The Heisman Trophy winner will be named on Saturday night, but our choice for the award isn’t even expected to be a finalist.
1. Marcel Reed | Texas A&M QB | Sophomore (RS) | Last week: 2 (+1)
As stated last week, Reed won’t win the Heisman after the loss to Texas—but what he needed to have happen in the Big 10 Championship did happen with Fernando Mendoza and Julian Sayin both having quiet nights in a low-scoring game. In a “down” year for the award, Reed was the most dynamic quarterback in college football, and he had the best Heisman moments with the road win over Notre Dame and comeback win over South Carolina.
Season stats:
61.8% | 2,932 PASS YDS | 25 PASS TD | 10 INT
89 CAR | 466 RUSH YDS | 6 RUSH TD | 5.2 AVG
2. Fernando Mendoza | Indiana QB | Junior (RS) | Last week: 1 (-1)
The media started giving Mendoza the Heisman when Indiana barely escaped with a win over a Penn State team that had lost five games in a row, but the case against him isn’t too difficult to make with an 8:5 touchdown-interception ratio away from home. Not to take anything away from Mendoza as he led the Hoosiers to an undefeated season, but even former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel questioned the performance on Saturday being a crowning moment.
Season stats:
71.5% | 2,980 PASS YDS | 33 PASS TD | 6 INT
69 CAR | 240 RUSH YDS | 6 RUSH TD | 3.5 AVG
3. Julian Sayin | Ohio State QB | Sophomore | Last week: 3
Indiana’s defense got after Sayin in the 13-10 loss for Ohio State in the conference championship, but the young passer still deserves to go to New York with the completion percentage mark on the year (78.4%) remaining in record-setting territory. Sayin was probably hurt by Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate dealing with injuries down the stretch as well.
Season stats:
78.4% | 3,329 PASS YDS | 31 PASS TD | 6 INT
37 CAR | -2 RUSH YDS | -0.1 AVG
4. Jeremiyah Love | Notre Dame RB | Junior | Last week: 4
Love is likely headed to the NFL after Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff, as the Fighting Irish opting out of bowl participation makes the win over Stanford two weeks ago the last time their star runner (and others) will suit up at the college level. In terms of his Heisman candidacy, Love shouldn’t be totally counted out with the Big 10 Championship result being what was needed to keep the race open.
Season stats:
199 CAR | 1,372 RUSH YDS | 18 RUSH TD | 6.9 AVG
27 REC | 280 REC YDS | 3 REC TD | 10.4 AVG
5. Diego Pavia | Vanderbilt QB | Senior | Last week: 5
However, it seems the betting odds have Pavia as the only possible option to “steal” the award with a surprise winner this weekend, and his production as a runner—especially after closing things out with 165 yards and a touchdown last month to beat Tennessee—is typical of dual-threat quarterbacks who have won in the past.
Season stats:
71.2% | 3,192 PASS YDS | 27 PASS TD | 8 INT
152 CAR | 826 RUSH YDS | 9 TD | 5.4 AVG