Fernando Mendoza: "Go Bears Forever"
8,977 Views |
62 Replies |
Last: 3 days ago by oski003
“THAT WAS AN AMAZING COMEBACK … I LOVE MY BOYS … GO BEARS FOREVER!”
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 24, 2024
Fernando Mendoza overcome with emotion after his game-winning drive vs. Stanford 🥹@CalFootball | @qb_fernando pic.twitter.com/yYZvGQDhPY
Go Bears Forever!
Go Bears Forever - Heisman Mendoza
Lots of mixed feelings from Cal fans about Nando. But he did what was best for him. He wouldn't have been the heisman winner, national champion or first overall pick if he stayed here. Not under Wilcox.
I was rooting against him last year bases off rumors that I'm not even sure are true.
Good for him and his success and glad he still recognizes that he will always be a Bear even if everyone will remember his CFB moments as a Hoosier.
I was rooting against him last year bases off rumors that I'm not even sure are true.
Good for him and his success and glad he still recognizes that he will always be a Bear even if everyone will remember his CFB moments as a Hoosier.
Mendoza became a Hoosier to get his revenge on the Miami player who targeted him (no call) in the Cal game. Mendoza ran through that same player in the iconic touchdown run in the national championship
Go Bears Forever - Heisman Mendoza
lmao "Go Bears forever" and then quits the team the next day
And some people here still love him. What an era of college football we are in.
And some people here still love him. What an era of college football we are in.
kal kommie said:
lmao "Go Bears forever" and then quits the team the next day
And some people here still love him. What an era of college football we are in.
He wasn't on the Cal football team on Saturday.
Mendoza graduated, like most people who graduate went on to his profession at Indiana. Unlike most graduates, in just 1 year, he accomplished a height of graduated bears that no one has ever accomplished in the history of the university.
After you graduated, what did you do in that small period of time? (I was busy studying for the R.E. Brokers license)
Has done nothing but made me proud since he's left.
After you graduated, what did you do in that small period of time? (I was busy studying for the R.E. Brokers license)
Has done nothing but made me proud since he's left.
tc3590 said:
Lots of mixed feelings from Cal fans about Nando. But he did what was best for him. He wouldn't have been the heisman winner, national champion or first overall pick if he stayed here. Not under Wilcox.
I was rooting against him last year bases off rumors that I'm not even sure are true.
Good for him and his success and glad he still recognizes that he will always be a Bear even if everyone will remember his CFB moments as a Hoosier.
He was absolutely not playing football next year if he stayed at Cal. Cal FANS didn't recognize how good he was and still claim he wasn't good.
Cal fans talk so much **** about how smart you have to be to go to Cal, and then someone does the objective best thing, and some of our more simple Cal fans can't comprehend it.
In this era, it's absolutely no different than Rodgers, except if Nando stayed he ruins his career for nothing. If Rodgers stays we probably win a national championship and he doesn't get drafted so late. And Cal fans love them some Rodgers (until they find out his opinions don't align with theirs).
kal kommie said:
lmao "Go Bears forever" and then quits the team the next day
And some people here still love him. What an era of college football we are in.
Yeah, that's like being an Oklahoma City Thunder fan whose favorite player is Kevin Durant.
LunchTime said:tc3590 said:
Lots of mixed feelings from Cal fans about Nando. But he did what was best for him. He wouldn't have been the heisman winner, national champion or first overall pick if he stayed here. Not under Wilcox.
I was rooting against him last year bases off rumors that I'm not even sure are true.
Good for him and his success and glad he still recognizes that he will always be a Bear even if everyone will remember his CFB moments as a Hoosier.
He was absolutely not playing football next year if he stayed at Cal. Cal FANS didn't recognize how good he was and still claim he wasn't good.
Cal fans talk so much **** about how smart you have to be to go to Cal, and then someone does the objective best thing, and some of our more simple Cal fans can't comprehend it.
