Indiana's Fernando Mendoza wins 2025 Heisman Trophy

Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza wins 2025 Heisman Trophy

Quarterbacks have won the Heisman four of the last five years

Jackson Thompson Fox News

Published

December 13, 2025 8:27pm EST

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Fernando Mendoza after winning the Big 10 Championship: "It sounds so beautiful" | FOX College Football

Indiana Hoosiers' QB Fernando Mendoza was ecstatic after he won the Big 10 Championship against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

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Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza became the first Hoosier to win the coveted Heisman Trophy, college football’s most prestigious award.

Mendoza claimed 2,362 first-place vote, beating Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 votes), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 votes) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 votes).

Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 ranking and the top seed in the 12-team College Football bracket, throwing for 2,980 yards and a national-best 33 touchdown passes while also running for six scores. Indiana, the last unbeaten team in major college football, will play a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

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Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza runs off the field following an NCAA college football game against Wisconsin, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Mendoza, the Hoosiers’ first-year starter after transferring from California, is the triggerman for an offense that surpassed program records for touchdowns and points set during last season’s surprise run to the CFP.

A redshirt junior, the once lightly recruited Miami native is the second Heisman finalist in school history, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. The trophy was established in 1935.

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Mendoza is the seventh Indiana player to earn a top-10 finish in Heisman balloting, and it marks another first in program history — having back-to-back players in the top 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke was ninth last year.

Quarterbacks have won the Heisman four of the last five years, with Travis Hunter of Colorado, who played wide receiver and cornerback, winning last season.

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Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza throws before an NCAA college football game against Wisconsin, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The Heisman Trophy presentation came after a number of accolades were already awarded. Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year earlier this week and picked up the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards Friday night while Love won the Doak Walker Award.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson's reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.

Indiana's Fernando Mendoza wins 2025 Heisman Trophy