Joel Klatt announces his mid-season leader for the Heisman Trophy

The list of candidates for the Heisman Trophy race has seen several shifts during the first half of this college football season. Pre-season favorite Arch Manning’s odds have slumped tremendously after a shaky start, while a few candidates who were not on many radars to enter the season have now emerged.

On the Wednesday edition of The Joel Klatt Show, the Fox Sports’ college football analyst took his shot at naming the top Heisman Trophy contenders at the mid-point of the 2025 season. Atop the list was one of those pre-season sleepers, Indiana’s transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza is Joel Klatt's mid-season leader for the Heisman Trophy award. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

“He has led Indiana to now a top five ranking,” Klatt said of Mendoza. “He has taken what was a very good offense a year ago, and taken it to another level. He has been, really, the catalyst. He has orchestrated what I think was the best win of the season for any team, which was last week at Oregon.”

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza completed 64.5% of his passes for 215 yards and a touchdown against Oregon in Indiana’s 30-20 win this past Saturday. He now has 1,423 passing yards through six games, has thrown 17 touchdown passes against just two interceptions and is completing over 71% of his throws.

The current betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy is Miami’s Carson Beck with odds of around +325, depending on which sportsbook you find him. Oregon’s Dante Moore had been at or near the top of the odds before last week’s loss to Indiana. Moore not only has seen his odds drop, but was not included on Klatt’s mid-season Heisman Top Five.

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck is the current betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy at most sportsbooks. | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is around +350 odds for the Heisman Trophy at most books, and Klatt had the Crimson Tide first-year starter on his Top Five list as well. Simpson is Top 15 in the country with 1,678 passing yards this season. He has thrown just one interception against 17 touchdown passes for the No. 6 ranked Crimson Tide.

Maybe a surprised edition on Klatt’s list of top quarterbacks is Georgia Tech’s Haynes King. Although not a big name on NFL Draft boards just yet, King has proven to be exactly the leader this Tech team has needed in 2025. Like their quarterback, the Yellowjackets are having trouble earning respect for their performance this season, ranking just 12th in the AP Poll despite being undefeated.

The only non-quarterback to make the list is Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Klatt acknowledged that Smith is the best player in college football in his estimation, but the Heisman Trophy has traditionally gone to a quarterback when there are strong candidates at that position.

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