Pat McAfee and Dan Orlovsky get heated over one Indiana prospect

Whatever happened in the 2011 Indianapolis Colts locker room between Pat McAfee and Dan Orlovsky must not have been fun, at least based on a recent conversation they had about Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The talk soon led to frustration and anger.

Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback who started five games for Indy in 2011 and won two games, was seemingly trying to argue that Alabama's Ty Simpson was the better prospect than Mendoza, and his "logic" was partly based on Mendoza not necessarily doing well in big games.

That would be a strain as Mendoza led Indiana to the college football championship this past season, and he was clearly a big reason for that. He was the Heisman Trophy-winning player for 2025, after all.

Former Indianapolis Colts Pat McAfee and Dan Orlovsky bicker about Indiana's Fernando Mendoza

McAfee was having none of what Orlovsky was "trying" to say, speaking over his guest on the Pat McAfee Show, and even dropping a couple of F-bombs. The former punter (and First-Team All-Pro in 2014) was miffed, and he should have been.

Perhaps the most testy part of the discussion came when McAfee referred to some speculation that Orlovsky was being paid to hype Simpson ahead of the draft. The former QB and the current QB have the same agent, you see. While no proof exists that Orlovsky is earning some money to promote Simpson, there is a connection.

McAfee mentioned that people with "boots on the ground," seemingly referring to people close to the Indiana Hoosiers football program, saw Mendoza in the "biggest games" and how he played in those contests.

Orlovsky, who is paid a good amount of money to talk football, seemed to foolishly interrupt McAfee and ask, "What 'biggest' games?" The question was nonsensical and beneath someone of Orlovsky's standing, as the "biggest games" would obviously be the college football playoff that the Hoosiers just went through.

McAfee, quite tongue-in-cheek, asked Orlovsky whether the college football "games just don't matter?" The former Colts punter was right in his pushback. Orlovsky has set his own trap.

Orlovsky then said something about giving facts, not opinions, but the whole conversation was based on his wrong opinion that Ty Simpson is a better prospect than Fernando Mendoza. The former QB then stated Mendoza got off to a slow start in the Big 10 championship game against a historically great Ohio State defense.

McAfee then corrected Orlovsky by pointing out Mendoza's second-half performance that led to an Indiana comeback and victory. The whole conversation was tense and simply seemed weird.

The truth is that only time will tell if the Indiana quarterback is better than the Alabama one, but what really matters is that the Las Vegas Raiders obviously believe Fernando Mendoza is the top quarterback in the 2026 draft, as they are certain to take Mendoza with the top pick in the draft. That's reality.

As far as the two former Indianapolis Colts, one came off looking much better than the other, which mirrors their careers. Pat McAfee was a two-time Pro Bowler and accomplished punter. Dan Orlovsky bounced around the league for 10 years, finishing only 2-10 in his 12 starts.