In what has been one of the weaker Heisman Trophy races that we’ve seen in recent years, there is a favorite that is emerging as we near the end of the 2025 college football season.
Mendoza Takes Solid Lead In Heisman Trophy Race
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has his Indiana Hoosiers undefeated and ranked no.2 in the country. No player has thrown for more touchdowns thus far, and he is nearing his second-straight 3,000 yard season while completing 73% of his passes. Thanks to his stellar performance, Mendoza has been rising up the odds boards with each passing week, and he is now something of a heavy favorite to win the most prestigious award in the sport.
fernando mendoza is so dang intelligent. i’ve never seen urban react the way he did to this breakdown #iufb pic.twitter.com/2OmpVIxrQV
— (#2) lee beebe jr. fan (@NotDauntedBlake) November 19, 2025
As of Sunday morning, Mendoza was listed with a -115 designation via DraftKings Sportsbook. Those are implied odds of just over 53%. Coming into the season, the Indiana signal caller was listed with 60-to-1 odds.
There are a couple of other Heisman candidates on the odds board, but their chances are dwindling with time running out in the regular season. Ohio State has been the top-ranked team in the country for the entire season, and their quarterback has been getting plenty of love. Julian Sayin came into the year with 22-to-1 chances, and he is now up to +390 (20% implied odds).
I can’t get over this throw from Julian Sayin there are very few quarterbacks in college football that can make this throw. pic.twitter.com/JaUqpE8ina
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) November 23, 2025
And that might be a valuable bet to make. Sayin has more passing yards than Mendoza through 11 games, and has just three fewer touchdowns. Sayin has completed the most passes of any QB in the Big Ten this season, and he is leading the country with a completion percentage of 79.4%.
Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love isn’t far behind at +450, and Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt has made an impressive late season push to get his designation down to +600. Marcel Reed, the quarterback from Texas A&M, rounds out the Heisman top-5 at +1100.
