Who Won the Heisman 2025? Mendoza Wins Heisman Trophy

For decades, Indiana football fans watched the Heisman Trophy ceremony hoping their school might one day appear in the final cut. On December 13, 2025, that wait ended when quarterback Fernando Mendoza captured the 91st Heisman Trophy, becoming the first Hoosier ever to win college football’s most famous individual prize.

Winner: Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) ·
Year: 2025 ·
Notable fact: First Indiana Hoosier Heisman winner ·
Runner-up: Diego Pavia ·
Third place: Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame RB) ·
Ceremony date: December 13, 2025

Six key facts, one pattern: the 2025 Heisman voting confirmed a clear hierarchy among the top candidates, with Mendoza commanding a decisive lead over the field.

Who won the Heisman 2025?

Fernando Mendoza: The winner

• Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was announced as the 91st winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy during a ceremony broadcast on ABC (Heisman.com – official award site).
• Mendoza received 2,362 first-place votes, according to NFL.com – league media partner.
• He led the nation in passing touchdowns with 33 in the 2025 season (NCAA.com – official collegiate sports authority).

The implication: Mendoza’s combination of elite passing numbers and a historic program breakthrough made him an almost certain winner when voters cast their ballots.

When did Mendoza win?

• The 2025 Heisman Trophy Ceremony was held on December 13, 2025, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, N.Y. (Heisman.com).
• The announcement was captured live and can be viewed on the official Heisman YouTube channel (YouTube – Heisman Ceremony Speech).

Who finished 2nd in Heisman voting?

Diego Pavia: Runner-up

• Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia placed second in the voting with 1,435 votes (NFL.com).

What this means: Pavia’s strong season for a resurgent Vanderbilt program earned him recognition as the clear second choice, though his total trailed Mendoza by nearly 1,000 votes.

Voting breakdown for second place

• Pavia outperformed the third-place finisher by more than 700 votes, showing the top two were in a different tier (NFL.com).

The pattern: second place was never truly contested; Pavia had a comfortable margin over the field behind him.

Who was 3rd in Heisman voting?

Jeremiyah Love: Third place

• Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love finished third with 719 votes (NFL.com).
• Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin placed fourth with 432 votes (NFL.com).

What the gap shows: Love’s vote total was less than half of Pavia’s, illustrating the steep drop-off after the top two candidates.

Wide margin between top candidates

• Mendoza’s 2,362 first-place votes were 64% more than Pavia’s second-place count, and more than three times Love’s total (NFL.com).

The takeaway: 2025 was a landslide win, not a nail-biter, with Mendoza dominating the ballot.

Who is the only 2× Heisman winner?

Archie Griffin: Ohio State record

• Former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin remains the only two-time Heisman winner, earning the trophy in 1974 and 1975 (Wikipedia – historical roster).

Why this matters: Griffin’s feat is considered one of the most unbreakable records in college football, and Mendoza’s single win puts him in a different but still elite category.

Timeline: Mendoza’s path to the Heisman

• 2024 season: Mendoza plays at California before entering the transfer portal (NCAA.com).
• 2025 season: Mendoza leads Indiana to a standout season; Heisman buzz builds quickly. He becomes the third Big Ten quarterback since 2000 with three straight games of at least four passing touchdowns and zero interceptions (NCAA.com).
• December 2025: Mendoza wins the Davey O’Brien Award (best QB) and the Maxwell Award (Most Outstanding Player) on the Friday before the Heisman ceremony, then wins the Heisman on Saturday (NCAA.com).

The narrative: Mendoza’s rapid ascent from a one-year starter at a new school to the pinnacle of college football reflects a modern transfer-portal success story.

What’s confirmed and what remains unclear

The pattern: confirmed claims rely on direct sources, while uncertainties involve vote disclosure and draft projection — areas where data remains incomplete.

Quotes from the ceremony

“The winner of the 2025 Heisman Trophy is Fernando Mendoza.”

– Heisman Trust announcement during the live broadcast (YouTube – Heisman Ceremony Speech)

“Fernando’s journey from a backup at California to the Heisman stage is a testament to his work ethic and the belief we had in him as a staff. He rewrote the record books here.”

– Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, in post-ceremony remarks (paraphrased from NCAA.com)

The implication: the formal announcement captured a moment decades in the making for Indiana, while Cignetti’s comments tied Mendoza’s individual achievement to a broader program transformation.

Summary: What this means for college football

Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman win shatters the long-held narrative that Indiana cannot produce a nationally elite player. For the Hoosiers, the trophy is more than a trophy—it’s a recruiting tool that could reshape the program’s trajectory for years. For viewers and bettors, the 2025 Heisman odds pre-ceremony heavily favored Mendoza, and the final vote validated that market. For the rest of the Big Ten, the message is clear: Indiana is no longer a walkover. For future Heisman contenders, the takeaway is equally plain: a transfer quarterback can win the biggest prize, provided he puts up numbers and leads his team to a historic season. The consequence: every transfer quarterback with elite production now enters the Heisman conversation earlier than they would have before Mendoza’s win.

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