The day every Texas Tech Red Raiders fan feared has finally come. The Red Raiders just took what feels like their second loss of the season with the release of the Heisman finalists. College football’s pound-for-pound best player, Jacob Rodriguez, was not invited to New York City on December 13. Big-time NFL veterans are throwing their hands up over it.

On December 8, former NFL vet Leger Douzable hopped onto X and demanded justice after Jacob Rodriguez was left off the finalist list:

“Jacob Rodriguez should have got the invite to NY for the Heisman.”

Then, former Heisman winner Robert Griffin III also backed him up, saying:

“Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez being left off the Heisman Finalist list is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.”

The four guys who did make the finals are all great players, no doubt: quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), and running back Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame).

However, for many, the story remains about the person who isn’t on that list. Jacob Rodriguez’s absence is a huge talking point and a tough pill to swallow, especially with stats backing him.

Moreover, Texas Tech Red Raiders’ No. 10 had literally carried Tech’s defense all the way to the No. 4 seed. He helped them win their first outright Big 12 title since 1955. The team finished the season with a 12-1 record.

The Minnesota native linebacker has put up some eye-popping stats that are tough to ignore, like leading the entire country with seven forced fumbles. He also racked up 114 tackles (60 solo tackles), grabbed just four picks, and had two fumble recoveries.

He was just a menace to opposing offenses all year long. The man even has way better numbers than former Heisman runner-up Manti Te’o. So it’s a real head-scratcher for many fans and analysts that he was left off the finalist list.

This snub gets even more surprising when you look at the other awards he’s already won. Jacob Rodriguez was recently named the winner of the 2025 Butkus Award.

That honor is given to the top linebacker in the country. Winning that award means a panel of experts believes he’s the best at his position. It makes you wonder how the best linebacker in the nation in the last 15 years isn’t considered a top-four player for the most significant award in college football.

A lot of the conversation around this comes down to the Heisman Trophy’s history. It has a well-known bias toward offensive players, especially quarterbacks. It often feels like a defensive player has to perform miracles just to get a seat at the table. And that’s even in a year where QBs are barely throwing 30-plus touchdowns.

Many fans are frustrated, saying that if a player with Rodriguez’s insane stats and team success still can’t break through, then the award basically acts like a “QB award” instead of truly honoring the most outstanding player overall.

Heisman finalist selection criteria

Since 2021, the Heisman Trophy Trust has used a straightforward system for choosing finalists. They simply invite the top four vote-getters to New York.

Before 2021, the scenario worked very differently.

The Heisman guarantees at least three finalists. After that, the committee decided whether to invite more players based on how close the voting points were. If the fourth-place player was close to the third place in votes, he got an invitation. Plus, if the fifth place was close to the fourth, he could get one too. If the gap was massive, they stayed home.

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That old system hurt Texas Tech stars back in 2008. Quarterback Graham Harrell finished fourth, and receiver Michael Crabtree finished fifth. But the problem was the enormous gap between them and third-place finisher Tim Tebow, who had 1,575 points.

Notably, Harrell had only 213 points, and Crabtree had just 116. Because of that separation, neither one got invited to the ceremony, despite incredible seasons.

Fast-forward to now, and Texas Tech is right back in the national spotlight. The Red Raiders are 12-1 and locked in as the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff.

They’ll play in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day at 11 a.m. CST, facing the winner of No. 5 Oregon and No. 12 James Madison at Hard Rock Stadium.