Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza named a Heisman finalist
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BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza was named a Heisman Trophy finalist on Monday night.
He will head to New York this weekend for the Heisman ceremony where the winner will be revealed alongside fellow his fellow finalists, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
Mendoza has been one of the favorites to win the award for much of the fall for leading the Hoosiers to the best season in program history. He’s fresh off winning MVP honors in the Big Ten title game in a 13-10 win over Ohio State that helped the program win its first conference title since 1967.
It was also Indiana‘s first win over the Buckeyes since 1988.
“It’s all surreal,” his father Fernando Mendoza IV told The Herald-Times. “We’re very excited for him. You see these things on TV since you were a kid, and dream of that kind of success for your children and wonder, could that really happen? We are just so grateful.”
His parents didn’t get back to Miami from traveling to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game until late Sunday night.
They had a tearful moment in the tunnels at Lucas Oil Stadium after the game with both their sons — Fernando’s brother Alberto is IU’s backup quarterback — while surrounded by dozens of family members who were in attendance.
Fernando has described his mother, Elsa, as his “light and inspiration” and has been open about her battle with multiple sclerosis. She echoed her son while describing his rise to Heisman finalist as a reflection of IU’s team success.
“The development and support he’s had, it’s a group effort, he couldn’t have done this by himself,” Elsa Mendoza said. “When you feel supported and have love, you can do anything. They have really brought the best out of Fernando.”
Mendoza has thrown for 2,980 yards passing (71.5%) with 33 touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s got the country’s second-highest QB rating (181.4) and leads the country with 39 total touchdowns.
He’s separated himself from the pack with a series of clutch plays during IU’s first perfect season, from a 49-yard game-winner in Kinnick Stadium to a memorable 80-yard drive in the final minutes against Penn State that culminated with a Omar Cooper Jr.’s toe-tap touchdown and a series of next-level throws against a stingy OSU defense.
The Big Ten title game was another instance of Mendoza putting what coach Curt Cignetti described as a “heart of a champion” on display. Cignetti followed that praise up on Monday by saying Mendoza was a “no-brainer” pick for the award.
“I believe that,” Cignetti said. “You got to look at his on-the-field production, particularly in the most critical moments of the football game and how he’s performed at the end of the game with the game on the line and against Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State and then his overall production numbers.”
“He’s a tremendous human being that does everything really the right way in terms of preparation, community outreach, leadership. He’s got a great relationship with the team. They all look up to him.”
That was evident by the passionate argument IU players made Monday afternoon in support of Mendoza’s Heisman candidacy. He’s been reluctant to talk about the award, but his teammates have tried to fill that void.
“That’s my Heisman,” linebacker Aiden Fisher said. “I think that should be America’s Heisman. He’s the best football player in the country, and I don’t think it’s close.”
Indiana’s starting center Pat Coogan agreed.
“He’s absolutely the Heisman, he’s absolutely the best quarterback in the country without a doubt in my mind and absolutely the toughest quarterback in the country, no doubt in my mind,” Coogan said. “He’s our rock and the reason we have so much success on Saturdays.”
Former Indiana running back Anthony Thompson was the only other Heisman finalist in program history. He went to New York in 1989 and finished second in the voting to Andre Ware by 1,073-1,003 — still one of the closest voting margins in the history of the award.
The award has been handed out to the top player in college football since 1935.
When is the Heisman Trophy ceremony?
This year’s Heisman Trophy winner will be announced Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. Mendoza will attend the ceremony in New York at the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room.
Why are there four Heisman Trophy finalists?
The Heisman Trophy Trust voted in 2021 to officially invite the top four finalists to the ceremony on an annual basis. For much of the award’s history, only the winner of the Heisman was invited to New York, but that changed in 1982 when they started allowing multiple candidates. It varied after that with at least three finalists attending finalists invited each year.
Including this year’s group, there have been 184 players invited to New York as Heisman finalists since 1982.
Who votes for the Heisman Trophy?
The 2025 Heisman Trophy ballots were sent to 930 electors, 870 members of the media, 59 living Heisman winners and one overall fan vote. The ballots were submitted electronically to independent accountants at Deloitte.
Each voter must select three individuals in ranked order. The first choice on an elector’s ballot receives three points, the second choice receives two points and the third choice receives one point.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football’s Fernando Mendoza named finalist for Heisman Trophy
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