Diego Pavia Ripped Heisman Voters After Finishing Second Behind Fernando Mendoza

The Vanderbilt quarterback did not mince words.

Pavia finished in second place in the 2025 Heisman voting behind Fernando Mendoza. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Diego Pavia doesn’t seem too thrilled about his second-place finish in the Heisman Trophy race.

After it was revealed on Saturday night in New York that Indiana's Fernando Mendoza had won college football's most prestigious award—the first Hoosier to do so in program history—the Vanderbilt quarterback took to social media to relay quite the pointed message to the Heisman voters.

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“F-all the voters 👎,” Pavia wrote on his Instagram story, while sharing a post from comedian Theo Von. “But ..... Family for life.”

Diego Pavia finished in second place to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. / Screenshot via @diego10pavia on Instagram

Clearly, the 23-year-old isn’t too thrilled.

Pavia finished the 2025 season with a 71.2% completion percentage, 3,192 passing yards, and 27 passing touchdowns—the most in the SEC—while also adding 826 yards and nine scores on the ground. Additionally, he led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history, as well as its second consecutive bowl game appearance.

Unfortunately, his performance for the Commodores this season wasn’t enough to beat out Mendoza for the award. The Indiana quarterback has led the Hoosiers to an undefeated campaign and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff while throwing for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Pavia did win the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award earlier this month, but that clearly wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

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