Indiana's Mendoza wins Maxwell, O'Brien; Rodriguez wins Bednarik - ESPN

BRISTOL, Conn. — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has won the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien awards on the eve of the Heisman Trophy presentation, and the redshirt junior is heavily favored to take the top prize in college football.

Mendoza took the honors for the nation's player of the year and top QB on ESPN's college awards show Friday night. The Heisman winner will be named Saturday night in New York, and Mendoza is an overwhelming favorite.

The Maxwell and O'Brien honors came a day after Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year.

The California transfer led the Hoosiers to a 13-0 record, a victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Indiana's first O'Brien winner set a program record with an FBS-leading 33 touchdown passes.

«It's a wonderful feeling. It really doesn't feel real,» Mendoza said from New York after being named the O'Brien winner. «It's a testament to so many people who believed in me, who have helped groom me into the player I am today and all those people, especially before anybody knew my name.»

Mendoza won the O'Brien over Ohio State's Julian Sayin and Texas A&M's Marcel Reed, two other quarterbacks getting ready to lead their teams in the CFP.

The Maxwell nod for Mendoza came over Sayin and Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love, who was that storied program's first Doak Walker Award winner as the nation's premier running back. Love set a school record with 21 touchdowns.

Mendoza is Indiana's second Maxwell winner after running back Anthony Thompson in 1989.

Mendoza's coach, Curt Cignetti, was named coach of the year for the second consecutive season. The Hoosiers had their first undefeated regular season since 1945, won the Big Ten