana’s Mendoza, the 22-year-old Heisman Trophy winner, is the presumed No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft — for now. The Peach Bowl will present a rare playoff clash between the potential No. 1 and No. 2 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft.

The College Football Playoff semifinal clash between No. 5 Oregon and No. 1 Indiana in the Peach Bowl is a fascinating matchup for multiple reasons. For starters, it’s a rematch of one of the best games that we saw during the regular season, one where the Hoosiers went on the road to Eugene and handed the Ducks a 30-20... It will also serve as a showcase of the potential top two picks in the 2026 NFL Draft with Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore manning the helm at quarterback for both teams. Read our latest 2026 NFL mock draft here with Mendoza and Moore going 1-2.

The Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Jets both own the top two selections in the draft and all signs point them making one of these prospects their next franchise QB. Most analysts are projecting Mendoza to go to Vegas at No. 1, while some like ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. have Moore at the top of their draft boards. The 2015 Rose Bowl battle between Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota was the last time the top two QB’s in a class faced each other in the playoffs right before going No. 1 and 2, respectively, so we’ll be treated to a rarity in tonight’s showdown.

And who knows, the football world may begin siding with Kiper after the final whistle. As we get ready to watch this matchup at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, we’ll go through the strengths and weaknesses of the two QB’s according to various draft analysts and why exactly they’re... Age: 22Hometown: Miami, FLHeight: 6’5”Weight: 225 pounds2025 stats: 72.3 CMP%, 3,172 passing yards, 42 total TD’s, 6 INT’s2025 Accolades: Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Big Ten MVPPro Comparisons: Kirk... Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore has yet to make a decision on if he will or won’t declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. The current focus for Moore and the Ducks is their upcoming College Football Playoff matchup against the James Madison Dukes on Saturday, Dec. 20.

If Moore were to put his name in the draft, how high could he be selected? Former Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback and football commentator Jordan Rodgers went on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday and spoke about Oregon’s Dante Moore. Rodgers is also the younger brother of current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Despite Dante Moore only being 20 years old with 17 career college starts, his name is towards the top of NFL Draft boards. Rodgers believes that Moore can go as high as No. 1 overall.

“I think he absolutely can (be No. 1 pick in 2026 NFL Draft)…He has more upside than Fernando Mendoza. I love Mendoza, but the mobility of Dante Moore and also the fluid throwing motion,” Rodgers said. “He’s the most natural thrower in this entire draft class.” The favorite to go No. 1 overall right now is Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza with odds of -165 according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

Mendoza won the 2025 Heisman Trophy and has his Indiana team ranked No. 1 in the playoff. Moore currently has odds of +320 to go No. 1. If that were to change, Moore will have to play extremely well in the playoff. by William Herman | Jan 9, 2026 | Headlines, NCAA, NFL Draft

<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-987572457 lazyload" src="https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925.avif" alt="Fernando Mendoza" width="1280" height="720" srcset="https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925.avif 1280w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925-300x169.avif 300w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925-1024x576.avif 1024w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925-768x432.avif 768w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925-1080x608.avif 1080w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925-980x551.avif 980w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Fernando-Mendoza-Dante-Moore-010925-480x270.avif 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" />On Friday night, NFL scouts... 1 Indiana faces No. 5 Oregon in their second matchup of the season. The winner clinches a spot in the College Football Playoff National Championship, with both starting quarterbacks firmly atop NFL draft boards: Indiana’s Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s redshirt sophomore sensation Dante Moore. The two first met earlier this season in Eugene, where Indiana earned a 30-20 road victory. Both quarterbacks posted modest stat lines.

Mendoza finished 20-31 for 215 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Moore went 21-34 for 186 yards, adding one touchdown and two interceptions. This weekend’s rematch represents a critical step in the evaluation process. The most valuable tape comes against NFL-caliber competition, and this matchup has it written all over it. Fernando Mendoza vs. Dante Moore: The key stats you need to know in 2026 NFL Draft debate originally appeared on The Sporting News.

Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore didn't have much of a Big Ten quarterback duel when Indiana beat Oregon in the college football regular season. But now that both QBs have led their teams to playoff semifinals, a lot more is at stake. When Mendoza's Hoosiers have their rematch with Moore's Ducks in Friday's Peach Bowl in Atlanta, there will be a trip to the national championship game at stake. The outcome and the related performances will also help determine which QB goes to the top of the draft class in 2026. With the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets having the No.

1 and No. 2 overall picks and badly needing quarterbacks, the franchises will spend a lot of time on vetting Mendoza vs. Moore. Between arm strength, accuracy, pocket presence and intangibles, there's a lot to like about Mendoza (6-5, 225), the Heisman Trophy winner, and Moore, a well-rounded talent. But their head-to-head stats will no doubt have some influence on who ends up coming off the board first. Dante Moore committed three turnovers during Oregon's disastrous first half Friday night.

Stacy Revere / Getty Images Part of the buildup to the Peach Bowl was that the game featured the prospective top two quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft, Indiana’s Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore. Mendoza held up his end of the bargain, tossing five touchdowns on 17 completions in Indiana’s blowout 56-22 win. Moore, however, turned the ball over three times in the first half, including a pick six on the first play from scrimmage. Between Moore’s disappointing showing and developments elsewhere in the class, the overall QB draft picture might be changing. Will the Oregon QB return to school for one more season in hopes of furthering his development (and gaining some redemption from Friday night’s exit)?

How will NFL teams view Alabama QB Ty Simpson, who declared for the draft this week, or electrifying Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, who could be draft bound after the NCAA denied his waiver... Suddenly, there are a lot of moving parts among the ’26 quarterback group — and Moore’s decision about his future (which he must make by Jan. 23) figures to be an important domino. Two of this year’s fastest-rising NFL prospects face off in a battle of Big Ten unbeatens on Saturday and scouts are descending upon Eugene, Oregon, to get a firsthand look. Talent evaluators from virtually every team in the league are expected to attend Saturday’s tilt between No. 7 Indiana and No.

3 Oregon. There is certainly plenty of draft-worthy talent on both rosters, but the buzz surrounding this game centers on playmaking quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore. Mendoza, 22, is the elder statesman of the duo. He entered the season already well known in the scouting community and is already projected as a possible first-round pick. Saturday will be the 25th start of Mendoza’s career, though just his sixth at Indiana. The Cal transfer leads the Big Ten with 16 touchdowns to just one interception.

He’s improved his completion percentage each of his three seasons as a starter despite his average yards-per-attempt also rising each year. He's currently passing at a 73% clip and gaining nearly 10 yards (9.9 to be precise) per dropback. Moore is just 20 years old and on Saturday will make only his 11th career start, but he’s been every bit as impressive as his counterpart, completing longer passes (10.4 yards per attempt) at... He started five games at UCLA as a true freshman in 2023 before transferring to Oregon and backing up Dillon Gabriel last season.

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