Fernando Mendoza is AP player of the year after leading Indiana to 13-0 record and top seed in CFP

Fernando Mendoza was named Associated Press player of the year on Thursday after leading unbeaten and top-ranked Indiana to its first Big Ten championship since 1967 and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

The redshirt junior quarterback was the overwhelming choice over fellow Heisman Trophy finalists Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt, Jeremiah Love of Notre Dame and Julian Sayin of Ohio State. Mendoza received 32 of 51 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who cover college football. Pavia got nine to lead the rest of the group, which also included Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech.

“I'm shining now but only because there are so many stars around me," Mendoza said, describing his rise from lightly recruited high school prospect in 2021 to a candidate for the sport's most prestigious awards. “There's an analogy that the only reason we're able to see stars in the sky is because the light reflects from all different types of stars. I have so many stars around myself — whether it's my teammates, my coaches, my family, support staff — that I'm able to shine now in this light, and I'm so happy for everyone to be a part of this.”

Mendoza, the Hoosiers' first-year starter after transferring from California, is the triggerman for an offense that has surpassed program records for touchdowns and points set during last season's surprise run to the CFP.

Mendoza has thrown for a Bowl Subdivision-leading 33 touchdowns and run for six, giving him a school-record 39 TDs accounted for.

He was the first Big Ten quarterback since 2000 with three straight games with at least four TD passes and no interceptions. His 21-of-23, 267-yard, five-touchdown passing day in a 63-10 win at Illinois in the conference opener established him as a serious contender for national honors.

Mendoza is among 10 FBS quarterbacks who have completed better than 70% of their passes. He ranks among the most accurate passers on attempts of at least 20 yards, hitting on 23 of 43 (53.5%), and when under pressure (52.1%), according to Pro Football Focus.

Ranked the No. 72 quarterback prospect by ESPN when he was a senior at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Mendoza was pledged to Yale for almost six months before he decommitted and signed with California.

He sat out as a redshirt in 2022 and won the starting job for the final eight games in 2023. He was 10th in the nation in passing in 2024 and ranked among the top transfer prospects after the season. He landed at Indiana, where his brother Alberto Mendoza was the No. 3 quarterback last year. This year Alberto is the top backup to his big brother.

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FILE - Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) runs past UCLA defensive lineman Jacob Busic (97) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

FILE - Indiana's Fernando Mendoza celebrates after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)

FILE - Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza warms up before an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

FILE - Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) runs during the first half of an NCAA college football game against the Michigan State, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)

FILE - Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) runs during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Indiana State, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

FILE - Indiana's Fernando Mendoza throws during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)

FILE - Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Maryland, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — When senators voted on rival health bills Thursday, they had two chances to address expiring COVID-era subsidies that will result in millions of Americans saddled with higher insurance costs in the new year.

But the Senate rejected both, and hopes of solving the problem this year are running dry. Affordable Care Act subsidies will end in three weeks, more than doubling the premiums for many with health coverage through the 2010 law known as “Obamacare.”

Meanwhile, the political stakes of rising premiums are looming as affordability concerns have emerged as a key issue for American voters going into the midterms next year.

Here's a look at the subsidies in limbo, the proposals to address the problem and how American voters are feeling about the issue.

More than 24 million people have health insurance through the ACA. That includes farmers, ranchers, small-business owners and other self-employed people without other health insurance options through their work.

Enrollees who make less than 400% of the federal poverty level qualify for permanent subsidies in the program that help them offset premium costs.

In 2021, Democrats in Congress added additional subsidies, known as enhanced premium tax credits, that apply to enrollees regardless of their income. Those COVID-era subsidies are the ones set to expire Jan. 1.

With the expanded subsidies, some lower-income enrollees received health care with no premiums, and high earners paid no more than 8.5% of their income. Eligibility for middle-class earners was also expanded.

If the tax credits expire, the average subsidized enrollee will see their annual premium payments go up by 114%, from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, according to the health care research nonprofit KFF.

Especially hard-hit groups will include a small number of higher earners who will have to pay a lot more without the extra subsidies and a large number of lower earners who will have to pay a small amount more, said Cynthia Cox, a vice president and director of the ACA program at KFF.

Some enrollees, especially those who are young and healthy, may drop out of coverage entirely rather than pay the steeper fees, experts say. A recent KFF poll found that 1 in 4 enrollees said they would “very likely” go without health insurance if their premiums doubled next year.

Others might opt for ACA plans with cheaper premiums that have worse coverage and higher deductibles.

In most states, for Americans who want coverage to start Jan. 1, the window to shop for ACA coverage began Nov. 1 and ends Monday.

The plan championed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York would have allowed the vast majority of program enrollees to keep benefiting from the enhanced subsidies for three more years. It would have saved millions of people money in the short term and allowed some who might otherwise consider skipping coverage to stay insured.

But that would have come at a cost of nearly $83 billion added to federal deficits over the next decade according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Republicans on Thursday backed a proposal from Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to scrap the subsidies in favor of health savings accounts that would be funded for the next two years.

To be eligible, people would have had to choose a lower-cost, higher deductible bronze or catastrophic health insurance plan and make less than 700% of the federal poverty level. Those aged 18 to 49 would have gotten $1,000 a year, while those 50 and up would get $1,500.

The money could have been spent on health costs but not premiums. Health analysts warned that could have posed a problem when low-income Americans were already struggling to afford monthly fees.

On Thursday, neither bill came close to the 60 votes needed to pass.

The impasse in the Senate came as lawmakers grow anxious about the 2026 midterms. Pocketbook concerns, including health costs, are expected to be top issues for voters.

Democrats, who forced a 43-day shutdown over the expiring subsidies earlier this fall, are sure to shine a spotlight on the subject. Republicans may note that the Democrats in charge made the enhanced subsidies temporary in the first place.

At the same time, the GOP has yet to unite on a path forward. In the House, moderate Republicans who are up for reelection have been pushing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to extend the subsidies with new reforms while the right flank of the party has demanded deeper changes to a heath program they have long disliked.

Last month, the White House circulated a plan to extend the subsidies for two years while adjusting eligibility requirements. It ran into Republican pushback and has not had much traction since.

Trump, in a speech Wednesday, seemed to advocate an entirely different plan, giving people money to buy their own health insurance plans. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has introduced such a bill.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said some options could be brought to the floor as soon as next week.

Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, left, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., emerge from a GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

FILE - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meet with reporters to speak about health care affordability at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

FILE - Pages from the U.S. Affordable Care Act health insurance website healthcare.gov are seen on a computer screen in New York, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)