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What Fernando Mendoza Dante Moore Showdown Could Mean For Nfl Draft

Bonisiwe Shabane
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what fernando mendoza dante moore showdown could mean for nfl draft

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. 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...

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. Here's looking at their seasons before playing again, including what happened in the previous matchup on Oct. 11:

With the 2025 NFL regular season now officially in the books, the top of the order of the 2026 draft is locked into place. For fans of the teams that failed to book a postseason trip, the focus shifts to the future—and the offseason moves that could change their teams’ fortunes. The draft is the best way for bad teams to rebuild. The draft represents hope. Every player that’s picked in the first round could be the catalyst of a new era of success for the team that takes him. It’s still really early in the draft process, and a handful of the biggest names in draft conversations right now could still decide to return to school for another year.

But that’s not going to stop me from building my first mock draft of the season. Using the current draft order via Tankathon, let’s dig into what the first round could look like. The Geno Smith experiment has not gone as the Raiders had hoped, leaving Las Vegas with a massive need at the most important position in sports. The team addresses that hole here, taking a polished and steely signal caller in Mendoza. The Hoosiers star and Heisman winner is an accurate rhythm passer who helped elevate the Indiana football program to new heights. The Raiders surely hope that Mendoza can do that with their franchise as well.

The Jets haven’t exactly had the best luck at picking quarterbacks for, well, forever, but that doesn’t mean they should stop trying. New York grabs a talented passer here in Moore, who throws with good zip and accuracy both from the pocket and on the run. Moore has a limited number of college starts (19 between his time at Oregon and UCLA), but he’s an ascending playmaker with the tools to develop into a franchise quarterback. The Cardinals have holes all over the roster, so they can go in pretty much any direction with this pick. They make a prudent choice in bolstering the offensive line here, grabbing a potential bookend tackle in Fano to pair with 2023 first-rounder Paris Johnson Jr. Fano has experience starting at both tackle spots, but Arizona could drop him on the right side from day one.

There’s no telling what the Cardinals will do at quarterback going forward, but whatever path they take, it’ll help to have some quality blocking up front. 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. Peach Bowl Rematch: Mendoza vs.

Moore Has High Stakes-and NFL Implications Back in October, when Indiana visited Oregon, the quarterback duel between Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard. Mendoza got the win, but neither QB delivered a statement game. Fast forward to now, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The two will meet again in Friday’s Peach Bowl semifinal in Atlanta-this time with a trip to the national championship on the line. But that’s not the only thing riding on this rematch.

With the 2026 NFL Draft looming and quarterback-needy teams like the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets sitting atop the board, Mendoza vs. Moore has become more than a playoff matchup-it’s a potential audition for the No. 1 overall pick. Let’s break down what’s at play, how their seasons stack up, and why this Peach Bowl showdown could shape the future of two NFL franchises. With college football marching toward midseason, preseason narratives surrounding the 2026 NFL Draft have given way to actual on-field insights about the upcoming class. A group of prospects light on stars – and any sense of certainty – has already seen quite the shake-up, with Texas quarterback Arch Manning now looking far more likely to be a 2027...

And while no passer has fully taken command of the top spot, there have been several promising performers who have helped their cause in the first handful of games. With the October slate rolling, here's USA TODAY Sports' latest 2026 NFL mock draft projection, with the order estimated based on current records and opponent winning percentages: Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey might not want to pull the trigger on a high-investment quarterback in a perceived down year at the position, but the NFL's only winless franchise is coming up empty... Mendoza, the Cal transfer who has thrown for 16 touchdowns with just one interception, can offer just that. The 6-5, 225-pound signal-caller has drawn parallels to Jared Goff as a rhythmic distributor who excels within structure. The Jets might be a long way off from giving him any consistency on that front, but a staff largely imported from the Lions should find that package plenty appealing.

Maybe it's foolish to plant your flag in an October mock draft, but here it goes. Moore hasn't been the same fixture of these exercises that other quarterbacks have been, but he's as promising as it gets when it comes to draft-eligible passers in this class. While the 6-3, 206-pounder only has five starts with the Ducks under his belt after an underwhelming freshman campaign at UCLA, he's dazzled by balancing downfield strikes with layered passes all over the field. Perhaps most impressive, however, is the distinct sense of composure he's radiated in piloting the Ducks' high-powered offense. That quality might prove mighty enticing to the Browns, who likely will need more of a true catalyst behind center than Dillon Gabriel, Moore's predecessor with the Ducks. 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.

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