Tag: Mendoza

Peach Bowl places top QBs under pre-draft microscope

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Tune into the Peach Bowl if you are a fan of good, old fashioned quarterback competition.

Long since settled as starting quarterbacks, Oregon’s Dante Moore and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza of No. 1 Indiana are showcase attractions in the spotlight College Football Playoff semifinal in Atlanta on Friday night.

Squaring off for the second time this season — Round 1 went to Mendoza and the Hoosiers in a turning-point win — it won’t be the final time for a tale of the tape between the 20-year-old Moore and 22-year-old Mendoza.

Win or lose Friday, fans and armchair roster-building pundits will be measuring these quarterbacks by trait and every measurable comparison and contrasting skill all the way up until the Las Vegas Raiders call out the name of the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

“Beating a great team twice is extremely difficult. They’re star studded on both offense and defense,” Mendoza said on the “Pat McAfee Show.” “Draft picks all across the board. Having to play them twice is going to be tough. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

Score the first few rounds to Mendoza, a transfer to Indiana from Cal who faced Moore during his UCLA cameo. The Hoosiers topped Oregon, 30-20, when they met at Autzen Stadium in Eugene on Oct. 11.

“I gotta give Fernando his credit. He’s had a hell of a year. He’s had some great years,” Moore said. “This is our third time playing against each other. He’s somebody that works his tail off. Very smart quarterback, talented quarterback.”

Field Level Media rates Moore as the No. 2 quarterback in the draft behind Mendoza, with Alabama’s Ty Simpson — who lost to Mendoza at the Rose Bowl last week and entered the draft on Wednesday — on their heels.

Moore downplayed the looming stay-or-go call he’ll face when Oregon’s season ends. He said the difference this week from when he left UCLA for Oregon was his destination was a choice he had made long before entering the transfer portal.

“At the end of the day, when I started football at four years old, everybody’s goal is get into the National Football League,” Moore said. Yeah, there’s going to be all these things going on. I’m human. I see it on social media. But I told myself that I shouldn’t be engaged with it, because if I do, I’m thinking about myself and I’m not thinking about the 10 other guys on the field with me. So I gotta make sure I give them my 100 percent love and attention, because without them I wouldn’t be in the situation I am now. So I’m thankful for my teammates, and it’s going to be a great game. And when I see Fernando again and we talk after the game, whenever we do, I’m just glad I got to play against him.”

Former NFL coach Bruce Arians, who coached Peyton Manning and Tom Brady during his extensive offensive coaching career, recently likened Mendoza to Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Brady, a driving force of the Raiders’ offseason as a minority owner, praised Mendoza’s ability to “think the game” and anticipate adjustments from defenses.

Mendoza leads the FBS with 36 touchdown passes and threw six interceptions. He also had six rushing touchdowns.

There will be troops in the Moore camp if he decides not to return to Oregon because of his easy arm strength and feel for the pocket.

Moore threw two interceptions and was sacked six times in the first matchup with Indiana this season.

–Field Level Media

Heisman presentation scores highest ratings in 13 years

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Saturday night’s Heisman Trophy presentation to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza drew the largest television audience for the event since 2012.

The show averaged 4.3 million viewers on ABC, the highest number since 2012 when 4.9 million watched Texas A&M signal-caller Johnny Manziel become the first freshman to win the prestigious award.

It was the first time the audience topped 4 million since 2013 (4.18 million) and the first to even exceed 3 million since 2015 (3.06 million), according to Nielsen.

Saturday’s audience peaked at 5.8 million, a 69% increase from the previous year on ESPN (2.52 million).

ESPN aired the Heisman Trophy presentation from 1994-2024. The last time it was presented on broadcast TV before Saturday was in 1993 on NBC.

Mendoza has guided the unbeaten Hoosiers (13-0) to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. He has passed for 2,980 yards with an NCAA-best 33 touchdowns and six interceptions.

–Field Level Media

QBs Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia, Julian Sayin among Heisman finalists

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love are headed to New York this weekend after being selected as finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday.

