Friday night\u2019s Peach Bowl featured a marquee matchup for New York Jets fans: Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza versus Oregon quarterback Dante Moore.<\/p>\n
Mendoza and Moore are widely considered the two best quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL draft\u2014if both declare, that is. Whether that will happen is uncertain following Friday\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n
Top-ranked Indiana ran away with the College Football Playoff victory, routing the fifth-seeded Ducks by a score of 56-22. Mendoza was stellar, tossing five touchdowns to no interceptions, while it was a rough night for Moore, who threw a pick-six on the game\u2019s first play and lost two fumbles.<\/p>\n
After watching Moore\u2019s struggles on the national stage, many draft analysts are urging the 20-year-old redshirt sophomore to return to Oregon. Moore addressed his hotly anticipated decision while speaking to the media after the loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna soak this moment up, that\u2019s most importantly. Just giving hugs and thank-yous to my teammates,\u201d Moore said. \u201cBut at the end of the day, I don\u2019t know my decision yet. I\u2019m going to talk to Coach [Dan] Lanning, talk to my family and everybody. But at the end of the day, I don\u2019t think about that right now. Just thinking of my teammates and giving love to them.<\/p>\n
So far, the only quarterback with a first-round projection to declare for the draft is Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson (whose intermediate passing skills make him an intriguing fit in the Jets\u2019 scheme<\/a>). Mendoza has yet to declare, although he is widely expected to do so, as he is trending toward becoming a shoo-in for the first overall pick.<\/p>\n With the quarterback-needy Jets slated to pick second overall in the 2026 NFL draft, they could use as many appealing quarterback prospects in the class as possible. The more options, the better. If Moore decides to stay in school, the Jets\u2019 list of options will be a bit slimmer. That could hurt, as the Las Vegas Raiders are widely expected to select Mendoza first overall.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy for Jets fans to shout \u201cwoe-is-me\u201d about potentially missing out on a hyped quarterback prospect by one draft slot yet again, a scenario that played out just five years ago. However, as Jets X-Factor\u2019s Robby Sabo has broken down<\/a>, Mendoza may not be the slam-dunk No. 1 prospect that many people are billing him as.<\/p>\n Indiana\u2019s brilliant offensive scheme, orchestrated by head coach Curt Cignetti, makes life easy on the quarterback. NFL teams will have to figure out how much of Mendoza\u2019s success at Indiana is transferable to the NFL.<\/p>\n