For Fernando Mendoza, it was pure elation as Indiana punched their ticket to the National Championship game. The Hoosiers blasted Oregon 56 to 22 in the Peach Bowl.
Simultaneously, for New York Jets fans, it was pure devastation because the dream is officially dead.
Mendoza finished the game 17-of-20 for 177 passing yards with five passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. He added 28 yards rushing on six carries.
“Anyone have a Fernando Mendoza Raiders jersey swap photo? Feels like a useful thing to have ready for the next 3.5 months,” ESPN’s Field Yates posted.
Several draft analysts have said over the last couple of weeks that Mendoza to the Raiders isn’t a lock with the No. 1 overall pick.
After his latest performance in the College Football Playoff, it feels all but a lock now — Mendoza will inevitably be repping the silver and black. It feels like no longer a question of if, but when.
The other thought was maybe the Jets could convince the Raiders to make a trade. Gang Green holds the No. 2 overall pick in the first round. If Las Vegas wasn’t convinced that they wanted Mendoza, maybe they would flip that pick to the Jets for a haul.
Bluntly, the Raiders would be crazy to give up the chance to select the reigning Heisman trophy winner.
“Fernando Mendoza through two games in the College Football Playoff 🎯: 31-36, 369 yards, [and] 8 TDs. [He has] more touchdowns (8) than incompletions (5),” The Sporting News revealed.
The Jets’ chances of landing Mendoza organically or even by trade died on Friday, January 10.
Adding Insult to Injury
All of that stinks for Jets fans, but it would be a little bit easier to swallow if Oregon QB Dante Moore played well on the other side.
Spoiler alert, he didn’t.
He finished 24-of-39 for 285 passing yards with two touchdowns and a pick-six to start the game. Moore was also strip-sacked later in the game, losing a fumble. He finished with -28 rushing yards when you account for all the lost yardage from sacks.
Moore performed so poorly that people started making Jets jokes about him during the game on social media.
“If you blur your eyes a little, you can easily convince yourself that Dante Moore is already playing for the Jets,” Cousin Sal from Jimmy Kimmel Live posted.
“Somehow the Jets broke Dante Moore and he’s not even a jet yet,” Stephen Zantz, host of TOJ Live, wrote on X.
“If you want to know what Dante Moore’s rookie season will look like on the Jets. It’s this,” Jon ‘Stugotz’ Weiner said on X previously Twitter.
“People laughed at me when I said Dante Moore, should he decide to return to Oregon, would be because he wants to develop more. Not to avoid the Jets. After watching the game, I see some Jets fans are hoping the Jets avoid Dante Moore. Life comes at you fast,” Jets analyst Dylan Tereman said.
Moore Remains Undecided on His Football Future
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore told ESPN college football Insider Pete Thamel, “I don’t know my decision yet.”
Moore could return to school and continue to hone his craft. That would leave the Jets high and dry. At this point in the offseason, there doesn’t appear to be a quarterback worthy of taking at No. 2 overall if Moore isn’t available. Perhaps that could change.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini revealed on the “Flight Deck” podcast that the contract the Jets will give to whoever is the No. 2 overall pick is $50 million guaranteed. Nowadays, your draft slot determines how much money you make.
Moore must decide on his future by January 14, ahead of the declaration deadline for the draft.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Jets Dream Is Dead After Dazzling Fernando Mendoza Performance appeared first on Heavy Sports.