NEW YORK (AP) — Fernando Mendoza, the enthusiastic quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, gained the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night time, turning into the primary Hoosier to win faculty soccer’s most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.
Mendoza claimed 2,362 factors, together with 643 first-place votes. He beat Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 factors), Notre Dame working again Jeremiyah Love (719 factors) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 factors).
Mendoza’s Heisman win was emphatic. He completed first in all six Heisman areas, the primary to take action since Caleb Williams in 2022. He was named on 95.16% of all ballots, tying him with Marcus Mariota in 2014 for the second highest within the award’s historical past and he acquired 84.6% of whole attainable factors, which is the seventh highest in Heisman historical past.
“I haven’t seen the numbers but,” stated Mendoza, “nevertheless it’s such an honor to be talked about with these guys (Pavia, Love and Sayin). It’s actually a credit score to our workforce. It’s a workforce award.”
Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 rating and the highest seed within the 12-team College Football bracket, throwing for two,980 yards and a national-best 33 landing passes whereas additionally working for six scores. Indiana, the final unbeaten workforce in main faculty soccer, will play a Faculty Soccer Playoff quarterfinal sport within the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Mendoza, the Hoosiers’ first-year starter after transferring from California, is the triggerman for an offense that surpassed program data for touchdowns and factors set throughout final season’s shock run to the CFP.
A redshirt junior, the as soon as lightly recruited Miami native is the second Heisman finalist at school historical past, becoming a member of 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza is the seventh Indiana participant to earn a top-10 end in Heisman balloting and it marks one other first in program historical past — having back-to-back gamers within the prime 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke was ninth final yr.
Together with his teammates chanting “HeismanDoza” as he addressed the media, he stated there felt like a practical likelihood of successful the Heisman when the Hoosiers routed then No. 19 Illinois 63-10 on Sept. 20.
“At that time my boys (teammates) stated we would make it to New York (for the award ceremony),” he stated. “It was lighthearted on the time, however that’s when it began. ”
Quarterbacks have gained the Heisman 4 of the final 5 years, with two-way participant Travis Hunter of Colorado ending the run last season.
Mendoza is the forty third quarterback to win the Heisman and the second winner of Latin American descent to say the trophy. Stanford’s Jim Plunkett was the primary in 1970.
“Though I grew up in America, my 4 grandparents are all from Cuba,” he stated. “I had the chance to go there and that was vital to me. I credit score the like to my grandparents and the Hispanic group.”
The Heisman Trophy presentation got here after a variety of accolades have been already awarded. Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year earlier this week and picked up the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards Friday night time whereas Love gained the Doak Walker Award.
Mendoza and Pavia clearly exemplify the altering panorama of utilizing the switch portal in faculty soccer. Mendoza is the seventh switch to win the award within the final 9 years. Vanderbilt is Pavia’s third college.
Assured Commodore
Pavia completed second with 189 first-place votes. He threw for a school-record 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Commodores, who have been pushing for a CFP berth all the best way to the bracket announcement. He’s the primary Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt historical past.
Generously listed as 6 ft tall, Pavia led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season together with six wins towards Southeastern Convention foes. That features 4 wins over ranked applications as Vandy reached No. 9, its highest rating in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1937.
Pavia went from being unrecruited out of highschool to junior faculty, New Mexico State and eventually Vanderbilt in 2024 by means of the switch portal.
Vandy subsequent performs within the ReliaQuest Bowl towards Iowa on Dec. 31.
Irish Love
The final working again to win the Heisman was Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Love put himself within the combine with an impressive season for Notre Dame. He completed with 46 first-place votes.
The junior from St. Louis was fourth within the Bowl Subdivision in yards dashing (1,372), fifth in per-game common (114.3) and third with 18 dashing touchdowns for the Combating Irish, who missed out on a CFP bid and opted to not play in a bowl sport.
He was the primary participant in Notre Dame’s storied historical past to provide a number of TD runs of 90 or extra yards, a 98-yarder towards Indiana within the first spherical of final yr’s playoffs and a 94-yarder towards Boston Faculty earlier this season.
Buckeyes’ chief
Sayin led the Buckeyes to a No. 1 rating for many of the season, throwing for 3,329 yards whereas tying for second within the nation with 31 TD passes forward of their CFP quarterfinal on the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.
The sophomore from Carlsbad, California, arrived at Ohio State after initially committing to Alabama and coming into the switch portal following a training change. He performed 4 video games final season earlier than successful the beginning job. He led the Buckeyes to a 14-7 win within the opener towards preseason No. 1 Texas and saved the workforce atop the AP Prime 25 for 13 straight weeks, tying its second-longest run.
Sayin follows a robust lineage of Ohio State quarterbacks since coach Ryan Day arrived in 2017. Dwayne Haskins (2018), Justin Fields (2019), C.J. Stroud (2021), and Kyle McCord (2023) averaged 3,927 passing yards, 40 TDs, and 6 interceptions, together with a 68.9% completion charge throughout their first seasons.
