Three Biggest Snubs From 2025 Heisman Trophy Finalists

Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia, Julian Sayin and Jeremiyah Love will head to New York City.

Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez wasn’t named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy / Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the 12-team College Football Playoff field set, the next domino to fall was determining the finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy.

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love are the finalists for college football’s top honor. Saturday’s Big Ten championship game pitted Mendoza and Sayin against each other, providing a significant opportunity to make a Heisman statement.

Although both offenses came out slow, which certainly benefitted Pavia’s case, Mendoza may have had his Heisman moment with an awesome throw to help seal the game and the Big Ten title for the Hoosiers. Pavia and Love didn’t have an opportunity to make their closing statements on championship Saturday, although the two finalists have undoubtedly been top players across all of college football throughout the season.

With four deserving candidates headed to New York City for the festivities Saturday, some others were just on the brink of becoming finalists. Here are the three biggest snubs from this year’s Heisman Trophy finalist group ahead of the big announcement Saturday night:

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3. Jeremiah Smith — WR, Ohio State

Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith was one of the nation’s top offensive threats / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

• 2025 season stats: 80 receptions, 1,086 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns (one rushing).

Smith’s quarterback was named a finalist, but Sayin’s top receiving threat alongside Carnell Tate missed out. The sophomore star had one of his best games of the season in the Big Ten championship against Indiana with 144 receiving yards on eight receptions, but the Buckeyes’ offense was stymied otherwise in their first defeat of the year.

Smith had more receiving yards (1,315) and touchdowns (16) last year in his first season as a Buckeye, but he still has time to catch up as Ohio State ran through the College Football Playoff last year and became national champions. Smith put up top-10 receiving totals in all of college football this year in his first season catching passes from Sayin. He’s still looking to break through for his first appearance in New York City, with another opportunity to make a run at the Heisman next year.

First on the docket, though, is defending Ohio State’s title in the CFP.

2. Gunner Stockton — QB, Georgia

Gunner Stockton and the Georgia Bulldogs defeated Alabama in the SEC title game / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

• 2025 season stats: 2,691 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. Eight rushing touchdowns with 442 yards on 116 carries.

Stockton and Georgia got their revenge against Alabama in the SEC title game, getting back what was the only blemish on their schedule—a Sept. 27 loss to the Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs’ quarterback was solid all season for one of the most impressive teams in the nation that’s a legitimate threat to win it all. Stockton tossed three touchdowns against Bama in Saturday’s SEC championship game. He had an outside case for the Heisman, especially in such a QB heavy field, but Pavia’s offensive outbursts will have to serve as the sole SEC candidate in New York City.

Georgia gets to play for the title, however, as Stockton and the Bulldogs await the winner of Tulane and Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl and CFP quarterfinal.

1. Jacob Rodriguez — LB, Texas Tech

Star linebacker Jacob Rodriguez led Texas Tech’s elite defense / Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

• 2025 season stats: 114 tackles, seven forced fumbles, one sack, six pass deflections, four interceptions and three touchdowns (two offensive, one defensive).

Texas Tech’s defense stole the show in the Big 12 championship game in the Red Raiders’ dominant victory over BYU. The win sealed a first-round bye in the CFP as Texas Tech appears to be a true title contender. Defense is its calling card, and Rodriguez is TTU’s leader.

As a top defender in all of college football, the senior linebacker led the nation in forced fumbles and is just four shy of the all-time career record. His four interceptions this season is behind 15 other players—all defensive backs. Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire got creative to make Rodriguez’s Heisman case, putting the star defender in on offense toward the end of the season to prove a point. He scored two rushing touchdowns at the goal line, although he threw one pick while in on a goal-line situation at quarterback. Nevertheless, Rodriguez had a true case for college football’s top honor, even if defensive players face an uphill battle in any Heisman conversations.

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