Fernando Mendoza, Indiana's energetic No. 1 quarterback, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first Hoosier to win college football's most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.
Mendoza scored 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. He beat Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 points), Notre Dame running back Jeremy Love (719 points) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 points).
Mendoza's Heisman victory was emphatic. He finished first in all six Heisman regions, the first to do so since Caleb Williams in 2022. His name was mentioned on 95.16 percent of all ballots, tying him with 2014 Marcus Mariota for second place in Award history, and he received 84.6 percent of the total possible points, the seventh-highest total in Heisman history.
“I haven’t seen the numbers yet,” Mendoza said, “but I’m honored to be mentioned with these guys.” [Pavia, Love and Sayin]. This is truly a credit to our team. This is a team award.”
Historical season
Mendoza led the Hoosiers to their No. 1 ranking and No. 1 seed in the 12-team college football bracket, throwing for 2,980 yards and a national-best 33 touchdown passes while also scoring six scores. Indiana, the last undefeated team in major college football, will play a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl.
Mendoza, the Hoosiers' first-year starter after transferring from California, is the mastermind behind an offense that surpassed program records for touchdowns and points set during a surprise CFP appearance last season.
The redshirt junior, once a highly recruited Miami native, became the second Heisman finalist in school history, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza became the seventh Indiana player to finish in the top 10 of the Heisman voting, marking another first in program history of back-to-back players finishing in the top 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke was ninth last year.
As his teammates chanted “HeismanDose” while addressing the media, he said he had a real chance to win the Heisman when the Hoosiers crushed then-No. 19 Illinois 63-10 on Sept. 20.
“At this moment my boys [teammates] said we can get to New York [for the award ceremony]“It was carefree at the time, but that’s when it all started. “
2nd Hispanic Winner
Quarterbacks have won the Heisman in four of the last five years, with two-way player Travis Hunter of Colorado ending the streak last season.
Mendoza is the 43rd quarterback to win the Heisman and the second Hispanic to win the trophy. Jim Plunkett of Stanford was the first in 1970.
“Although I grew up in America, all four of my grandparents were from Cuba,” he said. “I had the opportunity to go there and it was important to me. “I pay tribute to the love of my grandparents and the Latino community.”
The Heisman Trophy presentation came after a number of awards had already been presented. Mendoza was named Associated Press Player of the Year earlier this week and received the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien awards on Friday night, while Love won the Doak Walker Award.
Mendoza and Pavia are prime examples of the changing landscape of college football's transfer portal usage. Mendoza became the seventh transfer to win the award in the last nine years. Vanderbilt is Pavia's third school.
Confident Commodore
Pavia finished in second place with 189 first place votes. He set a school record 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Commodores, who were chasing a CFP berth until the bracket was announced. He is the first Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt history.
Standing at six feet tall, Pavia led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season with six victories over Southeastern Conference opponents. This included four wins over ranked programs as Vandy reached No. 9, its highest ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 since 1937.
Pavia went from being undrafted from high school to junior college, New Mexico State and finally Vanderbilt in 2024 through the transfer portal.
Vandy will next play in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Iowa on Dec. 31.
Irish love
The last running back to win the Heisman was Alabama's Derrick Henry in 2015. Love contributed to an outstanding season for Notre Dame. He finished with 46 first place votes.
The junior from St. Louis was fourth in the division in rushing yards (1,372), fifth in rushing average per game (114.3) and third with 18 rushing touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, who missed out on a CFP bid and chose not to play in the bowl game.
He was the first player in Notre Dame's storied history to make multiple runs of 90 yards or more: 98 yards against Indiana in the first round of last year's playoffs and 94 yards against Boston College earlier this season.
Buckeyes leader
Sain led the Buckeyes to the No. 1 ranking for most of the season, throwing for 3,329 yards and tied for second in the country with 31 passing yards heading into the CFP quarterfinals at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.
The sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif., arrived at Ohio State after initially committing to Alabama and entering the transfer portal following a coaching change. He played four games last season before earning a starting job. He led the Buckeyes to a 14–7 win in the opener over preseason No. 1 Texas and kept the team atop the AP Top 25 for 13 straight weeks, the second-longest mark.
Sain follows a strong line of Ohio State quarterbacks since coach Ryan Day arrived in 2017. Dwayne Haskins (2018), Justin Fields (2019), C.J. Stroud (2021) and Kyle McCord (2023) averaged 3,927 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and six interceptions and a 68.9 percent completion rate in their first seasons.
