Ohio State will have to wait at least one more year for its eighth Heisman Trophy.
Buckeye quarterback Julian Sayin finished fourth in the voting for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza – who beat Sayin and Ohio State in last week’s Big Ten Championship Game – winning the award.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia finished second, while Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love finished third.
Final Heisman voting. pic.twitter.com/rH0HHVEapu
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) December 14, 2025
It’s the seventh time since 2018 that a Buckeye has made the trip to New York as a Heisman finalist but finished third or fourth in the Heisman vote. Sayin joins Dwayne Haskins (third in 2018), Justin Fields (third in 2019), Chase Young (fourth in 2019), C.J. Stroud (fourth in 2021 and third in 2022) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (fourth in 2023) as third- or fourth-place finishers in the Heisman vote in the last eight years from Ohio State.
Sayin is one of three Buckeyes to finish in the top nine of this year’s Heisman vote along with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (sixth) and safety Caleb Downs (ninth). Ohio State was the only school to have multiple players in the top 10 of this year’s Heisman vote.
Sayin earned his place on the Heisman ceremony stage by completing 78.4% of his passing attempts – putting him on pace to break the NCAA completion-percentage record – in Ohio State’s first 13 games of the season. He leads the FBS with a 182.2 passer rating, has thrown for 3,323 yards and 31 touchdowns with only six interceptions and led Ohio State to a 12-0 regular season record, including the Buckeyes’ first win over Michigan since 2019, to earn the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.
Mendoza, who’s completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,980 yards and 33 touchdowns with six interceptions to lead Indiana to a 13-0 record and the No. 1 seed in the CFP, is the first Big Ten player to win the Heisman since Ohio State’s Troy Smith won the award in 2006.
Sayin, a redshirt freshman in his first year as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, was the lone underclassman among this year’s Heisman finalists. He’s the only player among this year’s Heisman finalists who will still be playing college football in 2026, making him a top candidate to win the award next season.
Interviewed alongside Sayin during Saturday night’s Heisman ceremony on ABC, Ryan Day said he was proud of Sayin just for being a finalist.
“Julian’s just getting started,” Day said. “Julian’s a first-year starter, in a time where the guys who get invited to New York are multiple-year players, guys who have played a lot of football. This is Julian’s first year playing football, and to see the way he’s taken this first year, with everything that comes with being the quarterback at Ohio State, and handling it with humility – he’s got a lot of football ahead of him, not just this year, but down the road. And I’m really proud of him.”
Sayin, who told Ohio State reporters this week that he had dreamed of being a Heisman finalist since he watched Marcus Mariota win the award in 2014, said it was an “awesome experience” to be in New York for the ceremony.
“As a kid growing up, I would tell people that I want to be in New York for the Heisman ceremony. And I watched my idols win this award on TV. So I think it's just a testament to our coaching staff, our players, and just having a great community around me at Ohio State and just being able to put me in this moment,” Sayin said.
