ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
Fernando Mania

There were many firsts Saturday evening when Indiana QB Fernando Menzoza became the school’s first Heisman winner.

The junior quarterback defeated Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin to win the 2025 Heisman on Saturday night.

Mendoza then concluded his Heisman speech by noting that he wasn't the most highly recruited player coming out of high school and mentioned that he almost quit football during his first season in the fourth grade.

The Cal transfer is 226-of-316 passing for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Mendoza has thrown the most touchdown passes of any player in college football and ranks second in total touchdowns behind South Florida’s Byrum Brown.

Mendoza also has the second-best pass efficiency rating in the country (181.4), just behind Sayin at 182.1, and he is also one of only 10 quarterbacks who have completed over 70% of their passes this season.

Mendoza is the fourth consecutive Heisman winner who transferred schools during his college career.

His win also ends a drought for the Big Ten and breaks a pattern of Heisman winners that dates back to the award's inception in 1935.

This raises the question: Will the Hoosiers become the first undefeated Heisman Trophy-winning team to cover a spread of 7 or more points since 1980 after surrendering 17 or more points in its previous game? 0-5 ATS.

Or, will they improve to 4-0 SUATS since 1980 in bowl games behind a Heisman Trophy winner who won his previous game outright as an underdog?

We’ll find out on New Year’s Day when Indian will take on the winner of the Alabama-Oklahoma game this Friday.

Remember, Big Ten teams are 33-59 and 39-52-1 ATS versus SEC teams in bowl games since 1990.

Last year marked the first 12-team College Football Playoff. In case you forgot, these were the results. It was a chalkfest...

FIRST ROUND
(-7) Notre Dame 27, Indiana 17 (-13.5) Texas 38, Clemson 24
(-9) Penn St 38, Smu 10
(-7) Ohio St 42, Tennessee 17
FAVS 4-0 ATS

QUARTERFINALS
(-11.5) Penn St 31, Boise St 14 (-2.5) Ohio St 41, Oregon 21 (-13.5) Texas 39, Arizona St 31
(-1) Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10
FAVS 3-1 ATS (7-1 ATS overall)

SEMIFINALS
(+1) Notre Dame 27, Penn St 24 (-5) Ohio St 28, Texas 14
FAVS 1-1 ATS (8-2 ATS overall)

CHAMPIONSHIP
(-8) Ohio St 34, Notre Dame 23
FAVS 1-0 ATS (9-2 ATS overall)

TRENDING TODAY
A Tale of Two Halves

Paddy O from Parma, Ohio dropped this note - Long time reader and fan ... Have to ask your opinion on the ND football decision. They were ranked ahead of Miami for the last 8 weeks yet got snubbed by the committee by having Miami pass ND up in the final rankings. Neither team played last weekend during the conference championships, yet Miami leapfrogs ND, then ND wants to take their toys and go home by not playing in a bowl game, they forfeit a $4M payout and send this message to their team: If you don't get what you want in life, it's OK to quit. What side are you taking?

Marc Says: I’m not taking a side, Paddy. I just find the situation deplorable. In my opinion, from the top, I feel the Irish were screwed by the bowl committee. Notre Dame was ranked in the Top 10 in every College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking release until the final week when Miami Florida surged past them in the last poll, despite neither team playing during championship week. But denying the players on the team the reward of going to a bowl game was totally self-serving and wrong. Yes, they did take their toys and go home. A message that was sent by the committee emphasized the importance of playing in and winning a conference championship—see James Madison and Tulane—far outweighs independent teams dominating opponents with weaker schedules. Hopefully, the message was received, and the end result will lead to a 16-team playoff sooner rather than later.