December 13, 2025 / AP
Fernando Mendoza, the mercurial quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first Hoosier to capture college football’s most prestigious award since the trophy’s inception in 1935.
Mendoza received 2,362 first-place votes, outpacing Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 votes), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 votes) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 votes).
The redshirt junior guided Indiana to its 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 adding six rushing scores. Indiana, the last unbeaten team in major college football, will play a College Football Playoff quarterfinal in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
A first-year starter after transferring from California, Mendoza has been the catalyst for an offense that surpassed program records for touchdowns and points set during last season’s surprise run to the CFP. The once lightly recruited Miami native is the second Heisman finalist in school history, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson.
Mendoza is the seventh Indiana player to finish in the Heisman top 10 and his win continues a run of quarterbacks claiming the trophy—four of the last five years—after two-way player Travis Hunter of Colorado broke that streak last season. It also marks back-to-back Indiana top-10 finishes, with Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke placing ninth last year.
