Diego Pavia Ripped Heisman Voters After Finishing Second Behind Fernando Mendoza

second-place finish in the Heisman Trophy race.
Pavia finished in second place in the 2025 Heisman voting behind Fernando Mendoza.
Pavia finished in second place in the 2025 Heisman voting behind Fernando Mendoza. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
while throwing for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns:

Diego Pavia doesn’t seem too thrilled about his Indianas Fernando Mendoza had won college footballs most prestigious award.

After it was revealed on Saturday night in New York that Indiana's Fernando Mendoza had won college football's most prestigious award—the first Hoosier to do so in program history—the Vanderbilt quarterback took to social media to relay quite the pointed message to the Heisman voters.

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“F-all the voters 👎,” Pavia wrote on his Instagram story, while sharing a post from comedian Theo Von. “But ..... Family for life.”

Diego Pavia.
Diego Pavia finished in second place to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. / Screenshot via @diego10pavia on Instagram

Clearly, the 23-year-old isn’t too thrilled.

Pavia finished the 2025 season with a 71.2% completion percentage, 3,192 passing yards, and 27 passing touchdowns—the most in the SEC—while also adding 826 yards and nine scores on the ground. Additionally, he led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history, as well as its second consecutive bowl game appearance.

Unfortunately, his performance for the Commodores this season wasn’t enough to beat out Mendoza for the award. The Indiana quarterback has led the Hoosiers to an undefeated campaign and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff second-place finish in the Heisman Trophy race.

Pavia did win the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award earlier this month, but that clearly wasn’t enough to satisfy him.


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Mike Kadlick
MIKE KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet in November 2024, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He has a master's in public relations from Boston University. Kadlick is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.