The winner will be revealed Saturday at the annual Heisman Trophy dinner.

Mendoza is seen as the favorite to bag the award after leading the Hoosiers to a 13-0 record, a Big Ten championship and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Mendoza and Sayin just went head to head Saturday night when Indiana defeated Ohio State 13-10 for the conference title. Mendoza had 222 passing yards with a touchdown and an interception. Sayin finished with 258 passing yards, one TD and one pick as the Buckeyes took their first loss of the year and settled for the No. 2 playoff seed.

Mendoza, who transferred from Cal after last season, racked up 2,980 yards, 33 touchdowns and only six interceptions while completing 71.5% of his passes for Indiana. He added 240 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

Sayin, in his first season starting for the Buckeyes, threw for 3,323 yards, 31 touchdowns and six picks this season. He completed an FBS-best 78.4% of his throws.

Pavia, like Mendoza, engineered a turnaround for a football program that historically has known little success. It was Pavia’s second season for the Commodores after starting his career at New Mexico State. He threw for 3,192 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions and rushed for 826 yards and nine TDs in 2025.

Love ranked fourth in the country with 1,372 rushing yards and third nationally with 18 rushing touchdowns over 12 games. He added 27 catches for 280 yards and three receiving TDs.

–Field Level Media

Love-ly leap: Notre Dame RB now No. 2 in Heisman race

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Left for dead in the Heisman Trophy conversation following Notre Dame’s 0-2 start to the season, running back Jeremiyah Love is suddenly back in the picture after rushing for 171 yards and three touchdowns in the Fighting Irish’s 70-7 dismantling of Syracuse.

The performance vaulted Love from a +4000 longshot just last week to +375 at BetMGM, where he now holds the second-shortest Heisman Trophy odds.

Love was mired at +5000 for multiple weeks after the 0-2 start, but he remained on the fringe while those odds slowly shortened thanks to Notre Dame’s resurgence and the struggles of several marquee quarterbacks. Then came Saturday, when Love romped over and through the Orange’s defense and back toward the top of the Heisman race.

While it might earn him a trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony, Love is still unlikely to surpass Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The -115 favorite last week, Mendoza’s odds lengthened slightly with the Hoosiers off, but at -105 he still widened the gap from his closest competitor.

Mendoza has one regular-season game remaining at Purdue, which will take a nine-game losing streak into Friday’s matchup.

HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, TEAM, OPEN, WEEK 13, CURRENT
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (+5500), (-115), (-105)
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+4000), (+375)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+2000), (+225), (+400)
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt (+12500), (+2200), (+600)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+4000), (+500), (+1300)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+3500), (+2500), (+4000)
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech (N/A), (+12500), (+15000)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1300), (+6600), (+25000)
*BetMGM

Love’s sudden resurgence as a legitimate candidate is cause for concern for many sportsbooks. He is the biggest Heisman liability at BetMGM, where Love has been backed by 4.8% of the money wagered on this year’s winner since opening at +5000. He’s second among all players in drawing 7.0% of the total bets.

That’s behind only the 8.2% who have backed Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. He is the third biggest liability but, while still on the board, Smith is an extreme longshot at +25000.

The second biggest liability is Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, whose Heisman hopes were dashed in a recent home loss to Oklahoma. Simpson has been backed by 14.8% of the total money while briefly emerging as the Heisman favorite, but he is now being offered at +50000.

The second most money has been placed on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore with 11.5%, but he is also sitting as a +50000 longshot.

–Field Level Media

Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza handling Heisman hysteria with perfection

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza gave up trying to escape the whirlwind he helped create by marching the Hoosiers right back into playoff position with an undefeated regular season on pause during a bye this week.

Mendoza, a transfer from Cal who took over for Kurtis Rourke at Indiana this season, is viewed as a near-certain Heisman Trophy finalist for steering the Hoosiers to an 11-0 start and perfect, 8-0 Big Ten record with only the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket — a traditional rivalry game with state and conference rival Purdue — before a chance to play for the Big Ten title in Indianapolis on Dec. 6.

