Miami Hurricanes LB Wesley Bissainthe Reflects on Past Mendoza Hit and Prepares for Indiana Showdown

You could say that Miami LB Wesley Bissainthe and Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza are very well acquainted. That’s because their paths collided – literally – when the Canes faced Cal last year. Mendoza took a hard hit from Bissainthe that the QB says knocked him out.

“I think it was the last quarter, we were down by, what, a touchdown, and they were driving the ball,” Bissainthe recounts. “And I just remember dropping back in the coverage, and I told myself in my head, if he runs, I’m going to make him pay for it. So he just took off. And I took off, too. And I just — everything, it just happened.

“Thank God I didn’t get kicked out for targeting. But it was a great play. And I’m grateful that my team was able to come out with a W.”

Yes, Miami won that game, and now the two players’ paths are colliding again Monday night in the national title game. Will Bissainthe make Mendoza pay again? Will the QB who won the Heisman with his new team this season after throwing for 41 TDs get the last laugh?

Stay tuned.

“Mendoza’s a great player,” Bissainthe said. “He’s a great football player. He’s smart. He’s mobile, and he gets his job done for his team.”

Bissainthe has been at Miami since the start. And we’re not talking about this season. The team’s suffered through 5-7 and 7-5 seasons to begin Mario Cristobal’s tenure.

“When Mario first got here, he had a vision,” Bissainthe said. “And I just wanted to be a part of it. I came, I committed to The U. And we just went to work, put our head down and went to work and we grinded. And look where we are now.”

The excitement is palpable for this final game.

“I don’t have words,” Bissainthe said. “It feels like a dream. Just a local kid growing up in Miami, able to play the National Championship in Miami. It’s nothing else I could ask for. Something I worked my whole life for. I’m very excited for this moment.”

As for upcoming opponent Indiana? The offense averages 42.6 points and 461.0 yards per game (218.3 rushing), and the defense only gives up 11.1 points and 260.9 yards (just 75.0 rushing).

On offense it all starts with Mendoza, as mentioned earlier. He makes few mistakes, with just six interceptions all season. At WR Omar Cooper has a team-high 64 catches and 866 yards with 15 TDs; Elijah Sarratt is right there as well with 62 receptions for 802 yards and 15 scores (had two TDs vs. Oregon). And Charlie Becker has tacked on 614 yards and four scores. The run game has a 1-2 punch of Roman Hemby (1,060 yards, 7 TDs) and Kaelon Black (961 yards, 10 TDs), and the veteran O line is all two-year or more starters and has given up 22 sacks in 15 games with a run game averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

“We’ve just got to be disciplined,” Bissainthe says. “Everyone has to do their job. Everyone has to do their one-on-one. If we do that, everything else will take care of itself. You don’t want to press and make plays. Everyone has to do their job each and every play.”

A final thought?

That’s on what’s made Miami so special this season.

“I feel like our chemistry,” Bissainthe said. “I feel like this offseason we built a bond that got us here. We knew that we had to play for each other. I feel like nobody is on the field playing for themselves. We’re all playing for each other.”