The college football season reached a dramatic moment this Saturday after Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza was announced as the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder led Indiana to a 13-0 record with his consistent performances. A clear 900+ lead from runner-up Diego Pavia tells you how impactful Mendoza’s season was. Yet despite the dominant resume, former Heisman winner and Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith didn’t see Mendoza as his top choice.

“Jeremiyah Love. I think this year for the Heisman, it’s not kind of up to the recent Heismans, but I’m picking Love. It’s not just a quarterback award. Those other guys, they’re good quarterbacks, but I think the things that he’s doing (deserve the award),” Smith told The Athletic‘s Zach Berman.

The Eagles’ superstar claimed that this is not a quarterback’s award, but they mostly dominate the sport. It is arguably the most important position on the field. Since 2010, only four times have non-quarterback players won this award. When Smith won the trophy in 2020, he was the first receiver since Desmond Howard in 1991 to have won it.

This season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love has played six games with 100+ rushing yards. Against the USC Trojans, he recorded 24 carries for 228 rushing yards and a lone score. In a game against Syracuse Orange last month, he ran for 171 yards in just eight carries with three touchdowns.

While these performances certainly put Love in the Heisman conversation, Notre Dame’s early losses and victories against the less competitive teams affected his candidacy, according to Yahoo Sports‘ Jason Fitz. As a result, Love finished third in the Heisman voting with just 719 votes and way behind Mendoza’s 2,362 votes.

Fernando Mendoza becomes the 2025 Heisman Winner

The Hoosiers quarterback showed a lot of courage when he moved from the California Golden Bears to Indiana after the 2024 season. He played efficiently there with a 68.7% completion rate for 3005 passing yards. But no one predicted such a dominance in Hoosiers.

Fernando Mendoza took them to a clean 13-0 record in the 2025 season, which ended with the Big Ten Championship. The signal caller completed 226 of 316 passes (71.5% completion rate) for 2,980 passing yards with 33 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He even carried the ball 69 times for 240 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Before the Heisman Trophy, Fernando also won the AP College Football Player of the Year, the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the Maxwell Award, and the Davey O’Brien Award. These wins already boosted his profile. On the other hand, Love also won the Doak Walker Award.

Top Stories

NFL Announces Hefty Punishment for Shedeur Sanders Incident

Forced to Leave FOX, Cowboys Legend Troy Aikman Says ESPN Is Like ‘U.S. Government’ & Clearly Distinguishes the Two Networks

Update Announced on Josh Allen’s Bills Staying Near Brown University Amid Tragic Incident

Zac Taylor Receives Unfortunate $56.5M News on Trading Away Joe Burrow Amid Bengals QB’s Frustrations

NFL Announces Final Punishment Decision for Patrick Mahomes Incident Against Texans

After the historic achievement, the season moves ahead. Everyone is now waiting for the draft once the regular season is over.