In this era, it's absolutely no different than Rodgers, except if Nando stayed he ruins his career for nothing. If Rodgers stays we probably win a national championship and he doesn't get drafted so late. And Cal fans love them some Rodgers (until they find out his opinions don't align with theirs).
If only Jared Goff had transferred to a better program before his last year in college, who knows, maybe he could've gone on to become a high draft pick (maybe not #1, but high) and followed that with a successful career in the NFL!
There's no doubt that some folks on this site are still sticking pins in their Brennan Scarlett voodoo doll.
Big C said:LunchTime said:tc3590 said:
Lots of mixed feelings from Cal fans about Nando. But he did what was best for him. He wouldn't have been the heisman winner, national champion or first overall pick if he stayed here. Not under Wilcox.
I was rooting against him last year bases off rumors that I'm not even sure are true.
Good for him and his success and glad he still recognizes that he will always be a Bear even if everyone will remember his CFB moments as a Hoosier.
He was absolutely not playing football next year if he stayed at Cal. Cal FANS didn't recognize how good he was and still claim he wasn't good.
Cal fans talk so much **** about how smart you have to be to go to Cal, and then someone does the objective best thing, and some of our more simple Cal fans can't comprehend it.
In this era, it's absolutely no different than Rodgers, except if Nando stayed he ruins his career for nothing. If Rodgers stays we probably win a national championship and he doesn't get drafted so late. And Cal fans love them some Rodgers (until they find out his opinions don't align with theirs).
If only Jared Goff had transferred to a better program before his last year in college, who knows, maybe he could've gone on to become a high draft pick (maybe not #1, but high) and followed that with a successful career in the NFL!
Goff played in one of the best offenses in the country, He broke every Cal passing record. At Cal, Mendoza played in one of the worst offenses in the country (#90) and then when Wilcox brought in new staff, we lost all our RBs and WRs. We were plauged by WR drops. We had no running game. At Indiana he was surrounded by talent. If he stayed, some people would have seen that Mendoza was talented, but there are a lot of talented college QBs, there is no way he goes early.
calumnus said:Big C said:LunchTime said:tc3590 said:
Lots of mixed feelings from Cal fans about Nando. But he did what was best for him. He wouldn't have been the heisman winner, national champion or first overall pick if he stayed here. Not under Wilcox.
I was rooting against him last year bases off rumors that I'm not even sure are true.
Good for him and his success and glad he still recognizes that he will always be a Bear even if everyone will remember his CFB moments as a Hoosier.
He was absolutely not playing football next year if he stayed at Cal. Cal FANS didn't recognize how good he was and still claim he wasn't good.
Cal fans talk so much **** about how smart you have to be to go to Cal, and then someone does the objective best thing, and some of our more simple Cal fans can't comprehend it.
In this era, it's absolutely no different than Rodgers, except if Nando stayed he ruins his career for nothing. If Rodgers stays we probably win a national championship and he doesn't get drafted so late. And Cal fans love them some Rodgers (until they find out his opinions don't align with theirs).
If only Jared Goff had transferred to a better program before his last year in college, who knows, maybe he could've gone on to become a high draft pick (maybe not #1, but high) and followed that with a successful career in the NFL!
Goff played in one of the best offenses in the country, He broke every Cal passing record. At Cal, Mendoza played in one of the worst offenses in the country (#90) and ...
... for a coach that was pining/searching for a dual threat QB...
The fact that we have JKS, who objectively speaking has a higher ceiling than FM, and a new staff that is off to an outstanding start makes it a lot easier to forgive Mendoza leaving Cal.
Cal88 said:
The fact that we have JKS, who objectively speaking has a higher ceiling than FM, and a new staff that is off to an outstanding start makes it a lot easier to forgive Mendoza leaving Cal.
Absolutely. I can honestly say "It all worked out for the best."
Cal88 said:
The fact that we have JKS, who objectively speaking has a higher ceiling than FM, and a new staff that is off to an outstanding start makes it a lot easier to forgive Mendoza leaving Cal.
I can see no negative aspects to Mendoza embracing being a UC Berkeley graduate.
