The moment Fernando Mendoza became a Heisman winner 🥹🏆 pic.twitter.com/nEobBz3T8U
— ESPN (@espn) December 14, 2025
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is your 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, capping one of the most unbelievable seasons college football has seen in years.
Mendoza also won Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award as well, given to college football’s top player and top quarterback.
Mendoza powered Indiana to a perfect 13–0 season, a Big Ten title, and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, turning the Hoosiers into a national story week after week.
The Heisman win is historic — Mendoza is the first Big Ten player to win the award since 2006 and the first in school history.
He threw for nearly 3,000 yards, 33 touchdowns, and only six interceptions, completing about 71.5% of his passes. On the ground, he added around 240 rushing yards and six more scores, making him a nightmare for defenses all season. He also set the single-season Indiana record for total touchdowns, accounting for 39 combined passing and rushing TDs. He is the first Big Ten quarterback to throw for 30+ touchdowns while completing over 70% of his passes in a single season.
The Hoosiers will open their College Football Playoff run in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal, where Indiana is set to play the winner of the first-round CFP matchup between Oklahoma and Alabama on January 1, 2026 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
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