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Justin's top 10 Heisman Trophy contenders ahead of Week 15 of the 2025 college football season. Where do Ty Simpson and Fernando Mendoza rank?
Top 10 Heisman Contenders For Week 15
The college football regular season is over and the Heisman battle looks set to come down to two players whose teams are playing each other in a conference championship game.
Or…maybe it isn’t over? Fernando Mendoza (+105) and Julian Sayin (+155) are the favorites here, but there’s one more player at +400, which is close enough to the top two to suggest that a poor game from both players in the Big Ten title clash could open the door. Here are the top 10 Heisman contenders ahead of conference championship weekend.
10. Dante Moore, Quarterback, Oregon
Last Week: Ninth
Dante Moore’s regular season ended quietly in a 26-14 win over Washington as he was 20-for-29 for 286 yards and a touchdown while also adding a rushing score.
Was his year as good as some other recent seasons from Oregon quarterbacks? Not really, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that Moore led the Ducks to an 11-1 regular season record while completing 72.5 percent of his passes for 2,733 yards and 24 touchdowns. It just falls a little flat when Dillon Gabriel completed a similar percentage of passes last year while throwing for 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns.
9. Marcel Reed, Quarterback, Texas A&M
Last Week: Fifth
Marcel Reed’s individual numbers weren’t Heisman worthy, but he had a viable shot to sneak into fifth place in the final voting had he led A&M to the SEC title. Instead, a loss to Texas this week will keep the Aggies from even playing for the conference championship.
Reed was picked off twice in the 27-17 loss. He ends the regular season with four interceptions in his final two conference games. It was a strong year for Reed, but he struggled at the exact wrong time.
8. Ty Simpson, Quarterback, Alabama
Last Week: 10th
Alabama narrowly avoided an upset in the Iron Bowl, winning 27-20 over Auburn. Ty Simpson was held to 122 yards on 54.3 percent passing, but he didn’t throw a pick and managed to toss three touchdown passes.
Simpson had a solid year, throwing for over 3,000 yards with 25 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He probably won’t finish top five in the voting, but he does have another shot to impress when the Crimson Tide play in the SEC Championship Game.
7. Jeremiah Smith, Wide Receiver, Ohio State
Last Week: Eighth
Jeremiah Smith caught a touchdown against Michigan, but finished with just three catches for 40 yards.
Smith took college football by storm as a freshman, but his sophomore season goes down as a slight disappointment for how he didn’t really improve on last year’s numbers. He’s still arguably the best receiver in the nation, but he won’t hit the 1,000-yard mark until at least the conference title game.
6. Gunner Stockton, Quarterback, Georgia
Last Week: Sixth
It’s really tough to know what to make of Gunner Stockton’s performance against Georgia Tech. He was 11-for-21 for just 70 yards with a touchdown and a pick, but also rushed for 42 yards in a 16-9 win.
Stockton has led Georgia to the SEC Championship Game, but ending the regular season with numbers like that highlights why there are three quarterbacks firmly above him in the Heisman race.
5. Jacob Rodriguez, Linebacker, Texas Tech
Last Week: Seventh
Texas Tech should have started this stat padding earlier, and it might have carried linebacker Jacob Rodriguez to the Heisman. Against West Virginia, he scored on a goal-line rushing attempt for the second game in a row. The team also let him throw a pass, but it was intercepted. (A trick play interception from a linebacker playing on offense is so weird that it has no negative bearing on the Heisman race.)
Rodriguez has been the engine that’s led to Texas Tech’s defense ranking third in the nation in scoring defense. He has four interceptions, seven forced fumbles, and 10 tackles for loss.
4. Jeremiyah Love, Running Back, Notre Dame
Last Week: Third
After an eye-popping 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries against Syracuse, I suppose Jeremiyah Love’s numbers against Stanford look a bit weaker. In the 49-20 win, Love had 14 carries for 66 yards and a score.
Love will be in New York for the Heisman ceremony, as he’s clearly one of the top four contenders after rushing for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns. It just feels like 2025 is a quarterback year as far as the award goes.
3. Diego Pavia, Quarterback, Vanderbilt
Last Week: Fourth
Diego Pavia was picked off twice this week, but it didn’t matter because he rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown in a 45-24 win over rival Tennessee. Pavia has given Vanderbilt its first double-digit win season ever. This will almost certainly be the highest-ranked the Commodores will be in the final AP poll since 1948.
Pavia leads the SEC in passing touchdowns and completion percentage, plus he’s rushed for 826 yards and nine scores. If we didn’t have two undefeated Big Ten schools, Pavia might be getting real hype for the award, but right now his only real shot involves a sloppy Indiana-Ohio State game where both teams are trying to lose.
2. Julian Sayin, Quarterback, Ohio State
Last Week: Second
Julian Sayin stepped up against Michigan, throwing for 233 yards and three touchdowns to give the Buckeyes a much-needed win over their biggest rivals.
The performance definitely helped Sayin creep closer to Mendoza in the Heisman race. Is it too easy to say that the winner of the Big Ten Championship Game will have the inside edge as far as winning the award?
1. Fernando Mendoza, Quarterback, Indiana
Last Week: First
There’s been talk about how Fernando Mendoza’s numbers don’t compare favorably to recent quarterbacks who won the award, which is fair. But they compare favorably to everyone else currently playing college football.
Mendoza made quick work of Purdue this week, going 8-for-15 for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-3 win. He leads the nation in touchdown passes with 32 and has completed 72.0 percent of his passes. If the voting were right now, Mendoza wins, but the voting is after the Big Ten Championship Game, so there’s still a lot of mystery left.
