Mendoza, Pavia, Love, Sayin named Heisman Trophy finalists - ESPN

Two days after leading Indiana to its first Big Ten championship in 58 years, Fernando Mendoza was announced as a Heisman Trophy finalist Monday.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin joined the Hoosiers quarterback as the four finalists.

The winner will be revealed Saturday in New York.

Mendoza defeated Sayin and the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game Saturday to earn the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Mendoza clinched the victory with a 33-yard strike to Charlie Becker on third down, which allowed the Hoosiers to salt away the clock in the 13-10 victory to remain unbeaten. He passed for 222 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, as Indiana knocked off the Buckeyes after 30 consecutive defeats that dated back to 1988.

«We were never supposed to be in this position,» said Mendoza, the game's MVP, «but now we're the flipping champs.»

Mendoza — the minus-1200 favorite to win the Heisman according to DraftKings Sportsbook — will try to make more history this weekend. The Hoosiers have never had a Heisman winner, although running back Anthony Thompson finished runner-up in the voting to Houston quarterback Andre Ware, now an ESPN college football analyst, in 1989.

Mendoza, a junior, transferred to Indiana from Cal during the offseason.

The Heisman has been awarded to the nation's most outstanding college football player since 1935. The top four vote-getters determined by more than 900 voters are selected as finalists. The voting panel includes members of the media and former Heisman winners.

Though Vanderbilt didn't make the playoff, Pavia is having an historical run for the Commodores, as well.

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