If one of the most high-profile football players wants to do that, it's fine by me!
Fernando Mendoza named to TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports https://www.raiders.com/news/fernando-mendoza-time100-most-influential-people-in-sports-2026
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
kal kommie said:
lmao "Go Bears forever" and then quits the team the next day
And some people here still love him. What an era of college football we are in.
And Tosh Lupoi is Cal's head coach and you love him!
Go Bears Forever.
Go Bears Forever - Heisman Mendoza
PAC-10-BEAR said:kal kommie said:
lmao "Go Bears forever" and then quits the team the next day
And some people here still love him. What an era of college football we are in.
And Tosh Lupoi is Cal's head coach and you love him!
Go Bears Forever.
Didn't you hear? Tosh didn't do anything wrong. That's what our insiders said when he was hired. Of course these are the same insiders who told us he was a heinous traitor 15 years ago and have never explained the contradiction but no one cares anymore.
Anyway, however I feel about Tosh personally, I have to put that away if I'm going to keep rooting for this team. It's a pragmatic sanction I don't need to make for the QB of a franchise I want to see lose regardless.
Nando gave us one of the most memorable Big Game victories ever. He repped the school well, and continues to do so. He graduated in Blue and Gold from Haas. And he clearly still thinks highly of his time at Cal.
I was sorry to lose him. But things worked out better for him. And things worked out just fine for Cal.
He will always be a Bear for me. And if people want to hold on to a grudge, no big. It's their cancer, not mine.
TomBear said:
Nando gave us one of the most memorable Big Game victories ever. He repped the school well, and continues to do so. He graduated in Blue and Gold from Haas. And he clearly still thinks highly of his time at Cal.
I was sorry to lose him. But things worked out better for him. And things worked out just fine for Cal.
He will always be a Bear for me. And if people want to hold on to a grudge, no big. It's their cancer, not mine.
+1
Nando threw a TD in his first drive in his first NFL start (preseason) just now. Unfortunately, it was an 80 yard pick six by a Texans linebacker.
oski003 said:
Nando threw a TD in his first drive in his first NFL start (preseason) just now. Unfortunately, it was an 80 yard pick six by a Texans linebacker.
that's what preseason is for.
OC Bear said:oski003 said:
Nando threw a TD in his first drive in his first NFL start (preseason) just now. Unfortunately, it was an 80 yard pick six by a Texans linebacker.
that's what preseason is for.
I agree. Hopefully, he learns to pass to "his boys" and doesn't get insecure when Cousins starts.
OC Bear said:oski003 said:
Nando threw a TD in his first drive in his first NFL start (preseason) just now. Unfortunately, it was an 80 yard pick six by a Texans linebacker.
that's what preseason is for.
I watched two drives of his right after that, and he looked phenomenal, with two perfect passes for first downs, both of which were dropped by the same dude. Terrible. Fernando has a bright future in the NFL, but not if they don't get some receivers. Pass protection was decent, it seemed.
Agreed, how Fernando bounced back from teh Pick-6 was key. Didn't get frustrated and came out and led the next drives like a Vet.
Fernando has "it". He had it at Cal and he had it at Indiana. I found myself turning on the sorry Raiders preseason game just to watch him. Pretty sure I am not alone.
Fernando's final preseason game hasn't been much better, unfortunately. He was 7/14 for 51 yards with a 4.1 average with a pick and was sacked twice for a QBR of 31. His preseason QBR is 37. Meanwhile, Ram's Ty Simpson is killing it,.
oski003 said:
Fernando's final preseason game hasn't been much better, unfortunately. He was 7/14 for 51 yards with a 4.1 average and was sacked twice for a QBR of 31. His preseason QBR is 37. Meanwhile, Ram's Ty Simpson is killing it,.
You forgot the bad interception. One completion he threw behind the receiver who had to reach back across his body and one-hand it. One completion was a dump-off where 2 LBs missed an easy tackle on the RB. It was somehow a worse performance than the stats suggested.
