Fernando Mendoza gives Indiana its first Heisman Trophy winner

Indiana football is officially a big-time program. It has climbed to the No. 1 spot in the country. Now it has a Heisman Trophy winner.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza continued what has been the best year in the history of the school’s football program by securing the first Heisman Trophy for a Hoosiers player.

He won the award on Saturday night, beating out Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. 

Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman win completes major award sweep

Mendoza’s Heisman win on Saturday not only puts Indiana into the Heisman registry, but it also completes a major award-season sweep by Mendoza.

On Friday night, he took home the Maxwell Award (most outstanding player) and the O’Brien Award (best quarterback) to begin his award weekend.

He is the 13th quarterback to win all three awards in the same season, going back to the start of the 1980 season. The other quarterbacks on that list are Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Baker Mayfield, Marcus Mariota, Cam Newton, Tim Tebow, Danny Wuerffel, Charlie Ward, Gino Torretta, Ty Detmer, Vinny Testaverde and Doug Flutie.

It is an impressive list of some of the best college football quarterbacks over the past four decades, and now Mendoza is a part of it. 

His next two orders of business: Continuing Indiana’s pursuit of a national championship and furthering his draft stock as the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

He has thrown for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns this season to only six interceptions, while also rushing for 240 yards and six touchdowns.

He joined the Hoosiers this season after playing the previous two years at California. He has been a perfect fit in Indiana’s offense and not only helped the program get back to the college football playoff for the second year in a row, but also took a big step forward and become a true national power.