Indiana QB Mendoza wins Heisman Trophy

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 claimed 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. He beat 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, tying him with Marcus Mariota in 2014 for the second highest in the award’s history and he received 84.6% of total possible points, which is the seventh highest in Heisman history.

Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 ranking and the top seed in the 12-team College Football bracket, throwing for 2,980 yards and a national-best 33 touchdown passes while also running for six scores. Indiana, the last unbeaten team in major college football, will play a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

Quarterbacks have won the Heisman four of the last five years, with two-way player Travis Hunter of Colorado ending the run last season.

Mendoza is the 43rd quarterback to win the Heisman and the second winner of Latin American descent to claim the trophy. Stanford’s Jim Plunkett 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 credit the love to my grandparents and the Hispanic community.”

The Heisman Trophy presentation came after a number of accolades were already awarded. Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year earlier this week and picked up the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards Friday night while Love won the Doak Walker Award.

Mendoza and Pavia clearly exemplify the changing landscape of using the transfer portal in college football. Mendoza is the seventh transfer to win the award in the last nine years. Vanderbilt is Pavia’s third school.

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 all the way to the bracket announcement. He is the first Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt history.

Generously listed as 6 feet tall, Pavia 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, its highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1937.

Pavia went from being unrecruited out of high school to junior college, New Mexico State and finally Vanderbilt in 2024 through the transfer portal.

Vandy next plays in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Iowa on Dec. 31.


(AP Photo Charlie Niebergall)