The race for the Heisman Trophy looks like it will come down to who delivers the best performance in the Big Ten title game on Championship Saturday. Ohio State punched their ticket with a big win over Michigan while Indiana completed their own dominant season with a rivalry rout of Purdue.
So, while worthy candidates like Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love watch on TV, the top contenders like Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Buckeyes signal caller Julian Sayin will get one more chance to impress the voters when they attempt to lift their teams to a conference title and top seeding in the upcoming College Football Playoff – with all eyes (and voters) watching.
The latest Game of the Century – Top-ranked Ohio State v second-ranked Indiana on Saturday – will be for the Big Ten title, and unbeaten season, top seeding in the playoff…and very likely the Heisman Trophy.
Who Has The Advantage?
Going in, on paper at least, Sayin would appear to have the slight edge, if only because he won’t be facing his own team’s defense. The Buckeyes D once again put the clamps on a highly touted opponent, holding Michigan freshman Bryce Underwood to 63 yards passing in the 27-9 thumping of the Wolverines at the snowy Big House in Ann Arbor.
For his part, Sayin distributed the ball to six different Buckeye receivers, passing for 233 yards and three touchdowns to three different pass catchers. With stars Cornell Tate and fellow Heisman hopeful Jeremiah Smith still bothered by nagging leg injuries, Sayin remained efficient. He finished the season as the nation’s leader in completion percentage at just under 80%, throwing 30 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. Smith caught one of those TD’s against Michigan, but was limited to seven catches for 80 yards in the last two games of the season and is likely to miss out on a trip to New York.
Mendoza was limited by a conservative game plan in the Hoosiers easy 56-3 season ending win over in-state rival Purdue. Called on to throw just 15 times, he completed eight for 117 yards and a pair of scores while the defense and running game – which produced 355 yards on the ground – did the bulk of the work. The minimal output probably drops him to second in the Heisman odds race at the moment, but he has the most to gain next Saturday in Indianapolis.
Who Else Might Be in NYC?
As for who is most likely to join the two leaders in New York City for the Heisman Trophy announcement on December 13th, it’s probably Pavia and Love, with Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez still a long shot.
Pavia, the plucky Vanderbilt QB, had a spectacular season, and finished with his best game as the Commodores routed in-state rival Tennessee. He threw for 268 yards and rushed for 165 yards, and two total touchdowns in a marquee matchup with #19 Tennessee. But his team missed out on the SEC title game, meaning he won’t get the same stage as his Big Ten rivals to make a final statement.
Love, who is the likely winner of the Doak Walker Award, was injured in the third quarter but still found the endzone for the 18th time this season as Notre Dame finished off a 10-2 regular season with a rout of Stanford. He finishes the season fourth in the country in all-purpose yards , including compiling 1,372 yards on the ground.
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