A Final Look At The Heisman Buzz Ahead Of Conference Championship Week
Fifty years ago yesterday (Dec. 2, 1975), Archie Griffin was announced as the 1975 Heisman Trophy winner, making him the first — and still only — two-time winner of the award.
There is an 88-way tie for second place among one-time Heisman winners, all trailing Griffin’s two. That will become an 89-way tie for second on Dec. 13 when the 2025 winner is announced.
We’ll learn our four 2025 finalists on Dec. 8, so let’s take the temperature of Heisman forecasting one more time following last Saturday’s rivalry weekend and ahead of a slate of conference championship games.
Let’s start with The Athletic’s 26-person staff Heisman straw poll, which saw first-place votes doled out to four players. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza received nine and finished first in the poll, edging out second-place Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who had 11 first-place votes.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love was third and had two first-place votes while Ohio State QB Julian Sayin was fourth, snatching four first-place votes. Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez got two third-place votes while Buckeye wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had a second and a third. Three other players had third-place votes.
Mendoza and Sayin will square off in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship game while Pavia and Love are done for the regular season.
Pavia finished with a star turn, leading Vanderbilt to a 45-24 win over rival Tennessee to secure its first 10-win season in program history. He threw for 268 yards and one score and also ran for 165 yards and another touchdown.
Pavia is tied for third nationally in yards per attempt (9.4), sits fourth in QB rating (171.54), is tied or ninth in passing touchdowns (27) and is 14th in passing yards per game (266.0). He has also rushed for 826 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 5.43 yards per carry.
Indiana did not need any heroics from Mendoza to dispatch of Purdue, 56-3, the Hoosier QB posting a modest 117 passing yards and two TDs while rushing for another in less than three quarters of action. Mendoza is first nationally in passing TDs (32), second nationally in QB rating (183.71) and fifth in completion percentage (72.0).
Love wrapped his regular season with 66 rushing yards and a score in Notre Dame’s blowout win at Stanford. He is fifth nationally with 114.33 rushing yards per game and is third with 18 rushing scores.
Sayin helped Ohio State punch its ticket to the Big Ten title game with a three-TD performance in a 27-9 win over rival Michigan, ending a streak of four straight losses in the Big Game. He finished 19-of-26 for 233 yards. He leads the nation in QB rating (184.84) and completion percentage (78.9) and is third in touchdowns (30).
The Athletic broke it down as this: “So the question ahead of Saturday is this: How might voters respond to Mendoza’s performance against Ohio State? History indicates that there’s a lot on the line for him. In the past 25 years, 20 quarterbacks have won the Heisman.
“Fifteen of those 20 played in a conference that featured a championship game during their Heisman seasons. Of those 15, 10 played for a conference championship. Eight won.”
Bleacher Report listed Mendoza and Sayin 1-2 in its Heisman rankings following Week 14. Pavia was third and Love fourth. Grouped behind them was Rodriguez, Georgia QB Gunner Stockton and Alabama QB Ty Simpson. Stockton and Simpson will square off in this weekend’s SEC title game while Rodriguez will lead the Red Raiders against BYU in the Big 12 title game.
Bleacher Report noted Mendoza’s opportunity to make a big impression against Ohio State and its vaunted defense: “Yet that challenge is exactly why Mendoza, the FBS leader in touchdown passes (32), has an enormous chance to prove he deserves the Heisman—and an opportunity to lift two trophies, one collectively and one individually. Or else Sayin may do that instead.”
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde put it like this: “The secondary storyline (of the Big 10 title game) here: a Heisman Trophy showdown between the quarterbacks, Julian Sayin of Ohio State and Fernando Mendoza of Indiana. They’re not the only candidates in the mix (hello, Diego Pavia and others), but a big game in Indy could put the winner over the top.”
On3.com published its own staff Heisman poll (with staff members ranking their top 10) with Pavia in front with 68 points and Mendoza second with 59. Sayin was third with Love fourth with Simpson fifth and Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss sixth. Oregon QB Dante Moore was seventh, Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed was eighth, Smith was ninth and Stockton was 10th.
In USA Today’s “For The Win”, reporter Cory Woodroof seems to have seen enough, and is all in for Pavia, writing: “Pavia not being a lock to be a Heisman Trophy finalist is already ridiculous, if only because they should just… give him the trophy now. Seriously. Give Pavia the Heisman Trophy right now.
“Pavia is the greatest Vanderbilt football player of all time. He has helped elevate Vanderbilt… yes, Vanderbilt… to national contending status. He’s helped make the Vandy James Franklin years look quaint. Fernando Mendoza and Julian Sayin are both excellent quarterbacks, and Jeremiyah Love is a sensational running back. However, if the Heisman four include Mendoza, Sayin, Love and Pavia, Pavia is the winner in a just world.”
Pavia hit the pose on Saturday. We’re no longer sure if that’s bad luck, good luck, or neutral.
Saturday Blitz’s Nicholas Rome argues Sayin may have already secured the award with his performance in the win over Michigan, writing: “Julian Sayin finished his first start in The Game, going 19-26 passing for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns with just 1 interception. While Fernando Mendoza has had an impressive season and Jeremiyah Love may be the most talented player, Julian Sayin most likely just won the Heisman Trophy, going on the road to beat Michigan in a pivotal Top 15 clash, changing the momentum for the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
