By EVERETT MERRILL
NEW YORK (AP) — Fernando Mendoza, the enthusiastic quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, received the Heisman Trophy on Saturday evening, turning into the primary Hoosier to win school soccer’s most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.
The previous Cal star claimed 2,362 factors, together with 643 first-place votes. He beat Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 factors), Notre Dame working again Jeremiyah Love (719 factors) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 factors).
Mendoza’s Heisman win was emphatic. He completed first in all six Heisman areas, the primary to take action since Caleb Williams in 2022. He was named on 95.16% of all ballots, tying him with Marcus Mariota in 2014 for the second highest within the award’s historical past and he acquired 84.6% of complete doable factors, which is the seventh highest in Heisman historical past.
“I haven’t seen the numbers yet,” stated Mendoza, “but it’s such an honor to be mentioned with these guys (Pavia, Love and Sayin). It’s really a credit to our team. It’s a team award.”
Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 rating and the highest seed within the 12-team Faculty Soccer bracket, throwing for two,980 yards and a national-best 33 landing passes whereas additionally working for six scores. Indiana, the final unbeaten group in main school soccer, will play a Faculty Soccer Playoff quarterfinal recreation within the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Mendoza, the Hoosiers’ first-year starter after transferring from Cal, is the triggerman for an offense that surpassed program information for touchdowns and factors set throughout final season’s shock run to the CFP.
A redshirt junior, the as soon as flippantly recruited Miami native is the second Heisman finalist at school historical past, becoming a member of 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza is the seventh Indiana participant to earn a top-10 end in Heisman balloting and it marks one other first in program historical past — having back-to-back gamers within the prime 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke was ninth final yr.
Along with his teammates chanting “HeismanDoza” as he addressed the media, he stated there felt like a practical likelihood of successful the Heisman when the Hoosiers routed then No. 19 Illinois 63-10 on Sept. 20.
“At that point my boys (teammates) said we might make it to New York (for the award ceremony),” he stated. “It was lighthearted on the time, however that’s when it began. “
Quarterbacks have received the Heisman 4 of the final 5 years, with two-way participant Travis Hunter of Colorado ending the run final season.
Mendoza is the forty third quarterback to win the Heisman and the second winner of Latin American descent to say the trophy. Stanford’s Jim Plunkett was the primary in 1970.
“Although I grew up in America, my four grandparents are all from Cuba,” he stated. “I had the opportunity to go there and that was important to me. I credit the love to my grandparents and the Hispanic community.”
The Heisman Trophy presentation got here after a lot of accolades have been already awarded. Mendoza was named The Related Press participant of the yr earlier this week and picked up the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards Friday evening whereas Love received the Doak Walker Award.
Mendoza and Pavia clearly exemplify the altering panorama of utilizing the switch portal in school soccer. Mendoza is the seventh switch to win the award within the final 9 years. Vanderbilt is Pavia’s third faculty.
Assured Commodore
Pavia completed second with 189 first-place votes. He threw for a school-record 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Commodores, who have been pushing for a CFP berth all the best way to the bracket announcement. He’s the primary Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt historical past.
Generously listed as 6 toes tall, Pavia led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season together with six wins towards Southeastern Convention foes. That features 4 wins over ranked packages as Vandy reached No. 9, its highest rating in The Related Press High 25 since 1937.
Pavia went from being unrecruited out of highschool to junior school, New Mexico State and at last Vanderbilt in 2024 by means of the switch portal.
Vandy subsequent performs within the ReliaQuest Bowl towards Iowa on Dec. 31.
Irish Love
The final working again to win the Heisman was Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Love put himself within the combine with an impressive season for Notre Dame. He completed with 46 first-place votes.
The junior from St. Louis was fourth within the Bowl Subdivision in yards dashing (1,372), fifth in per-game common (114.3) and third with 18 dashing touchdowns for the Preventing Irish, who missed out on a CFP bid and opted to not play in a bowl recreation.
He was the primary participant in Notre Dame’s storied historical past to provide a number of TD runs of 90 or extra yards, a 98-yarder towards Indiana within the first spherical of final yr’s playoffs and a 94-yarder towards Boston Faculty earlier this season.
Buckeyes’ chief
Sayin led the Buckeyes to a No. 1 rating for many of the season, throwing for 3,329 yards whereas tying for second within the nation with 31 TD passes forward of their CFP quarterfinal on the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.
The sophomore from Carlsbad, California, arrived at Ohio State after initially committing to Alabama and coming into the switch portal following a training change. He performed 4 video games final season earlier than successful the beginning job. He led the Buckeyes to a 14-7 win within the opener towards preseason No. 1 Texas and stored the group atop the AP High 25 for 13 straight weeks, tying its second-longest run.
Sayin follows a powerful lineage of Ohio State quarterbacks since coach Ryan Day arrived in 2017. Dwayne Haskins (2018), Justin Fields (2019), C.J. Stroud (2021), and Kyle McCord (2023) averaged 3,927 passing yards, 40 TDs, and 6 interceptions, together with a 68.9% completion charge throughout their first seasons.
