Diego Pavia became just the second-ever player from Vanderbilt to receive a vote for the Heisman Trophy. He would not come away with the award, with Fernando Mendoza winning the Heisman Trophy. While Mendoza took home the award, it was Pavia who got robbed by the voters.
Ten different players received first-place votes for the Heisman Trophy, with Pavia, Mendoza, Julian Sayin, and Jeremiyah Love being the four top vote-getters in terms of points. This earned them the invite to New York for the Heisman Ceremony. Pavia had the second-highest number of first-place votes with 189, while leading in second-place votes with 352 and also securing 164 third-place votes. This led to 1,435 points for Pavia. Meanwhile, Mendoza led with 643 first-place votes, coming away with a total of 2,362 points, easily clearing Pavia and securing the award.
While coming in second for the Heisman is normally something to be proud of, Pavia was not happy that he was not named the winner. The Vanderbilt quarterback shared his anger on Instagram, blasting the voters for his second-place finish. The anger is justified, though.
Why Pavia deserved the award
According to the Heisman Trophy Trust, the award “is annually awarded to the outstanding college football player in the United States whose performance epitomizes great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work.”
The sixth-year quarterback from Vanderbilt is the epitome of qualified, based on the description given by the Trust. He threw for 3,192 yards this year, while also passing for 27 touchdowns. He threw eight interceptions and finished fourth in the nation in QBR. Furthermore, he ran for 826 yards and nine touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Mendoza threw for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns with six picks. He was third in the nation in QBR. Still, he ran for just 240 yards and six touchdowns. This was all done while playing one more game than Pavia. Overall, Pavia had more yards and three fewer touchdowns in one fewer game. He also played more difficult defensive units and more highly ranked teams.
Mendoza faces just three teams that were ranked when Indiana faced them: Illinois, Oregon, and Ohio State. Indiana went 3-0, including two top-five wins. Pavia faces six teams that were ranked when Vanderbilt opposed them. This includes South Carolina, Alabama, LSU, Missouri, Texas, and Tennessee. Vandy went 4-2.
Indiana was also a team that was coming off a CFP berth the year before, while Pavia led Vanderbilt to a 10-2 record and the first-ever ten-win season for the team. The Vandy gunslinger was also top ten in the nation in total offense, passing efficiency, passing touchdowns, yards per attempt, completion percentage, and points responsible for. Meanwhile, PFSN also ranked the quarterback first in QB Impact score, over Mendoza.
Adding to this is the diligence and perseverance aspect. Coming out of high school, he did not receive a single offense from a Division-I school, and the only two Division II offers at quarterback were Western Colorado and Western New Mexico. This led to him playing JUCO football at New Mexico Military Institute. He led the team to the NJCAA Division I national championship. The quarterback then spent two seasons with New Mexico State before finally landing at Vanderbilt, helping turn around that program.
Pavia checks all the boxes as the perfect winner of the award, but still got second place. This is not to say Mendoza did not deserve the award, but Pavia was the rightful winner.
Why Mendoza got the win
Outside of a remarkable season that has aspects which have not been seen before, or in a generation, those who win the Heisman often come from top-end winning teams. Since the playoff began in 2014, seven of the 11 winners have been on playoff teams. Lamar Jackson won in 2016 after having the clear best season in college football. There was also Caleb Williams in 2022, Jayden Daniels in 2023, and Travis Hunter, a two-way phenom, in 2024. Mendoza not only led Indiana to the playoffs, but they are the only remaining undefeated team in the nation right now.
The Indiana quarterback also has a similar backstory. He was not heavily recruited out of high school, but did have Division I offers, originally committing to Yale. He would then flip to California, redshirting the 2022 season before starting in 2023 and transferring to Indiana this year.
Mendoza was also second in QBi as measured by PFSN, and was solid in winning the Big Ten Championship over Ohio State. Unlike Pavia, he won the biggest game of the year he played in, taking out the top team in the nation. He had a great season on the top team, which likely got him more votes, but Mendoza was not the most outstanding player in the nation. He did win more, but with a better supporting crew around, and he got the award. Overall, it should not take away from the amazing season that Pavia had.
Fans of Vanderbilt will get to see him play one more time in a Commodore uniform. They will face Iowa on December 31 at the ReliaQuest Bowl.