“I never thought I’d be in this moment at this point,” Mendoza said Wednesday.

Indiana is No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings and No. 1 Ohio State has a chance to pull even with the Hoosiers at 11-0 overall entering the final week of the regular season. The Buckeyes still have to tackle a massive hurdle. Their annual showdown with No. 18 Michigan (8-2) on Nov. 29 could cause the conference standings and playoff rankings to shuffle.

Mendoza’s final regular-season game of the season at Purdue might not set up as stress-free, but the Boilermarkers are winless in the Big Ten (0-8) and have lost nine consecutive games.

With the Hoosiers out of their usual routine this week during a bye, Mendoza said he’s listening to common advice from elders and previous Heisman winners who told him to enjoy the ride.

“I was able to talk to Matt Leinart a couple of weeks ago, and he’s a Heisman Trophy winner, fantastic quarterback, and has a great TV personality,” Mendoza said. “His advice was similar to what I got from a lot of the others, but it really stuck with me is this only happens once — unless you’re Tim Tebow. But a lot of people only go through this once, and they end up heading to the NFL or just things happen. Just enjoy it. Take the present moment in.”

Mendoza has 30 TD passes and five interceptions with five rushing touchdowns in 11 games. Indiana has outscored opponents 476-128 this season and given up only 55 total second-half points. Suffice it to say Mendoza hasn’t had to escape high-pressure moments to reach his seat in the Heisman and national championship conversations.

He does have a win at Oregon and threw a pinpoint game-winning touchdown pass at Penn State to preserve Indiana’s road to perfection with a 27-24 victory two weeks ago.

The cool and collected Mendoza, whose brother Alberto is a freshman backup quarterback on the Indiana roster, credits his unflinchingly positive demeanor to backyard ball and stress tests against his younger sibling.

“We’d make up high-pressure situations, whether it was University of Miami versus University of Florida in the National Championship or the Patriots versus the Dolphins. Whatever the situation was, it was a high-pressure situation,” Fernando Mendoza said. “I know it’s really helped my game about — I know it sounds silly because it’s in the backyard and it’s not actual schematic football, but I think it’s helped myself a lot throughout my journey.”

NFL pundits are standing up to take notice of Mendoza’s rise. He’s projected to be a top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Fringe college football fans or anyone who didn’t catch Cal in 2024 might not know Mendoza was a two-year starter who has long since erased his modest recruiting ranking — two whole stars. But Fernando Mendoza says he’s nowhere near a finished product.

“I wouldn’t say this is the pinnacle of my career by any chance. I think I still have a long way to go. I still think I’m a raw quarterback prospect. However, it’s been great to be part of this opportunity,” Mendoza said.

“At a young age, I didn’t have a … crystal ball. I wasn’t this young prodigy, who was a five star coming out of high school or the next big thing, but I would say I’m just so grateful to be in the position that I am right now. I just can’t thank the support staff I have around myself enough and can’t thank the Lord enough.”

–Field Level Media

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza now odds-on Heisman favorite

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza may have put a vice-grip on the Heisman Trophy with his four-touchdown performance in the Hoosiers’ blowout win over Wisconsin on Saturday.

The junior moved from being a co-favorite at +175 along with Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin at BetMGM last week to the -115 favorite on Monday. That’s well ahead of Sayin, who had another strong outing in the Buckeyes’ 48-10 trouncing of UCLA.

Sayin now has 25 touchdowns against four interceptions on the season, but he is at the helm of an offense chock full of NFL talent. Mendoza has thrown 30 TDs against five interceptions and his monster game in the 31-7 win over the Badgers came on the heels of what might have been his “Heisman moment” with a game-winning touchdown at Penn State.

The only other player with shorter than +2200 odds is Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, who remained in the conversation at +500 after leading the Aggies’ massive second-half comeback against South Carolina.

Mendoza is the -105 favorite at DraftKings, followed by Sayin at +170, Reed at +500 and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia at +1500.

HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, TEAM, OPEN, WEEK 12, CURRENT
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (+5500), (+175), (-115)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+2000), (+175), (+225)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+4000), (+750), (+500)
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt (+12500), (+2500), (+2200)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+3500), (+3000), (+2500)
Haynes King, QB Georgia Tech (+9000), (+10000), (+3500)
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+4000), (+4000)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1300), (+2500), (+6600)
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech (N/A), (N/A), (+12500)
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (+5500) (+550), (+15000)
*BetMGM

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who nosed into the favorite spot earlier this month, saw his Heisman hopes dashed with the Crimson Tide’s second loss of the season. He is now a +15000 longshot after throwing just his second interception of the season in a 23-21 home loss to Oklahoma.

The public got behind Simpson’s steady rise from a preseason longshot. He is currently the book’s biggest liability, having been backed by the most money at 15.5% ahead of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore at 12.1%. Moore is the book’s third-biggest liability, with Smith second. The Ohio State wide receiver leads the way with 8.5% of all bets placed on this year’s Heisman winner.

Sportsbooks stand to make out well in this year’s Heisman market. Quarterbacks Arch Manning (Texas), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), Carson Beck (Miami), John Mateer (Oklahoma), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) and Moore are no longer part of the picture after spending time atop the list at various points during the season.

Meanwhile, Mendoza has drawn a modest 5.7% of all bets since opening as a +5500 longshot. He has one regular-season game remaining at Purdue, which will take a nine-game losing streak into the Nov. 28 game.

–Field Level Media

Heisman moment? Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza now co-favorite

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Fernando Mendoza’s “Heisman moment” may have come with his game-winning touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. in Indiana’s last-minute victory over Penn State on Saturday.

The dramatic win pulled Mendoza even with Ohio State counterpart Julian Sayin at BetMGM, where the rival Big Ten quarterbacks are the co-Heisman Trophy favorites at +175. Sayin is still the slight +165 favorite at DraftKings ahead of Mendoza at +185.

The pair has separated from Alabama’s Ty Simpson and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, who have the next shortest odds at both books.

HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, TEAM, OPEN, WEEK 11, CURRENT
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (+5500), (+225), (+175)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+2000), (+175), (+175)
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (+5500) (+350), (+550)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+4000), (+750), (+750)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1300), (+4000), (+2500)
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt (+12500), (+2500), (+2500)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+3500), (+2000), (+3000)
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+4000), (+4000)
*BetMGM

It has been a meteoric rise for Mendoza, who opened at +5500 at BetMGM. He began his rise rapidly and has lingered around the top list of favorites for the better part of the past two months. Sayin also opened as a longshot at +2000 but has steadily climbed while guiding Ohio State to a 9-0 record.

Simpson has spent time at the top of the Heisman list as well, but currently sits at +550 at BetMGM, where he is the book’s biggest liability. Simpson leads all players with 16.1% of the money backing him to win the Heisman. Second is Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who has drawn 12.6%. While Smith has the shortest odds among non-quarterback, he currently sits as a +2500 longshot along with Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

There are now only eight players with odds shorter than +10000 at the book.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who began the season as the Heisman favorite, is still a +25000 longshot despite leading the Longhorns back into the Top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll this week.

–Field Level Media

Oct 25, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) celebrates after a first down during the first half against the Louisiana State Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed vaults into Heisman contention

Posted on | by Field Level Media

While Marcel Reed was helping put the final dagger in Brian Kelly’s tenure at LSU on Saturday night, Texas A&M’s sophomore quarterback was also inserting himself into the thick of the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Reed overcame a pair of first-half interceptions to throw for 202 yards and two touchdowns while adding 108 yards and two more scores on the ground in the Aggies’ 49-25 rout in Death Valley. He has now accounted for 23 total touchdowns through Texas A&M’s 8-0 start.

Reed saw his Heisman Trophy odds shorted from +1000 last week to +550 by Monday. That’s the fourth-shortest odds at BetMGM and the closest Reed has been to the top this season.

Alabama’s Ty Simpson might have saved his own Heisman hopes by rallying Alabama to avoid a massive upset by unranked South Carolina. Simpson ended up with 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air, but it’s a somewhat misleading stat line given that the Crimson Tide passing game was stagnant most of the game.

