LAS VEGAS \u2014 As the Peach Bowl played out on screens across Las Vegas, Raiders fans weren\u2019t just watching a College Football Playoff semifinal \u2014 they were tracking the future reminder of their franchise.<\/p>\n
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza delivered a dominant performance against Oregon, completing 17 of 20 passes for 177 yards and five touchdowns as the Hoosiers advanced to the national championship game. Across town at Durango Casino, sportsbooks and fans alike were quick to connect the dots to the 2026 NFL Draft, where the Las Vegas Raidershold the No. 1 overall pick.<\/p>\n
WATCH| Taylor Rocha reports the latest on Peach Bowl performance<\/p>\n
Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Peach Bowl Performance Fuels Raiders Draft Buzz at No. 1<\/p>\n
\u201cSo right now we\u2019re at Fernando Mendoza, probably around minus-400,\u201d said Brandon Kennedy, sportsbook director at Durango. \u201cHe won the Heisman, so he deserves to be the number one favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendoza\u2019s efficiency stood out early and often. He spread five touchdown passes to four different receivers and was sacked just once, controlling the game from start to finish. The performance added to a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that already includes 3,172 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions this season, along with the 2025 Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n
On the other side, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore struggled to find consistency as the Ducks\u2019 offense stalled with turnovers and missed opportunities. The contrast was not lost on fans watching live.<\/p>\n
\u201cFernando Mendoza \u2014 everybody in Raider Nation\u2019s been talking about it,\u201d said Raiders fan Steve Trevilla. \u201cThat would be my pick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others pointed to Mendoza\u2019s approach and decision-making as reasons he projects well at the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need a QB for sure,\u201d said Casey Allison. \u201cI like Indiana\u2019s quarterback. He\u2019s smart. He doesn\u2019t force things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experience also factored into the conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally just like his poise,\u201d said Jerry Wilson, another fan at Durango. \u201cPre-snap intelligence\u2026 I think Mendoza would be a perfect Raider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy said the quarterback need alone keeps Mendoza at the top of the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially for the Raiders this year \u2014 desperate need of a quarterback,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you have the number one pick, there\u2019s nobody picking in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
With months remaining before the draft, evaluations will continue through workouts and interviews. But on this night, watching Mendoza thrive on a playoff stage, the message from Raiders fans in Las Vegas was consistent \u2014 and loud.<\/p>\n
For now, the odds and the eye test point in the same direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2014 As the Peach Bowl played out on screens across Las Vegas, Raiders fans weren\u2019t just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2065],"tags":[5684,5685,5686,7,5687,1744,5688,5689,393,5690,2455,2454,6,5691,5692,525],"class_list":["post-665993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-las-vegas-raiders","tag-13-action-news","tag-abc-13","tag-allegiant-stadium","tag-football","tag-ktnv-tv-channel-13","tag-las-vegas","tag-las-vegas-football-team","tag-las-vegas-nfl","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-las-vegas-sports","tag-lasvegas","tag-lasvegasraiders","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-football-in-las-vegas","tag-nfl-las-vegas","tag-raiders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115870610486155579","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}