Good luck finding any college football fan who has come up with a reason to not like Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
He’s humble, ego-less, rose up from being an overlooked two-star recruit out of Miami, raises money for the disease Multiple Sclerosis that affects his mother Elsa, wins over new fans every time he gives an emotional, heartfelt interview and, oh yeah, he’s the leader of the best team in the history of Indiana football and the only unbeaten left in college football.
That’s all in some way part of how Mendoza capped his inspirational rise the last few years by winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.
Mendoza received 643 first-place votes to add another convincing win to his 2025 season, with Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia receiving 189 first-place votes to finish second, followed by Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin.
“I’m at a loss of words,” Mendoza said, gathering himself in his Heisman acceptance speech. “… Standing here tonight holding this bad boy, representing Indiana University still doesn’t feel real. If you told me as a kid in Miami that I’d be here on stage holding this prestigious trophy I probably would have laughed, cried like I’m doing now or both. Because this moment, it’s an honor, it’s bigger than me.
“It’s a product of a family, team, community and a whole lot of people who believed in me long before anybody knew my name. … I promise to carry the Heisman name with humility, gratitude and with responsibility.”
There’s no doubting that.
He told his teammates, “This is our trophy.” He thanked his high school coach and made sure to recognize his former school Cal “for being the first to believe in my future.”
And he broke down praising his family.
“I was only a two-star prospect, I only had one scholarship offer. But my family’s unconditional love and belief kept me going and pushed me forward. These are the people who built me long before football did,” Mendoza said.
To his mother, he said as the emotions flooded in, “This is your trophy as much as it is mine. You’ve always been my biggest fan. You’re my light, you’re my why, you’re my biggest supporter. Your sacrifices, courage, love, those have been my first playbook and the playbook I’m going to carry through my entire life. You taught me that toughness doesn’t need to be loud — it can be quiet and strong. It’s choosing hope, it’s believing in yourself when the world doesn’t give you much reason to. Together, you and I are rewriting what people think is possible. I love you.”
Talk about Heisman moments …
As for the football side of it all, Mendoza’s numbers don’t really match that of any Heisman-winning quarterback from the last decade, but there was no one in the field this year with a monstrous stat line that couldn’t be ignored.
Mendoza, who has led Indiana to a 13-0 record and Big Ten championship in his first season with the Hoosiers after three years at Cal, passed for 2,980 yards, an FBS-best 33 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while rushing for 240 yards and 6 TDs.
Compare that to even just the last five QBs to win the Heisman …
– 2023, LSU QB Jayden Daniels: 3,812 passing yards, 40 TDs, 4 INTs, 1,134 rushing yards, 10 TDs in 12 games
– 2022, USC QB Caleb Williams: 4,537 passing yards, 42 TDs, 5 INTs, 382 rushing yards in 14 games
– 2021, Alabama QB Bryce Young: 4,872 passing yards, 47 TDs, 7 INTs in 15 games
– 2019, LSU QB Joe Burrow: 5,671 passing yards, 60 TDs, 6 INTs, 368 rushing yards, 5 TDs in 15 games
– 2018, Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray: 4,361 passing yards, 42 TDs, 7 INTs, 1,001 rushing yards, 12 TDs in 14 games
But there wasn’t anyone with that resume in the Heisman race this year.
Pavia was the closest in that regard (and we opined earlier in the week how he would be a deserving winner as well), ranking first among all Power 4 players in total offense with 4,018 combined passing/rushing yards (third overall in the FBS behind North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker and South Florida QB Byrum Brown) and more than 300 yards ahead of any other P4 player.
Pavia passed for 3,192 yards, 27 TDs and 8 INTs, rushed for 826 yards and 9 TDs in 12 games, closed the season on an absolute tear and shouldered such a heavy load for a 10-2 Vandy team that was the second-best story in college football this year.
Either would have been a fine pick.
Meanwhile, Mendoza still has potentially three more games to add to his totals — and his legacy.
But if raw stats are what mattered to Mendoza or Indiana, he would have stayed in to finish a lot more lopsided wins and padded his numbers rather than watching from the sideline in many a fourth quarter as his younger brother Alberto Mendoza came in to get some experience.
Mendoza did plenty to merit college football’s most prestigious honor, consistently delivering in crucial moments in the biggest games.
Mendoza helped Indiana beat then-No. 3 Oregon on the road in October, 30-20, with 215 passing yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, but more to the point 62 of those passing yards came on a decisive 75-yard go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter including an 8-yard TD pass to Elijah Sarratt on third-and-goal.
He also led the game-winning TD drive (including a 49-yard catch-and-run TD pass to Sarratt) for the go-ahead score with 1:28 left in the fourth quarter in a 20-15 win at Iowa and passed for 87 yards on the game-winning drive in the final 2 minutes to rally back and beat Penn State, 27-24, in November (on his best throw of the season to Omar Cooper Jr. in the back of the end zone on another clutch third down).
And then in Indiana’s 13-10 Big Ten championship win over then-No. 1 Ohio State, a defensive slugfest both ways, Mendoza was 15 of 23 for 222 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
Mendoza hit Charlie Becker on a 51-yard deep shot on third-and-2 on the decisive touchdown drive in the third quarter before tossing a 17-yard TD pass to Sarratt on third-and-8.
His 33-yard completion to Becker on yet another pivotal third down late in the fourth quarter allowed Indiana to run the clock all the way down to 18 seconds in sealing the win.
See a theme here?
Mendoza didn’t put up the overall numbers to match some of his new “Heisman House” pals in future Nissan commercials, but he never missed a clutch moment to deliver when needed and he may yet do what most of them didn’t if Indiana can complete its incredible quest for a national championship.
Either way, Mendoza has already made history in helping Indiana to its first-ever No. 1 ranking, first outright Big Ten championship since 1945 and becoming the first Hoosier to win the Heisman.
All while endearing himself to college football fans nationally …