Ranking Top Heisman Favorites to Watch in the 2025 Race Entering Week 14
Saturday's games present an opportunity for a handful of Heisman Trophy hopefuls to close the gap to Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Mendoza and the Hoosiers won in runaway fashion against the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday night, but the quarterback didn't post a convincing stat line.
That performance cracked the door open for Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin to potentially earn more first-place votes.
The fourth Heisman finalist will likely be Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia, who also has the potential to jump to the top of the Heisman conversation with another Top 25 win.
Fernando Mendoza
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Fernando Mendoza certainly didn't lose the Heisman on Friday night, but he also didn't pull away from the pack.
The Indiana quarterback produced 144 total yards and three touchdowns in Friday's triumph over Purdue.
It was nowhere close to the high passing numbers Mendoza put up in other Indiana blowouts, and if voters compare finalists week-by-week, there's a chance for Love, Sayin and Pavia to outperform Mendoza in Week 14.
Mendoza's performance in West Lafayette might not matter in the overall Heisman outlook if he shines next week in the Big Ten Championship Game.
A standout showing in a win over Ohio State, or the Oregon Ducks, should be enough to clinch the Heisman.
Jeremiyah Love
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Jeremiyah Love has the most potential to put up an eye-popping stat line on Saturday.
Love and Notre Dame are a massive favorite away at the Stanford Cardinal. They could put on a similar showing to last week's 70-7 destruction of the Syracuse Orange.
Love averaged 21.4 yards per carry and ran for three scores last week. Against Stanford, he has the potential to produce his fourth multi-touchdown game in the last five weeks.
The running back could have the best closing stretch of any Heisman finalist, and while he won't play next weekend for a conference championship, his performance in the stretch run of the regular season should impress voters.
Julian Sayin
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If Julian Sayin helps Ohio State end its four-game losing streak to the Michigan Wolverines, and does so in emphatic fashion, he could leap to the top of the Heisman race.
Sayin plays in the highest-profile game of the likely Heisman finalists, which gives him the chance to shine in front of the most eyeballs in Week 14.
A great passing day against the Michigan defense would serve as Sayin's trademark performance this season.
Sayin led Ohio State to a Week 1 win over the Texas Longhorns, but he only had 126 yards and a touchdown pass in that game.
A 250-300-yard day in a win over Michigan and then a Big Ten Championship Game win over Indiana could be enough for Sayin to win the Heisman.
Diego Pavia
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Diego Pavia has the most robust set of statistics against Top 25 opposition among the Heisman contenders.
Pavia and Vanderbilt are 3-2 against ranked foes. His best performance in one of those games was a 365-yard, three-score showing in a loss to Texas.
That game sparked a run in which Pavia has thrown for 11 touchdowns and 1,226 yards in the last three games.
Pavia can finish his strong closing case with another 300-yard game in a shootout against the Tennessee Volunteers.
The last nine games in the Vandy-Tennessee rivalry featured a winning score of at least 28 points, a good sign for Pavia's last run at Heisman glory.
