NEW YORK (AP) — Fernando Mendoza, the enthusiastic quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, 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 received 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. He defeated Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 points), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 points) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 points).
Mendoza’s Heisman win was emphatic. He finished first in all six Heisman Regions, the first to do so since Caleb Williams in 2022. He was named on 95.16% of all ballots, tied with Marcus Mariota for the second-most in the award’s history in 2014, and he received 84.6% of the total possible points, the seventh-highest in Heisman history.
“I haven’t seen the numbers yet,” Mendoza said, “but it’s such an honor to be mentioned along with these guys (Pavia, Love and Sayin). It’s really an honor for our team. It’s a team award.”
Mendoza led the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 ranking and the top seed in the 12-team College Football bracketthrew for 2,980 yards and a national-best 33 touchdown passes, while also running for six scores. Indiana, the last undefeated team in major college football, will play a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Mendoza, the Hoosiers’ first-year starter after transferring from California, is the trigger man for an offense that surpassed program records for touchdowns and points during last season’s surprise run to the CFP.
A redshirt junior, the only time lightly recruited Miami native is the second Heisman finalist in school history, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza is the seventh Indiana player to earn a top-10 finish in Heisman voting and it marks another first in program history – with back-to-back players in the top 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke finished ninth last year.
With his teammates chanting “HeismanDoza” as he addressed the media, he said there felt like a realistic chance to win the Heisman when the Hoosiers routed and then No. 19 Illinois 63-10 on September 20.
“At that point my guys (teammates) said we might come to New York (for the awards ceremony),” he said. “It was light-hearted at the time, but then it started.”
Quarterbacks have won the Heisman four of the past five years, with two-way player Travis Hunter of Colorado ending last season’s run.
Mendoza is the 43rd quarterback to win the Heisman and the second winner of Hispanic descent to claim the trophy. Jim Plunkett of Stanford was the first in 1970.
“Although I grew up in America, my four grandparents are all from Cuba,” he said. “I had the opportunity to go there and that was important to me. I owe the love to my grandparents and the Hispanic community.”
The presentation of the Heisman Trophy came after a number of awards had already been presented. Mendoza was mentioned The Associated Press Player of the Year earlier this week and got the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Awards Friday night as Love won the Doak Walker Award.
Mendoza and Pavia are a clear example of the changing landscape of transfer portal usage in college football. Mendoza is the seventh transfer in the past nine years to win this award. Vanderbilt is Pavia’s third school.
Confident Commodore
Pavia finished second with 189 first-place votes. He threw for a school-record 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Commodores, who were pushing for a CFP berth until the bracket announcement. He is the first Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt history.
Pavia, generously listed as 6-foot-4, led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season, along with six wins against Southeastern Conference foes. That includes four wins over ranked programs as Vandy reached No. 9, the highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1937.
Pavia went from undrafted out of high school to high school, New Mexico State and finally Vanderbilt in 2024 through the transfer portal.
Vandy next plays Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl on December 31.
Irish love
The last running back to win the Heisman was Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Love put himself in the mix with an excellent season for Notre Dame. He finished in first place with 46 votes.
The junior from St. Louis was fourth in the Bowl Subdivision in yards rushing (1,372), fifth in average per game (114.3) and third with 18 rushing touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, who missed out on a CFP bid and opted not to play in a bowl game.
He was the first player in Notre Dame’s storied history to produce multiple TD runs of 90 or more yards, a 98-yarder against Indiana in the first round of last year’s playoffs and a 94-yarder against Boston College earlier this season.
The Buckeyes leader
Sayin led the Buckeyes to a No. 1 ranking for most of the season, throwing for 3,329 yards while ranking second in the nation with 31 TD passes prior to their CFP quarterfinal game in the Cotton Bowl on December 31.
The sophomore from Carlsbad, California, 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 winning the starting job. He led the Buckeyes to a 14–7 victory in the opener against preseason No. 1 Texas and kept the team atop the AP Top 25 for 13 straight weeks, tying the second-longest streak.
Sayin follows a strong line of Ohio State quarterbacks since coach Ryan Day arrived in 2017. Dwayne Haskins (2018), Justin Fields (2019), CJ Stroud (2021) and Kyle McCord (2023) averaged 3,927 passing yards, 40 TDs and six interceptions along with a 68.9% completion percentage during their first seasons.
