Heisman Trophy Rankings: Mendoza Still on Top Heading Into Rivalry Week
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There’s plenty that still needs to be decided in the final week of the regular season. Spots in conference championship games are up for grabs, College Football Playoff cases are still to be made and then there’s the small matter of a tightly contested Heisman Trophy race that figures to spill over into December.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is still entrenched as the leader. Nothing Ohio State’s Julian Sayin or Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed has done in recent weeks has knocked him out of pole position. Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia is making a serious case for an invite to New York and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love has come on strong, but the race appears to have narrowed down heading into rivalry week.
If all goes according to plan this week, Sayin and Mendoza will finally meet head-to-head in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis and settle this debate on the field. Reed might also have an opportunity to make his case if his Aggies advance to Atlanta to play for the SEC title.
The latest development in the betting markets is that Mendoza has moved to the odds-on favorite, followed by Sayin, Love and Pavia with Reed actually a distant fifth option. Here’s how Athlon Sports ranks the top contenders for the award with one week remaining in the regular season.
Heisman Trophy Watch: Ranking the Top Contenders after Week 13
1. Fernando Mendoza — QB, Indiana (Last Week: 1)
Week 13: Idle
Season Stats: 203-for-278 (73%), 2,641 yards (9.5 YPA), 30 TD, 5 INT; 62 carries, 216 yards (3.5 YPC), 5 TD
Mendoza maintained his grip as the Heisman frontrunner while the Hoosiers were idle. He’s now tied for the national lead in touchdown passes, and his numbers are elite across the board heading into the regular-season finale against Purdue. Indiana beat the Boilermakers 66-0 a season ago, and this year’s Hoosiers team is even better, so Mendoza could potentially pad his stats ahead of a likely trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
Mendoza is at the helm of the No. 2 scoring offense in the country, and the Hoosiers stand to set a new program record for wins in a season if they handle Purdue as expected. The race between Mendoza and Sayin for the top spot will likely have to be settled in the conference championship game, assuming they both make it there with wins this week. If Mendoza does bring home the hardware, he will become IU’s first Heisman winner.
2. Julian Sayin — QB, Ohio State (Last Week: 2)
Week 13 (42-9 W vs. Rutgers): 13-for-19, 157 yards, 2 TD
Season Stats: 230-for-301 (79.4%), 2,832 yards (9.4 YPA), 27 TD, 4 INT; 27 carries, 20 yards (0.7 YPC)
Sayin was largely quiet once again in a Buckeyes blowout. He didn’t play the fourth quarter of a rout over Rutgers with Ohio State up big. Sayin’s 68% completion rate brought him under 80% for the season, but he still leads the country in that metric and is poised to set an FBS record for accuracy.
Up next for the Buckeyes is the biggest game of the season. Having been on the roster for the loss last year to Michigan, Sayin understands what’s at stake in the sport’s biggest rivalry. A strong performance against the Wolverines could also make the Heisman race more of a toss-up heading into the Big Ten Championship Game. A head-to-head win over Mendoza and the Hoosiers is likely the only way Sayin can overtake the odds-on favorite.
3. Marcel Reed — QB, Texas A&M (Last Week: 3)
Week 13 (48-0 W vs. Samford): 10-for-15, 120 yards, 3 TD; 1 carry, 4 yards
Season Stats: 189-for-306 yards (61.8%), 2,752 yards (9.0 YPA), 25 TD, 8 INT; 77 carries, 395 yards (5.1 YPC), 6 TD
Unlike last week, when Reed had to lead the Aggies back from a four-score deficit, he left Saturday’s game against Samford early in the second quarter with the game seemingly decided. But before he took the bench, Reed added three touchdowns to his season total in another Texas A&M romp.
That won’t help Reed’s Heisman case, but it certainly doesn’t hurt, either. That was his fifth consecutive game with multiple touchdown passes, a streak he’ll try to extend against archrival Texas this week. A win over the Longhorns would go a long way for Reed to bridge the gap between the Big Ten’s best. At the moment, an invite to New York seems inevitable, though a win there would likely require an SEC championship to round out Reed’s already-impressive résumé.
4. Diego Pavia — QB, Vanderbilt (Last Week: 5)
Week 13 (45-17 W vs. Kentucky): 33-for-39, 484 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 15 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD
Season Stats: 224-for-312 (71.8%), 2,924 yards (9.4 YPA), 26 TD, 6 INT; 132 carries, 661 yards (5.0 YPC), 8 TD
Pavia’s record-setting season continued at Kentucky’s expense. He racked up over 500 yards of offense to build on what’s been the Commodores’ best season in program history. Pavia set a new career high and a Vanderbilt record with 484 passing yards to inch closer to the 3,000-yard threshold. He extended his streak with a rushing touchdown to five games. He also threw as many incompletions (six) as he had total touchdowns.
A trip to the College Football Playoff is up for grabs for Vandy in the regular-season finale. It will take a win at Tennessee to merit at-large consideration, but the way Pavia is playing, that’s very much in play. Pavia’s statistical case, particularly when factoring in his rushing production, is on par with his top competition. The two losses for the ’Dores hurt his case, but he has the profile of a finalist at the very least.
5. Jeremiyah Love — RB, Notre Dame (Last Week: NR)
Week 13 (70-7 W vs. Syracuse): 8 carries, 171 yards, 3 TD
Season Stats: 185 carries, 1,306 yards (7.1 YPC), 17 TD; 26 receptions, 274 yards (10.5 YPR), 3 TD
Is it possible that Love’s best game of the season was one in which he touched the ball just eight times? The star Fighting Irish running back found the end zone on three of those carries, scoring from 14, 45 and 68 yards out. Love is second among all position players with 20 total touchdowns on the season, and he ranks No. 3 nationally in rushing yards.
Love’s breakaway ability combined with his nose for the end zone makes for a deadly combination. He’s scored in 10 straight games, has seven multi-touchdown games, and his rushing average leads all players with 150-plus attempts. Notre Dame looks like a College Football Playoff team, assuming a win over Stanford in the regular-season finale. Without the benefit of a conference championship game, that’s Love’s last opportunity to wow voters and earn an invite to New York.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Nov 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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