Quarterback Fernando Mendoza entered the transfer portal last year looking for a new challenge.

His younger brother, Alberto, delivered the perfect pitch.

Soon, the freshman who committed to James Madison out of high school and followed coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana persuaded his older, higher-profile brother to join him in Bloomington, and now the Mendoza brothers are the top two quarterbacks for the seventh-ranked and unbeaten Hoosiers.

“It’s that drive to be perfect,” Fernando Mendoza said after last month’s 63-10 rout of then-No. 9 Illinois. “That’s the reason I came here — to become the best quarterback I could and see my development accelerate. I want to keep on accelerating and keep having exponential growth throughout the season.”

Even a master strategist such as Cignetti

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