Ranking Top Heisman Favorites to Watch in the 2025 Race Entering Week 13

Julian Sayin and a handful of other Heisman Trophy hopefuls will try to close the gap to Fernando Mendoza in Week 13.

Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers are off on Saturday. That gives Sayin the opportunity to potentially move level with Mendoza in the eyes of Heisman voters.

The Heisman race will most likely come down to the Big Ten Championship Game, but Sayin is expected to put up a strong stat line against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday.

Marcel Reed, Jeremiyah Love and others just have to keep padding their stats against weaker opposition in a bid to earn invites to New York as Heisman finalists.

Fernando Mendoza

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Fernando Mendoza is the current Heisman front-runner.

The Indiana quarterback has been one of the surprises of the season after joining the Hoosiers from Cal.

Indiana's cruise through Big Ten play, which includes a road win over the Oregon Ducks, allowed Mendoza to earn Heisman favorite status.

Mendoza has two games left to solidify his resume. He should be able to do whatever he wants against the Purdue Boilermakers next week. Then, he'll likely face Sayin and the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game.

The path to the Heisman is simple for Mendoza. He needs to beat Purdue and then outduel Sayin on the way to the Big Ten title.

Julian Sayin

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Sayin has two high-profile games left on his schedule, if everything goes right for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes face the Michigan Wolverines in Week 14 and then would likely play Indiana on the first Saturday in December.

Before that, Sayin will likely put up some gaudy numbers against a struggling Rutgers defense.

A multi-touchdown performance through the air is expected, even with wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate dealing with injuries.

Sayin can't win the Heisman against the Rutgers, but he can pull level with Mendoza in the eyes of some voters and odds makers because the margin between the two going into Indianapolis could be incredibly small.

Marcel Reed

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Marcel Reed's showcase game comes next week against the Texas Longhorns.

In Week 13, Reed just has to stay healthy and play a strong first half against the Samford Bulldogs from the FCS.

Texas A&M's dual-threat quarterback tracked behind Mendoza and Sayin for most of the last month in the Heisman race.

Reed will have a strong Heisman case if he beats Texas and then leads A&M to the SEC championship.

If that happens, Reed will have five wins over Top 25 opposition, with all of those results coming away from College Station.

That's as good of a resume as anyone in the Heisman race could have, but will it be enough to sway voters in his direction is the question.

Jeremiyah Love

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Jeremiyah Love has the best Heisman resume of any non-quarterback.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back has 1,135 yards and 14 touchdowns. He will easily add to those totals in the next two weeks against the Syracuse Orange and Stanford Cardinal.

Another 100-yard, multi-score game for Love is imperative against lowly Syracuse to prove that he should be a Heisman finalist.

Love is currently competing with Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia and Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton to be the fourth Heisman finalist.

Love has a very narrow path to winning the award, but he can still take pride in being a Heisman finalist.