Arguably the most prestigious award in all of sports is the Heisman Trophy, and this year’s recipient will be revealed Saturday night in New York. The 2025 finalists are running back Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame and quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt, and Julian Sayin of Ohio State. Here’s what to know about each candidate.
Jeremiyah Love
The Irish junior is an outlier: He’s the only non-quarterback finalist and the only one who hasn’t transferred in his career. It’s been a decade since a running back won the award (Derrick Henry), and in the CFP era, seven of the 11 Heisman winners have been on teams that made the playoff, which Notre Dame did not.
However, working in Love’s favor is the shamrock on his helmet. Love winning would mean that no program in the sport would have more Heisman winners than Notre Dame with eight. The St. Louis-born RB ranks second in FBS with 21 touchdowns—the most in a single season in Notre Dame history—and is third in the nation with 137.7 scrimmage yards per game. His signature game was an October win over USC, in which Love’s 228 rushing yards set a Notre Dame Stadium record, and that’s a stadium that’s been around for 95 years. Love is hoping to become the first Notre Dame Heisman winner since Tim Brown in 1987.Fernando Mendoza
The Cal transfer can make history on Saturday as no Indiana Hoosier has ever won the Heisman. Mendoza is just the second finalist in IU history after a season in which he was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He and coach Curt Cignetti have authored a remarkable turnaround for the Hoosiers, leading the team to its first AP No. 1 ranking and first Big Ten Title in program history.A native of Miami, Mendoza led the nation with 33 passing touchdowns, and he ranks second in both completion percentage and passer efficiency. He hasn’t had a single game this season with more interceptions than touchdowns, and he has as many contests with four-plus passing touchdowns (four) as he has with one or no passing TDs. Mendoza (or Sayin) winning would give the Big Ten its 19th Heisman winner, which would break a tie with the SEC for most by a conference.
Diego Pavia
Vanderbilt never even had a Heisman finalist before Pavia burst on the scene. He has led the Commodores to their first 10-win season in school history, and he’s done it with both his arm and his legs. The New Mexico State transfer, and native of the state, tops the SEC in completion percentage and passing touchdowns, while his 826 rushing yards are second-most in the country among Power Conference quarterbacks.There’s been a run of Blue Blood programs to win this award recently, with multiple winners from Alabama, Oklahoma, and LSU over the last decade. Pavia prevailing would make Vanderbilt the first school since Louisville (Lamar Jackson, 2016) to become a first-time Heisman-winning program. He’d also give the SEC its 19th winner, breaking a tie with the Big Ten for the most of any conference.
Julian Sayin
Ohio State has had seven Heisman winners, and a win by Sayin, who began his college career at Alabama, would tie the Buckeyes with USC for most winners in history. The last OSU Heisman winner, Troy Smith in 2006, was also the Big Ten’s last victor. Sayin is the seventh Buckeyes finalist since 2018, but none of the previous six have walked out of New York with the trophy.Sayin’s 78.4 percent completion rate is currently the highest in a single season in FBS history. His 31 passing touchdowns are second-most in college football as the San Diego native has had no problems adjusting to a Midwest climate. He has five games with at least 300 passing yards and an 80 percent completion rate this season—no other FBS quarterback has more than two such games.
The Heisman Trophy ballots have already been signed, sealed, and delivered by the 930 electors. That number is composed of 870 media members, the 59 living Heisman winners, who annually get a vote, as well as one overall fan vote.
While the top four all received invites to New York City, they are not the only ones who received votes this season. The rest of the top 10 in Heisman voting was revealed on Thursday, led by linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) in fifth place, followed by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State. Finishing seventh and eighth were quarterbacks Gunner Stockton of Georgia and Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss. Rounding out the top 10 were safety Caleb Downs of Ohio State and quarterback Haynes King of Georgia Tech.
The 91st Annual Heisman Memorial Trophy will be presented Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in Manhattan, N.Y., and will be broadcast on ABC for the first time.
