Tag Archives: Heisman Trophy

Fernando Mendoza Becomes First Heisman Trophy Winner of Cuban Descent

Posted on by
Reply

Fernando Mendoza is celebrating a historic win…

The 22-year-old Cuban American college football player, the quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers was announced as the 91st winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy during ABC’s 2025 Heisman Trophy on Saturday, December 13,

Fernando Mendoza

Mendoza, who received 2,362 points, including 643 first-place votes, becomes the first college football player of Cuban descent to claim the Heisman and only the third Latino winner in the award’s history.

Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia, who is of Spanish and Mexican descent, finished second with 1,435 points and 189 first-place votes.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love was third with 719 points and 46 first-place votes and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was fourth with 432 points and eight first-place votes.

Mendoza, a redshirt junior, is Indiana’s first Heisman winner. Indiana’s previous highest finisher was 1989 runner-up Anthony Thompson.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder from Miami, Fla., is the 2025 Big Ten Offensive Player and Quarterback of the Year and an All-Big Ten first-team quarterback who led Indiana to a 2025 Big Ten Championship victory over Ohio State and a No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Mendoza, in his first year at Indiana after transferring from California, led the Hoosiers to a 13-0 record and the program’s first-ever No. 1 ranking.

He completed 226-of-316 passes for 2,980 yards and a nation-leading 33 TD passes while rushing for 240 yards and another six scores.

He is second nationally in total touchdowns accounted for (39) and in quarterback rating (181.39) and is sixth in completion percentage (71.5). Mendoza’s 33 TD passes are a school season record as are his five games this season with four or more scoring passes.

He threw for a season-high 332 yards and four scores in a win over Michigan State. He completed better than 85% of his passes four times this year and threw at least one TD pass in each game outside of the season-opener.

Mendoza was named the AP Player of the Year earlier this week and also won the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Davey O’Brien Awards.

Mendoza, whose passer rating of 181.39 is 10th-best among Heisman winners, is the seventh player in the last nine years to win the award after transferring and the fourth in a row. He is the sixth Heisman winner to hail from Florida and the second in a row. He is the first winner from a current Big Ten team since USC’s Caleb Williams in 2022.

Mendoza, who earned his undergraduate business degree in Berkeley last year and is pursuing a Master’s at Indiana, is the 39th quarterback to win the award. He is only the second Heisman winner to wear No. 15, following Tim Tebow (2007).

Pavia is Vanderbilt’s highest finisher ever. The next highest came in the third year of the award when Commodore All-American center Carl Hinkle finished seventh in 1937.

Love is Notre Dame’s highest finisher in the Heisman voting since Manti Te’o was the 2012 runner-up. Sayin is Ohio State’s highest finisher since 2023 when Marvin Harrison Jr. was fourth.

The 2025 Heisman Trophy ballots went out to 930 electors, which includes 870 members of the media, 59 living Heisman winners and one overall fan vote. All ballots were submitted electronically to the independent accountants at Deloitte.

Rounding out the top 10 finishers were fifth-place Texas Tech senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, sixth-place Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, seventh-place Georgia junior quarterback Gunner Stockton, eighth-place Mississippi senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, ninth-place Ohio State junior safety Caleb Downs and 10th-place Georgia Tech senior quarterback Haynes King.

Teofimo Lopez to Fight Sandor Martin Next Month in New York

Posted on by
Reply

Teofimo Lopez has reportedly locked in his next opponent…

The 25-year-old Honduran American boxer and former lightweight champion has agreed to fight Sandor Martin on December 10 in New York, according to ESPN.

Teofimo Lopez Jr.Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) replaces Jose Pedraza, who withdrew from the 140-pound Top Rank on ESPN bout with a non-COVID illness.

Martin, a 29-year-old Spaniard, scored a career-best win last year with a major upset of Mikey Garcia. Martin had never competed outside Europe but traveled to California as a 10-1 underdog to defeat Garcia, a former four-division champion, via majority decision. Garcia announced his retirement afterward. 

Now, Martin has parlayed that victory into another career-defining opportunity. He was considered for the Lopez assignment before Pedraza landed the fight, but he remained in training.

A tricky boxer with an impressive jab, Martin will once again be facing long odds.

Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) was recognized as one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters before he dropped a decision to George Kambosos last November in ESPN‘s upset of the year. It was later revealed that Lopez fought Kambosos with a slight esophageal tear.

Lopez, who fights out of Las Vegas, returned from his first defeat in August with a seventh-round TKO over Pedro Campa in his 140-pound debut. His 135-pound campaign included a victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko to capture the undisputed lightweight championship.

This will be Lopez’s third fight following ESPN’s annual coverage of the Heisman Trophy presentation. He’s rated No. 9 at junior welterweight.

Teofimo Lopez In Final Talks to Fight Jose Pedraza in December

Posted on by
Reply

Teofimo Lopez is thisclose to booking his next bout…

The 25-year-old Honduran American boxer, a former unified lightweight world champion, is in the process of finalizing a deal for a December10 junior welterweight fight against Jose Pedraza in New York.

Teofimo LopezThe bout will be Lopez’s second at 140 pounds following a 135-pound campaign that included a victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko to capture the undisputed lightweight championship.

It will be the third time that Lopez (17-1, 13 KOs) would fight following ESPN‘s coverage of the Heisman Trophy presentation.

Lopez, who fights out of Las Vegas, returned from his first defeat in August with a seventh-round TKO over Pedro Campa.

Pedraza (29-4-1, 14 KOs), a 33-year-old from Puerto Rico, is a far tougher test as a former two-division champion. He was stopped by Gervonta Davis in Round 7 of a 2017 matchup at 130 pounds but went on to win a vacant 135-pound title with a victory over Ray Beltran one year later.

Pedraza lost that lightweight belt to Lomachenko via decision later in 2018 and dropped another decision to Jose Zepeda in 2019. Pedraza won three bouts against lesser opposition but is winless in his past two outings — a decision defeat to Jose Ramirez in March and a draw with Richard Commey in August.

Lopez was recognized as one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters before he dropped a decision to George Kambosos in November in ESPN‘s upset of the year. It was later revealed that Lopez fought Kambosos with a slight esophageal tear.

Lopez subsequently moved to 140 pounds, where he could challenge for a title next year with a win against Pedraza.