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Justin's top 10 Heisman Trophy contenders ahead of the official announcement of the 2025 winner. Where do Ty Simpson and Fernando Mendoza rank?
Final Top 10 Heisman Contenders
We have arrived at the end. The College Football Playoff bracket is set and the Heisman will be award on Saturday night. At this point, it feels like a foregone conclusion who’s going to win it. The question is just by how much.
The last time a player got over 600 first-place votes was Bryce Young in 2021. The last time a player got over 700? Joe Burrow, who dominated the voting in 2019 and received 841 first-place votes. Where will this year’s winner land? Surely he won’t reach Burrow levels, but could he get over 700 votes? That feels like the only thing left for us to learn at this stage.
Here are my final picks for the top 10 in the 2025 Heisman voting.
10. Makai Lemon, Wide Receiver, USC
Last Week: Not Ranked
This marks Makai Lemon’s first appearance on this list all year. His 1,156 receiving yards lead the Big Ten and he’s scored 13 total touchdowns, including 11 receiving ones.
Lemon grabs the final spot here because Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has been in free-fall mode. Maybe the CFP committee didn’t punish Alabama for its SEC title game loss, but I can punish Simpson in my mock Heisman vote.
9. Marcel Reed, Quarterback, Texas A&M
Last Week: Ninth
Marcel Reed put up strong numbers this season and led Texas A&M to one of its best seasons ever, but he simply doesn’t have the stats to be a true contender for the Heisman.
And that’s fine! Reed deserves to sneak into the top 10, though, because he had a very strong 2025 season, even if his regular season ended on a sour note with two interceptions in a loss to Texas that knocked the Aggies out of playoff bye contention.
8. Dante Moore, Quarterback, Oregon
Last Week: 10th
No, Dante Moore didn’t have a season as Dillon Gabriel last season, but he still led Oregon to an 11-1 regular season record and completed 72.5 percent of his passes for 2,733 yards and 24 touchdowns.
It feels like Oregon really went under the radar after that loss to Indiana, but Moore deserves a lot of credit for steadying the ship and leading the Ducks to six consecutive wins after that loss.
7. Jeremiah Smith, Wide Receiver, Ohio State
Last Week: Seventh
While Makai Lemon appears in these final rankings and thus makes Jeremiah Smith no longer the only wide receiver to have appeared in the top 10 this season, Smith’s still going to finish ahead of Lemon in the final Heisman rankings.
Has this season been as good as his freshman year? It’s a complicated question. Smith hasn’t had as many highlight-reel plays, but his eight catches for 144 yards in the conference championship game loss to Indiana was the biggest highlight of the day for the Buckeyes, and he’s now eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
6. Gunner Stockton, Quarterback, Georgia
Last Week: Sixth
Georgia needed to beat Alabama on Saturday to lock up a first-round bye. Quarterback Gunner Stockton delivered, going 20-for-26 for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
Stockton has completed 70.7 percent of his passes this season for 2,691 yards and 23 touchdowns while also adding eight more scores on the ground. He has the Bulldogs positioned to go out and fight for another national title.
5. Jacob Rodriguez, Linebacker, Texas Tech
Last Week: Fifth
The Red Raiders didn’t give linebacker Jacob Rodriguez a goal-line carry to pad his numbers this week like the team did against UCF and West Virginia, but he didn’t need that to post an impressive stat line. In the Big 12 Championship Game win over BYU, Rodriguez had 13 tackles, including one for a loss, and was the anchor for a defense that only allowed one touchdown.
Rodriguez leads the nation in forced fumbles and leads the Big 12 in tackles. He’s the biggest reason why this Tech defense is one of the best in college football.
4. Jeremiyah Love, Running Back, Notre Dame
Last Week: Fourth
With Notre Dame opting out of a bowl game after the team was left out of the playoff field, Jeremiyah Love’s season — and likely his entire college career — is over.
Love ends the season with 1,372 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns in just 12 games. He might not lead the nation in either stat, but taking everything about his season into account, it’s hard to say any running back was better in 2025 than Love.
3. Julian Sayin, Quarterback, Ohio State
Last Week: Second
Julian Sayin’s Heisman hopes rested on outdueling Fernando Mendoza in the Big Ten Championship Game. That didn’t happen. Sayin wasn’t bad, per se, as he was 22-for-30 for 264 yards, but he threw just one touchdown in the 13-10 loss and was picked off.
Still, Sayin heads into the playoffs as the Division I leader in completion percentage and quarterback rating. It was a very good season for the first-year starter.
2. Diego Pavia, Quarterback, Vanderbilt
Last Week: Third
Sayin’s drop benefits Diego Pavia, who should be the clear runner-up at this point. The Vanderbilt quarterback led his team to a 10-2 record, which included a huge 45-24 win over Tennessee to close the regular season.
Even without the extra game that Alabama and Georgia got to play, Pavisa is the SEC leader in passing touchdowns with 27, plus he’s added nine scores on the ground. The question now is if we’ll see him one more time when the Commodores play Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
1. Fernando Mendoza, Quarterback, Indiana
Last Week: First
This seems easy. We have the FBS leader in touchdown passes who also happens to be the quarterback for the only undefeated team in the nation, plus he’s coming off a game where he handed Ohio State its first loss of the season.
Say what you will about Mendoza’s numbers not being as impressive as other recent Heisman winners, but he still stands out above the rest of the 2025 options. Mendoza will be your 2025 Heisman winner.
