On Saturday, college football’s most prestigious individual honor will be handed out, with the Heisman Trophy being awarded to the young man deemed to be the most outstanding player in the sport.
While the winner won’t be announced until Dec. 13, the four players vying for the famed, 45-pound bronze trophy have been revealed.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love are the finalists for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, with ESPN announcing the group on Monday, Dec. 8.
Mendoza and Pavia are in line to make history for their respective programs, as neither Indiana nor Vanderbilt has ever produced a Heisman winner.
Twelve of the past 15 Heisman recipients have been quarterbacks, though only three of the past five. Last season, Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter took home the award.
Unlike Hunter, whose Buffaloes team went 9-3 in the 2024 regular season, each of the Heisman finalists played on teams that won at least 10 games, including Mendoza and Sayin, whose squads earned first-round byes in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Love had some history on his side, though. Since 1955, a running back or halfback has won the Heisman in every year that ends in a five, a trend that most recently saw Alabama running back and future NFL All-Pro Derrick Henry hoist the trophy.
In what has become an increasingly transient sport over the past several years, threeof the Heisman finalists are transfers. Mendoza is in his first season at Indiana after transferring from Cal, Pavia is in his second season at Vanderbilt after coming in from New Mexico State and Sayin was an early enrollee at Alabama who spent about a month with the Crimson Tide before transferring to Ohio State shortly after legendary coach Nick Saban’s retirement in Jan. 2024.
Who are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy?
Here’s a look at the four finalists for the 2025 Heisman Trophy:
- QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
- QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
- QB Julian Sayin, Ohio State
- RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
Heisman Trophy ceremony date
The 2025 Heisman Trophy will be awarded during a ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. ET from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in New York City.
The ceremony will air on ABC.
Fernando Mendoza stats
In his first season with the Hoosiers, Mendoza has completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,980 yards, 33 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for 240 yards and six touchdowns. He led Indiana to a program-record 13 wins, the Hoosiers’ first Big Ten championship game victory and the program’s first undefeated regular season since 1945.
Mendoza had only thrown for a combined 30 touchdowns in his first two seasons of college football, both of which came at Cal.
Mendoza’s 33 touchdown passes are the most among FBS players. He’s tied for second nationally, along with Pavia, in yards per attempt (9.4) and is sixth in completion percentage.
Diego Pavia stats
Pavia improved upon what was already a stellar debut season for Vanderbilt, completing 71.2% of his passes for 3,192 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added 826 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
He’s second among all FBS players in total yards per game, with 334.8, ranking him behind only South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown.
With Pavia at quarterback, the Commodores have gone 17-9 the past two seasons, including a 10-2 mark this season that set a program record for wins. Vanderbilt went just 12-45 in the four seasons before Pavia transferred there.
Julian Sayin stats
In his first season as a starter, Sayin has completed 78.4% of his passes for 3,323 yards, 31 touchdowns and six interceptions.
He’s tied for second among all FBS quarterbacks in touchdown passes, behind only Mendoza, and his completion percentage is currently an FBS single-season record.
Jeremiyah Love stats
The lone non-quarterback of the group, Love has rushed for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns this season while averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Love had been a receiving threat out of the backfield, too, with 27 catches for 280 yards and three touchdowns.
Love is third among all FBS players in rushing touchdowns and fourth in rushing yards.