"If there’s a single Heisman Finalist that has done the most for their team, a player who’s gone above and beyond and brought his team to an undefeated season, it would be Fernando Mendoza."
NEW YORK CITY, New York - College Football’s 4 Heisman Finalists are officially in New York City, awaiting their opportunity to earn the greatest single-player award in college sports. The Heisman Finalists of 2025 are Fernando Mendoza from Indiana, Julian Sayin from Ohio State, Jeremiyah Love from Notre Dame, and Diego Pavia from Vanderbilt. However, this article isn’t simply about all of the candidates. Here’s why Fernando Mendoza will easily win the Heisman this season:
Stats Don’t Lie
Sure, stats don’t lie, but they often don’t include what a player has done for their team. If there’s a single Heisman Finalist that has done the most for their team, a player who’s gone above and beyond and brought his team to an undefeated season, it would be Fernando Mendoza.
Mendoza has drastically improved since his earlier seasons, playing with the California Golden Bears in Berkeley, California. He then transferred to the Indiana Hoosiers this season and is having a monster season. This season he’s recorded 2,980 passing yards, throwing the ball with passion while recording 33 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions. Mendoza leads the league in not only passing touchdowns (33) but also total touchdowns responsible for (39). Currently maintaining a pass completion percentage of 71.5%, which shows how confident Mendoza is with throwing the ball, despite being in a very tough conference like the Big Ten. Mendoza also recently won both the Maxwell Trophy (nation’s top player) and the Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s top QB) for the 2025 season. Joining star players with the Davey O’Brien Award, such as Cam Ward from 2024 and Jayden Daniels from 2023.
Undefeated Season For The Hoosiers
Fernando Mendoza led the Indiana Hoosiers to an undefeated season, winning the Big Ten Championship against the Ohio State Buckeyes and sitting at 13-0 as the No. 1 ranked team in college football. During this season, they defeated many ranked teams, such as No. 9 Illinois in Week 4, No. 3 ranked Oregon in Week 7, and of course, No. 1 ranked Ohio State in the Conference Championship Game. Indiana also has one of the nation’s best point differentials, averaging over 25+ points per game. Indiana’s toughest opponent this season by points was Penn State, who scored 24 points on the Hoosiers, the most of any team this season. Not only does Indiana win; they blow the competition out of the water.
History Being Made In Bloomington
The Indiana Hoosiers achieved their first undefeated regular season (12-0) for the first time since 1945. They also won the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 1967, and their first outright championship since 1945. Indiana’s last bowl win was in 1991, defeating Baylor 24-0 in the Copper Bowl. Their last attended bowl game was in 2007, being defeated by Oklahoma State 49-33 in the Insight Bowl. At the start of this season, no Division 1 program had more losses in its history than Indiana’s all-time 715 defeats. Not only has Mendoza been fantastic this season, but he’s also turning the heads of college football fanatics by leading a team like Indiana like he has. A true leader for a program that desperately needed one for decades.
Mendoza also plans to keep the Heisman Trophy in Bloomington if he wins, saying, “I would want to keep the trophy in Bloomington because it belongs there. That’s what I think, as far as everything Hoosier Nation has done for me, if I have the honor and blessing of winning it. I think it would mean so much for the fan base that has stuck through thick-and-thin, to now the Curt Cignetti era.”
Win Over Previously No. 1 Ranked Ohio State
Still not convinced? How about defeating a blue-blood team like Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship? Many different sports analysts predicted for Ohio State to win, such as Chris Hummer and Jeremy Crawford from CBS, Greg McElroy from ESPN, and David Pollack. Even still, as Indiana defeated Ohio State 13-10, many analysts are still hopeful about Ohio State, as John Talty and Chris Hummer from CBS explained, “The Buckeyes lost their final game before the playoff last season and still went on to win the national title. Replicating that script wouldn’t bother anyone in Columbus.”
Unfortunately for Ohio State fans, this team isn’t the same as last season. Indiana is a much different team than the Oregon Ducks, who defeated Ohio State last season in a non-elimination match up.
Despite the masses assuming Ohio State would win, Indiana won in a defensive slug-fest. Indiana won by Fernando Mendoza throwing a beautiful dime pass to Elijah Sarratt in the end zone. The 2nd most likely Heisman candidate by betting statistics is Julian Sayin, who had an inconsistent game against Indiana, being sacked 5 times and an interception on the opening drive. Comparing Mendoza to Sayin isn’t fair; give me Mendoza all 7 days of the week!
Up-Next
Indiana and Ohio State both receive bye weeks to the playoffs, getting an extra week to prepare. Indiana by far has the toughest competition of the bracket, being forced to play the winner from the No. 8 ranked Oklahoma vs. No. 9 ranked Alabama matchup. The Hoosiers have the chance to prove themselves in their upcoming Rose Bowl Game on January 1st.
Ohio State also faces potentially tough competition. They’ll be facing the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami in the Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year’s Eve, December 31st. Ohio State has the potential to complete this season exactly as last season, winning the National Championship, though not if Indiana has anything to say about it!
Key Stat
33 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions
