Fernando Mendoza wins the Heisman Trophy as college football's top player

NEW YORK (AP) — Fernando Mendoza, the enthusiastic quarterback of No. 1 Indiana, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming the first Hoosier to win college football’s most prestigious award since its inception in 1935.

Mendoza claimed 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes. He beat Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (1,435 points), Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (719 points) and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (432 points).

Mendoza’s Heisman win was emphatic. He finished first in all six Heisman regions, the first to do so since Caleb Williams in 2022. He was named on 95.16% of all ballots, tying him with Marcus Mariota in 2014 for the second highest in the award’s history and he received 84.6% of total possible points, which is the seventh highest in Heisman history.

“I haven’t seen the numbers yet,” said Mendoza, "but it’s such an honor to be mentioned with these guys (Pavia, Love and Sayin). It's really a credit to our team. It’s a team award.”

Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to their first No. 1 ranking and the top seed in the 12-team College Football bracket, throwing for 2,980 yards and a national-best 33 touchdown passes while also running for six scores. Indiana, the last unbeaten team in major college football, will play a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

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

A redshirt junior, the once lightly recruited Miami native is the second Heisman finalist in school history, joining 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson. Mendoza is the seventh Indiana player to earn a top-10 finish in Heisman balloting and it marks another first in program history — having back-to-back players in the top 10. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke was ninth last year.

With his teammates chanting “HeismanDoza” as he addressed the media, he said there felt like a realistic chance of winning the Heisman when the Hoosiers routed then No. 19 Illinois 63-10 on Sept. 20.

“At that point my boys (teammates) said we might make it to New York (for the award ceremony)," he said. "It was lighthearted at the time, but that’s when it started. "

Quarterbacks have won the Heisman four of the last five years, with two-way player Travis Hunter of Colorado ending the run last season.

Mendoza is the 43rd quarterback to win the Heisman and the second winner of Latin American descent to claim the trophy. Stanford’s Jim Plunkett was the first in 1970.

“Although I grew up in America, my four grandparents are all from Cuba," he said. “I had the opportunity to go there and that was important to me. I credit the love to my grandparents and the Hispanic community.”

The Heisman Trophy presentation came after a number of accolades were already awarded. Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year earlier this week and picked up the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards Friday night while Love won the Doak Walker Award.

Mendoza and Pavia clearly exemplify the changing landscape of using the transfer portal in college football. Mendoza is the seventh transfer to win the award in the last nine years. Vanderbilt is Pavia’s third school.

Pavia finished second with 189 first-place votes. He threw for a school-record 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns for the Commodores, who were pushing for a CFP berth all the way to the bracket announcement. He is the first Heisman finalist in Vanderbilt history.

Generously listed as 6 feet tall, Pavia led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season along with six wins against Southeastern Conference foes. That includes four wins over ranked programs as Vandy reached No. 9, its highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1937.

Pavia went from being unrecruited out of high school to junior college, New Mexico State and finally Vanderbilt in 2024 through the transfer portal.

Vandy next plays in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Iowa on Dec. 31.

The last running back to win the Heisman was Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Love put himself in the mix with an outstanding season for Notre Dame. He finished with 46 first-place votes.

The junior from St. Louis was fourth in the Bowl Subdivision in yards rushing (1,372), fifth in per-game average (114.3) and third with 18 rushing touchdowns for the Fighting Irish, who missed out on a CFP bid and opted not to play in a bowl game.

He was the first player in Notre Dame’s storied history to produce multiple TD runs of 90 or more yards, a 98-yarder against Indiana in the first round of last year’s playoffs and a 94-yarder against Boston College earlier this season.

Sayin led the Buckeyes to a No. 1 ranking for most of the season, throwing for 3,329 yards while tying for second in the country with 31 TD passes ahead of their CFP quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

The sophomore from Carlsbad, California, arrived at Ohio State after initially committing to Alabama and entering the transfer portal following a coaching change. He played four games last season before winning the starting job. He led the Buckeyes to a 14-7 win in the opener against preseason No. 1 Texas and kept the team atop the AP Top 25 for 13 straight weeks, tying its second-longest run.

Sayin follows a strong lineage of Ohio State quarterbacks since coach Ryan Day arrived in 2017. Dwayne Haskins (2018), Justin Fields (2019), C.J. Stroud (2021), and Kyle McCord (2023) averaged 3,927 passing yards, 40 TDs, and six interceptions, along with a 68.9% completion rate during their first seasons.

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FILE - Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) carries the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin plays against Texas during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, 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 - Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (2) celebrates a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against LSU, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s president on Saturday warned neighboring Afghanistan’s Taliban government that it had “ crossed a red line ” by launching drone attacks on civilian areas in Pakistan and said the administration in Kabul has brought “grave consequences upon itself.”

The statement by Asif Ali Zardari was the latest in what has become the deadliest fighting yet between the two neighbors. The cross-border clashes, which erupted late last month, have shown no signs of abating despite efforts by China and Turkey to broker a ceasefire.

Pakistan said its forces intercepted the drones launched on Friday but that falling debris injured two children in the city of Quetta and two people elsewhere in the country.

On Friday, the Afghan Taliban government accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes in Kabul, the country's capital, and other areas in eastern Afghanistan, saying at least six civilians were killed and 15 other were injured.

Hours later, Kabul claimed its air force responded by targeting military installations near Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, and in northwestern Pakistan.

Pakistan denied targeting civilians, saying its operations are focused on Pakistani Taliban militants and their support networks. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an "open war” — adding to concerns among the international community about regional stability as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has engulfed the Middle East and beyond.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Pakistani aircraft also struck fuel depots belonging to the private airline Kam Air near the airport in the southern city of Kandahar, which he said supplies civilian and U.N. flights.

Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of harboring Pakistani militant groups — mainly the Pakistani Taliban — that cross the porous volatile border between the two countries to stage attacks against Pakistani forces and also of allying with its archrival, India. Kabul denies harboring militant groups.

On Friday, a roadside bomb targeting Pakistani police killed seven officers in the northwestern district of Lakki Mawat.

Zardari slammed the government in Kabul.

“While the Afghan terrorist regime seeks negotiations with our friendly countries, it crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians," he said.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday on X that its defense forces along the border in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar captured a Pakistani post and killed 14 Pakistani soldiers. In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the claim was baseless.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said the “Afghan Taliban are spending more time weaving fantasies" than they are getting rid of "terrorist organizations enjoying Afghan Taliban regime hospitality.”

He said in a post on X that propaganda would not force Pakistan to end its counterterrorism operations. “Only the end of terrorism from Afghan soil to Pakistan will,” he said

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged for a peaceful resolution of the Afghanistan-Pakistan dispute, warning the use of force worsens tensions and threatens regional stability. His remarks were reported Saturday by China’s official Xinhua News Agency, which said Wang had spoken with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Wang said China’s special envoy is shuttling between the two countries in an effort to promote restraint and encourage a ceasefire. Muttaqi said Afghanistan seeks regional peace and does not want a military conflict, adding that dialogue remains the only solution and urging China to play a greater role.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire in October briefly reduced tensions, but subsequent talks in Turkey failed to produce a lasting agreement.

Qahar reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Residents and Taliban police gather the remains of a projectile at the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)

People attend the funeral prayers of police officers, killed in the roadside bomb explosion, outskirts of Lakki Marwat, a district in northwest Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/G.A. Marwat)

Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)