Since their regular season ended, Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia has been campaigning for the Heisman honor. His two opponents in the race, Julian Sayin and Fernando Mendoza, faced off against each other in the Big Ten Championship game. Although Mendoza impressed in the game, he also threw a bad interception in the first half. Sensing an opportunity, Pavia reposted a stat comparison highlighting his edge over Mendoza. However, that move didn’t sit well with Indiana players.

When asked about the Heisman trophy, the Hoosiers’ linebacker Aiden Fisher didn’t hesitate in giving a subtle reminder to the Vanderbilt QB.

“When you talk about the Heisman, the best football player in the country, winning football games has to matter,” he said. “And I think there’s one undefeated team left.”

Even Indiana center Pat Coogan had the same opinion. “He’s [Mendoza] absolutely the Heisman. I’ll campaign for him myself,” he said when asked about the trophy.

Indiana finished the regular season and the Big Ten Championship with a perfect 13-0. They were the only undefeated team left in the FBS. The Hoosiers’ biggest moment came on Saturday, when they knocked off No. 1 Ohio State, 13-10, to claim their first Big Ten title since 1967. The defense has been lights-out all year, especially in tight games like that one, holding the Buckeyes to just 10 points. And at the center of it all? Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who helped power this unbelievable run.

Now, as per the official definition of Heisman, the award is given to “the outstanding college football player in the United States whose performance epitomizes great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.”

Nine hundred thirty voters—870 media members, 59 former winners, and one fan—decide the Heisman. Sounds straightforward, but it also makes the system a little messy. Sure, Diego Pavia has the stronger stat line. But what he doesn’t have is perfection. Fernando Mendoza delivered that. In his first year at Indiana, he led the Hoosiers all the way to No. 1 in every major poll. That kind of impact goes beyond numbers. Mendoza helped rewrite Indiana football history.

Diego Pavia’s bold case

Diego Pavia ignited a firestorm to prove his point in the Heisman race. He reposted a fan tweet that criticized Indiana’s unbeaten QB, Fernando Mendoza, for his late-season statistics. The viral tweet Pavia boosted laid bare the gap: Mendoza’s last five games (1,007 pass yds, 69 rush yds) paled against Pavia’s four-game tear (1,290 pass yds, 368 rush yds), despite Mendoza’s extra outing. Pavia’s efficiency shone brighter, too. He had a superior passer rating over that stretch, even as Mendoza held a slim season completion edge (72.0% vs. 71.2%).

The point of discussion is now diverted to the strength of the schedule. Pavia faced six ranked foes to Indiana’s two. Now, all this discussion happened because of that one pick Mendoza gave up against Ohio State. Before that, Pavia was sandwiched between Mendoza and Julian Sayin. However, in the Big 10 game, both these QBs gave up an interception. Now this might help Pavia’s case to rise in the rankings, but at the end of the day, it was Indiana and Mendoza that won the Big 10 title.

In that game, Mendoza threw for 222 yards with a touchdown and a pick, while Sayin posted 258 yards with the same stat line. Pretty similar numbers, but at the end of the day, Mendoza got the win. Now he’s a massive favorite at -3000 to take home the Heisman. Sayin, meanwhile, tanked to +50000. And Pavia? Oddsmakers have him sitting at +1400, just ahead of Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.

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