The 2025 Heisman Trophy finalists — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love — have all had standout seasons, and one of them will win the sport’s most prestigious award on Saturday night.
Mendoza and Sayin will both suit up in the College Football Playoff, while Pavia and Love are done for the season.
We asked FOX Sports’ college football writers to weigh in on how they’d rank the four finalists and why.
1. In what order would you vote for Mendoza, Sayin, Pavia and Love to win the award for the nation’s most outstanding player?
Michael Cohen: 1. Mendoza, 2. Pavia, 3. Sayin, 4. Love
The ongoing revolution at Indiana under second-year head coach Curt Cignetti remains the best story in college football, and a string of transcendent performances from Mendoza have taken the operation to new heights amid the first undefeated season in program history that now includes the school’s first outright Big Ten title since 1945.
Mendoza, a transfer from Cal, was already the Heisman Trophy front-runner entering last week’s conference title game against then-No. 1 Ohio State, though he certainly was still within striking distance of Sayin and Pavia. By the time Mendoza arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium, he’d already guided the Hoosiers to 10 victories by double-digit margins, including a 63-10 evisceration of then-No. 9 Illinois and a thumping 30-20 triumph at Autzen Stadium against then-No. 3 Oregon. He had also authored come-from-behind road wins against Iowa (20-15) and Penn State (27-24) that included bona fide Heisman Trophy-caliber moments in each: his 49-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Elijah Sarratt when facing an all-out blitz from the Hawkeyes with 1:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, and his inch-perfect throw to wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., who made a stunning, toe-tapping grab in the back of the end zone, for the winning score with :36 remaining against the Nittany Lions. They were the kind of season-defining throws voters remember weeks and months later when casting ballots.
Still, by sharing the Big Ten Championship Game stage with Sayin, a first-year starter who has enjoyed a remarkable season in his own right, Mendoza was certainly in a position to be caught or leapfrogged in the Heisman race depending on how that head-to-head showdown unfolded. A dominant, victorious effort from Sayin, who still leads the nation in completion rate at 78.4%, might have been enough to sway certain voters based on the magnitude of the setting. After all, Sayin did finish the regular season with more passing yards than Mendoza.
Neither quarterback was perfect that night in Indianapolis, with both tossing first-half interceptions in a game that evolved into a showcase for the country’s two best defenses. But just as Mendoza had done all season, he manufactured moments of greatness that will be replayed for decades considering how swiftly the Hoosiers have climbed from the Big Ten basement. He connected on a 51-yard heave to wideout Charlie Becker near the midway point of the third quarter on a drive that ended with a beautiful back-shoulder fade to Sarratt, who landed in the end zone for what proved to be the winning score. And when the Hoosiers needed a first down to drain some clock in the fourth quarter — minutes away from securing an improbable victory and the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s CFP — Mendoza dropped another 33-yard beauty down the well to Becker that all but sealed the outcome. He’ll never pay for a meal in Bloomington again.
Piece those highlights together — from Iowa to Oregon, from Penn State to Ohio State — and no quarterback in college football can match what Mendoza has done when it mattered most. He’s wholly deserving of this Heisman.
RJ Young: 1. Mendoza, 2. Sayin, 3. Pavia, 4. Love
Mendoza led Indiana not just to heights it had never reached before but to heights that most college football aficionados like me did not think were within reach for the Hoosiers, even after their program-redefining 2024 season.
While head coach Curt Cignetti deserves a lot of credit, it’s Mendoza who powered Indiana to its first 13-0 season and its first outright Big Ten title in 58 years.
He did it by being one of the most efficient and resilient quarterbacks in the sport this year. His play against Oregon, Penn State and Ohio showed him to be one of the handful who qualify for the sport’s most prestigious individual award. He has also demonstrated the kind of character that exemplifies the best of and what college football is capable of delivering in the young men who get to play this game at the highest level.
His journey to reach this stage in New York represents one his mother always envisioned for him. As I wrote ahead of the Big Ten title game, Mendoza trusted in his mother, Elsa, saying she is the reason he plays this sport with verve.
“I really wanted to play college football,” he told me. “I think I’m better than a lot of these kids. But I’m getting no offers.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” his mother told him. “Your first offer is gonna come.”
“And then it was Yale,” Mendoza said. “That was one of the best days of my life.”
But Elsa saw it as simply part of the process. “You’re gonna get a Power 4 offer,” she told her son, who was skeptical.
“And then I got my first D-I offer,” he said. “I ended up at Cal, and I was just grateful to have a D-I offer.”
Then the game sped up. Mendoza stood on the sidelines. He told his mother he didn’t even know if he was good enough to play there anymore. And, once more, she didn’t budge.
“You’re gonna do great,” Elsa told him.
Laken Litman: 1. Mendoza, 2. Sayin, 3. Love, 4. Pavia
Mendoza has been in the thick of the Heisman Trophy conversation all year. He led Indiana to decisive victories over then-No. 9 Illinois and then-No. 3 Oregon during the regular season, had “Heisman moments” against Iowa and Penn State and helped the Hoosiers defeat big bad Ohio State for the program’s first Big Ten championship since 1967.
Entering the conference title game, the Heisman looked like it was coming down to Mendoza vs. Sayin. Whichever signal-caller played better and led his team to win would take home the award. That will probably end up being exactly what happens. Neither quarterback played their best game — each had an interception in the first half — but Mendoza made more plays to lift his team to victory in a close game. Being at the helm of the group that unseats the No. 1 team to become the top overall seed in the CFP is a surefire way to lock up the Heisman.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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