I put the stopwatch on him a few times last night. He had 3 seconds of protection several times….which is a lot. He won't get that much when 1st string pass rushers play against the Raiders' O line.
I still have faith in him and his future. The kid is a winner. You can't teach that.
I still have faith in him and his future. The kid is a winner. You can't teach that.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
bearister said:
I put the stopwatch on him a few times last night. He had 3 seconds of protection several times….which is a lot. He won't get that much when 1st string pass rushers play against the Raiders' O line.
I still have faith in him and his future. The kid is a winner. You can't teach that.
National Championship QBs over the past 15 years:
Mendoza
Will Howard
JJ McCarthy
Stetson Bennett
Stetson Bennett
Mac Jones
Joe Burrow
Trevor Lawrence
Tua Tagovailoa
Deshaun Watson
Jake Coker
Cardale Jones
Jameis Winston
AJ McCarron
AJ McCarron
Some of them did okay in the NFL. Most failed. I don't think any have won a Super Bowl.
bearister said:
I put the stopwatch on him a few times last night. He had 3 seconds of protection several times….which is a lot. He won't get that much when 1st string pass rushers play against the Raiders' O line.
I still have faith in him and his future. The kid is a winner. You can't teach that.
"Just a winner" apparently = doesn't win until he's on a roster with 8 draft picks, including 6 on offense.
The Raiders made a very poor evaluation on Mendoza, particularly as a scheme fit. Most of his production came on shotgun RPOs. Very little experience under center, and even less in wide-zone, heavy PA. He doesn't recognize pressure pre-snap, takes a lot of sacks (sacks are a QB stat). So when you have him have his back to the defense he's going to struggle.
Plus his corny **** is going to grow real old around a bunch of grown men professionals when they're going 3-14.
The transition from a professional football organization, be it minor league or not, to the Las Vegas Bananas can't be easy.
My other predictions that got buried under dump trucks of criticism on BI:
1. My contention after seeing him as a Coug frosh that Klay would be a good NBA player; and
2. During his 1st Cal season when I said Goff would go in the First Round of NFL draft.
Mendoza has an uphill battle if he stays a Raider, an organization that suffers from terminal institutional rot.
If Nando had remained a Cal Bear, you jilted girlfriends would have softer opinions.
1. My contention after seeing him as a Coug frosh that Klay would be a good NBA player; and
2. During his 1st Cal season when I said Goff would go in the First Round of NFL draft.
Mendoza has an uphill battle if he stays a Raider, an organization that suffers from terminal institutional rot.
If Nando had remained a Cal Bear, you jilted girlfriends would have softer opinions.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
ac_green33 said:bearister said:
I put the stopwatch on him a few times last night. He had 3 seconds of protection several times….which is a lot. He won't get that much when 1st string pass rushers play against the Raiders' O line.
I still have faith in him and his future. The kid is a winner. You can't teach that.
"Just a winner" apparently = doesn't win until he's on a roster with 8 draft picks, including 6 on offense.
The Raiders made a very poor evaluation on Mendoza, particularly as a scheme fit. Most of his production came on shotgun RPOs. Very little experience under center, and even less in wide-zone, heavy PA. He doesn't recognize pressure pre-snap, takes a lot of sacks (sacks are a QB stat). So when you have him have his back to the defense he's going to struggle.
Plus his corny **** is going to grow real old around a bunch of grown men professionals when they're going 3-14.
The National Anthem for jilted girlfriends everywhere:
*If the Raiders could tolerate Derek Carr's moronic schtick, they can handle unbridled enthusiasm from a guy with a brain….plus I doubt he will turn out to be a choke like Carr……but granted, the Raiders suck, HARD, and always will until Blond Moe bows out.
“Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside”
—Jim Morrison
“I love Cal deeply, by the way, what are the directions to The Portal from Sproul Plaza?”
Featured Stories
See All
California Football Announces 2027 Conference Opponents
by Cal Athletics
Friday Night Lights - Week 4
by Ian Firstenberg