Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza Wins Heisman Trophy. Here’s How Sports Illustrated Voted.

Ultimately, I chose Mendoza after on Saturday in an emotional night. Mendoza had a sensational season, willing the Hoosiers to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and a Rose Bowl berth. He threw for 2,980 yards and nation-leading 33 touchdowns this season while adding six additional scores on the ground.

Mendoza earned 2,362 total points and 643 first-place votes to edge Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 points, 189 first-place votes), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 points) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 points). Mendoza also was named the Associated Press Player of the Year, Maxwell Award for the nation’s most outstanding player and the Davey O’Brien Award for the top quarterback in the sport earlier this week.

He became the first Heisman Trophy winner in Indiana history; running back Anthony Thompson was a finalist in 1989. 

Here’s how Sports Illustrated voted for the Heisman. 

Pat Forde’s Heisman ballot 

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Unlike last year, when Travis Hunter was the obvious choice, this was a tough year. I would have liked a five-man ballot and two winners. In addition to the three players I voted for, I could have easily included Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Jacob Rodriguez, the Texas Tech linebacker.

And I really believe both Mendoza and Pavia are worthy of the top spot. Both led the best seasons in the history of their schools. Both had a will to win that made a difference in close games. Both are great leaders.

Ultimately, I chose Mendoza after Others Receiving Votes. He was rocked on the first play and came back. He was at times flustered by the nation’s best defense. And yet he kept making big plays, coming through in the clutch as he had against Oregon, Iowa and Penn State. Mendoza had the highest pass efficiency rating the Buckeyes allowed all season, and he was at his best with the game on the line. Incredible season for Fernando Mendoza.

Bryan Fischer’s Heisman ballot

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This season might have been the most difficult in picking players at all three spots on the ballot with both quality and quantity of deserving candidates and little separation between them. 

After careful consideration, I filled out my ballot with Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia at No. 1, followed by Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love. And yes, just for the record, I got a decent night of sleep after the Big Ten championship game and took in all that Selection Sunday had to offer before clicking vote on that trio of phenomenal players in that specific order. 

Calling Pavia dynamic might be underselling the Vandy quarterback short, especially when you factor in that he led every Power 4 player in total offense this season and was fourth in FBS in passing efficiency. He set a host of school records and delivered 10 wins to the program for the first time ever. Maybe more than that, he made the Commodores relevant. 

It’s not often the case that opposing coaches would lament Vanderbilt being on the schedule, but in 2025 it was completely down to who was in charge of the show from behind center. It’s a bit of an overused term to say a kid has moxie, but Pavia measures his by the barrel. Pavia backs it up by accounting for a remarkable 71% of the team’s total offense and nearly six of every 10 of their touchdowns.

No wonder he became the first SEC player since Jayden Daniels won the Heisman to rush for over 150 yards and pass for 250-plus yards in the same game—something he nearly did twice in November.

Pavia was simply a must-watch this season. His entire final month (he led the country in passing yards on top of carrying the Dores on the ground) helped edge him slightly in my mind ahead of Mendoza by the thinnest of margins. Both quarterbacks defied history with their programs in leading, and often willing, them to unfathomable team success this season. The Indiana star did something truly astonishing in helping capture the CFP’s No. 1 overall seed, and there are no qualms with him flashing the famous stiff-arm in New York this weekend. 

Finally, I did narrowly put Love in at the third spot (please, Heisman Trust, let us start voting for five guys next year!). He was fantastic as the Fighting Irish’s game-breaker between the tackles, finishing third in FBS in rushing yards and touchdowns while delivering plenty of highlight-reel plays. His ability to make your jaw drop in evading defenders, except with limited carries in that opener against Miami crucially, got him the small nod over trying to decide between either of Texas Tech’s stellar defensive duo of Jacob Rodriguez and David Bailey or Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith. 

It was a tough one this year to both narrow down and order, but that’s reflective of a season which delivered so many great players, quality stories and fantastic moments. That seems to be life nowadays when it comes to turning in the Heisman vote, but we’ll file that under good problems to have given all the sport is going through. 

More College Football from Sports Illustrated

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