NEW YORK — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who led the Hoosiers to their inaugural No. 1 rank and secured the top seed in the 12-team College Football playoff after passing for 2,980 yards and a national-high 33 touchdown throws, captured the Heisman Trophy on Saturday evening.
In the final voting, Mendoza surpassed Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love, and will now shift his attention to the CFP, where the Hoosiers enjoy a first-round bye. He is the first Heisman laureate in Indiana’s history.
Pavia established records at Vanderbilt, Sayin maintained defending national-champion Ohio State’s status, while Love, a running back, had a remarkable season for Notre Dame. Nevertheless, none could surpass the Hoosiers’ quarterback who played last season at Cal. Travis Hunter of Colorado was the sole exception in that streak last season.
The award ceremony Saturday evening followed several accolades already received. Mendoza was acknowledged as The Associated Press player of the year earlier this week and secured the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards on Friday night, while Love earned the Doak Walker Award.
A redshirt junior, Mendoza, the once under-recruited Miami product is the second Heisman finalist from the school, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza is the seventh Indiana athlete to achieve a top-10 placement in Heisman voting, marking another milestone in the program’s history — having consecutive players in the top 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke finished ninth last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
