John B’s Sports Blog

By John Brown Dec-11-2025 7:35pm

With the College Football Playoffs ramping up its time for Heisman Saturday, December 13th at 7:00pm a Heisman winner will be named. Here’s a look at each of the top candidates.

Fernando Mendoza

The heavy favorite (-1000) Indianas Quarterback Fernando Mendoza has led the Hoosiers to a historic 13-0 and first title in 80 years. Mendoza leads the nation with 33 passing touchdowns this season,

Diego Pavia

(+650/+700) Diego Pavia Quarterback at Vanderbilt has turned the Commodores program around, This is their first 10 win season ever. Pavia is a true duel-threat qb, throwing 27 touchdowns and rushing for 9. Pavia posted 3,192 passing yards and 4,018 total offensive yards this season. Pavia also won the SEC Offensive Player of the Year

Julian Sayin

(+40000 to +50000) Julian Sayin represents The Ohio State University leading the, to a 12-0 regular season and leads the FBS in completion percentage with 78.4%. Sayin has 31 passing touchdowns this season and 3,323 passing yards, the most in the Heisman race. Sayin also holds the highest passer rating at 182.1.

Jeremiyah Love:

(+15000 to +40000) Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame is the only non-quarterback finalist with 1,372 rushing yards and 280 receiving yards for 21 touchdowns just this season which is half his career college touchdowns. Given his speed and explosiveness it’s no surprise he’s projected to go in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL Draft, possibly top 10.

The Heisman

The Heisman Award is the most prestigious award in NCAA football, representing the hard work, commitment, and importance of a player to their respective team. No different than the NFL’s MVP.

My predictions:

My Heisman hopeful has to be Diego Pavia. Understanding the difference he’s made for a team like Vanderbilt makes him the rightful choice. His performance for Vanderbilt is that of Cam Newton, Johnny Manzel, Baker Mayfield, and Tim Tebow. Despite what you think of Diego and/or his family, he is the most valuable to his team. He has the most total yards of these candidates, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and the historic success he’s brought to Vanderbilt winning 10 games and being the first Heisman candidate in Vanderbilt history.

Mendoza will likely be this years Heisman being No.1 in passing touchdowns (33) and Total touchdowns (39) and leading Indiana to the #1 seed.