Just sayin’, there’s nothing wrong with finishing third in college football‘s Heisman Trophy race.
And third is where Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is on my ballot heading into the Big Ten championship game against Indiana, whose own QB, Fernando Mendoza, is perhaps an ever-so-slight favorite over Sayin and Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia to win the award.
There’s a good chance a head-to-head matchup of Sayin and Mendoza — not to mention the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country — will tip the Heisman scales in favor of one star or the other. That would leave Pavia watching someone else’s acceptance speech, too, in much the same way his 14th-ranked team ended up close-but-no-cigar in the hunt for a College Football Playoff bid.
As a Heisman voter, I’m barred from revealing my three-player ballot before the award is presented one week from Championship Saturday. It’s a rule I hold so very sacred, I wouldn’t dream of telling you I’m leaning — hard — in Pavia’s direction, with Mendoza next.
Sayin and Mendoza rank first and second nationally in passer rating, with Pavia fourth. Mendoza is first with 32 touchdown passes, Sayin third with 30 and Pavia tied for ninth with 27. By a similarly slim margin, Pavia has thrown for the most yards of the three.
Who’s your Heisman leader heading into conference championship weekend?
— Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) December 4, 2025
It doesn’t really come down to stats for me, though.
Sayin, a sophomore, has been as close to perfect as there is, but he’s also surrounded by NFL talent — the Buckeyes have more of it than anybody else, period — and hasn’t been in a sticky situation since the season opener against Texas.
Mendoza, a junior, has been Indiana’s best player without a doubt, and when fourth-quarter heroics were required — against Iowa, Oregon, Penn State — he came through.
But Pavia? He’s the heart and guts of the first 10-win Vandy team ever and everything the award means to me. He was sensational in upsets and near-upsets alike. At a school that typically has been a football punchline, the undersized senior carried his team to its best SEC record since 1933, demolishing doubts every step of the way. And, oh, by the way, he also rushed for 826 yards and nine touchdowns.
Mendoza and Sayin still have three-plus hours on a huge stage to sway support, though. Whoever wins in Indianapolis just might be a Heisman shoo-in.