Simpson’s odds shifted slightly and he’s now the +325 co-favorite with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who threw three touchdowns against one pick in the Hoosiers’ 56-6 dismantling of UCLA.

Ohio State’s Julian Sayin remained at +400 and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love still owns the shortest odds among non-quarterbacks. Both are coming off bye weeks.

HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, TEAM, OPEN, WEEK 9, CURRENT
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (+5500) (+300), (+325)
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (+5500), (+325), (+325)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+2000), (+400), (+400)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+4000), (+1000), (+550)
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt (+12500), (+1100), (+800)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+3500), (+1200), (+1500)
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+1800), (+1800)
Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss (OFF), (+3000), (+2000)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1300), (+2000), (+3000)
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon (+2000), (+1400), (+4000)
CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+4000), (+4000)

The race now has five candidates with odds shorter than +1000, an increase from only three a week ago.

Simpson has taken over as BetMGM’s biggest liability, having drawn the most money with 16.6% since opening as a +5500 longshot.

Dante Moore, the favorite earlier this month, has essentially fallen out of contention following a loss to Indiana and getting knocked out of Saturday’s win over Wisconsin. He remains the book’s second biggest liability, having been backed by 13.3% of the money.

Love is third on that list. Since opening at +5000, he has garnered 5.0% of the money and 3.1% of the total bets.

Arch Manning, the preseason Heisman favorite, has plummeted to +2500, while Oklahoma’s John Mateer dropped to +1000 following the Sooners’ second loss of the season.

–Field Level Media

Oct 18, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson (15) throws a pass against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second quarter at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Bama’s Ty Simpson leads QB trio of Heisman favorites

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is alone atop the Heisman Trophy race, but he has stiff competition nipping at his heels.

Simpson emerged from the weekend as the +300 favorite at BetMGM, followed by fellow quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza (+325) of Indiana and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin (+400). Simpson and Mendoza opened as +5500 longshots while Sayin opened at +2000.

The trio has now separated from the pack, with Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed owning the fourth-shortest odds at +1000.

Simpson was the co-+350 favorite alone with Miami’s Carson Beck. After Beck threw four interceptions in a home loss to Louisville on Friday night, Simpson put together another impressive outing with a pair of touchdowns and 253 yards through the air in Alabama’s 37-20 win over Tennessee.

The Crimson Tide’s junior signal-caller has now thrown 18 touchdowns against a lone interception on the season. Meanwhile, Mendoza was enhancing his own Heisman resume with a four-touchdown outing against Michigan State.

Mendoza was among the Heisman favorites earlier this season and has steadily worked his way back toward the top after completing just 13 passes while throwing an interception in a close win over unranked Iowa on Sept. 27.

No. 2 Indiana does not have another ranked opponent on its regular-season schedule, giving Mendoza plenty of time to further pad his Heisman hopes.

Sayin saw his odds rocket from +1500 just last week in part due to the struggles of other contenders such as Beck. The sophomore tossed four touchdowns against Wisconsin on Saturday and has not been picked off over his past four games.

Sayin leapfrogged teammate Jeremiah Smith, who caught nine passes for 97 yards but was held out of the end zone in the 34-0 win. Smith no longer has the shortest odds among non-quarterbacks. At +2000 he is now behind Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who leapt back into the conversation at +1800 after rumbling for 228 yards and a touchdown in a 34-24 win over Southern Cal.

Beck plummeted from co-favorite last week to the 12th-shortest odds at +4000. He is the latest favorite to suffer a significant drop, following in the footsteps of Texas’ Arch Manning, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and Oregon’s Dante Moore.

HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, TEAM, OPEN, WEEK 8, CURRENT
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (+5500) (+350), (+300)
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (+5500), (+550), (+325)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+2000), (+1500), (+400)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+4000), (+2000), (+1000)
Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt (+12500), (+4000), (+1100)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+3500), (+2500), (+1200)
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon (+2000), (+1700), (+1400)
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+4000), (+1800)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1300), (+1400), (+2000)
Jayden Maiava, QB, Southern Cal (+6000), (+2200), (+3000)
Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss (OFF), (+2000), (+3000)
Carson Beck, QB, Miami (+2000), (+350), (+4000)
CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+3000), (+4000)
Arch Manning, QB, Texas (+900), (+8000), (+8000)

Love’s climb into the top eight has sportsbooks sweating. While Manning has still accounted for the most total Heisman bets, Love remains the fourth biggest liability, having drawn 3.1% of the total money since opening as a +5000 longshot.

Simpson’s steady rise has him currently sitting as the book’s biggest liability. He leads the way with 17.1% of the money backing Simpson to win the Heisman. That’s ahead of Moore’s 13.7%, much of which was wagered before Oregon was upset at home by Indiana two weeks ago.

Smith is BetMGM’s third biggest Heisman liability, followed by Love and Manning.

–Field Level Media

Oct 11, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) throws against the Missouri Tigers during the first half of the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Alabama’s Ty Simpson pulls even atop Heisman race

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Ty Simpson, step on up, you are the newest in a growing list of “Who wants to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy” contestants.

While Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was sticking a fork in his fledgling Heisman hopes with a three-interception performance against Texas and Oregon’s Dante Moore put a significant dent in his with two picks in a home loss to Indiana, Alabama’s junior signal-caller leapt to the front of the pack with another impressive outing at Missouri.

Simpson threw three touchdowns in the 27-24 win over the Tigers, pushing his season total to 16 against a lone interception. Simpson is now the co-favorite at +350 at BetMGM along with a familiar foe — former Georgia and current Miami quarterback Carson Beck.

Beck, who was the +500 favorite last week, saw his odds trimmed even further despite not even playing.

That’s because Moore, who owned the second shortest odds at +700, couldn’t overcome poor pass protection in the Ducks’ 10-point home loss to the Hoosiers. That more than wiped out the good vibes from a three-touchdown performance against Penn State, which just fired its coaches after two embarrassing losses since.

Moore is now in longshot status at +1700, which also places him behind Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (+550), Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (+1400) and his Buckeyes teammate quarterback Julian Sayin (+1500).

Just behind Moore are three quarterbacks from undefeated teams: Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed (+2000), Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss (+2000) and Southern Cal’s Jayden Maiava (+2200).

Beck holds a slight +360 edge over Simpson (+370) at DraftKings, where Mendoza is +550 followed by Sayin at +1500 and Smith at +1600

HEISMAN TROPHY ODDS*
PLAYER, POS, TEAM, OPEN, WEEK 7, CURRENT
Carson Beck, QB, Miami (+2000), (+500), (+350)
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama (+5500), (+800), (+350)
Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana (+5500), (+1300), (+550)
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1300), (+800), (+1400)
Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (+2000), (+1500), (+1500)
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon (+2000), (+700), (+1700)
Marcel Reed, QB, Texas A&M (+4000), (+2000), (+2000)
Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss (OFF), (+1500), (+2000)
Jayden Maiava, QB, Southern Cal (+6000), (+3000), (+2200)
Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia (+3500), (+3000), (+2500)
CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame (+5000), (+2000), (+3000)
Joey Aguilar, QB, Tennessee (+5000 Week 2), (+2000), (+3000)
Arch Manning, QB, Texas (+900), (+8000), (+8000)

Simpson’s rise into the Heisman conversation has been steady since the Crimson Tide’s season-opening loss at Florida State. After being +5500 to start the season he was still on the outside looking in at +1000 just two weeks ago. But with others continuing to stumble, Simpson has taken full advantage.

Mendoza also enjoyed a strong jump back into the thick of the conversation in leading Indiana’s win at Oregon that vaulted the Hoosiers to No. 3 in the nation.

The constant churn at the top is setting up to be a big win for sportsbooks.

Moore had just taken over as the biggest liability at BetMGM, having accounted for 16.9 percent of all money wagered on the Heisman market. That had surpassed preseason favorite Manning, who has drawn 9.5 percent of the money but fell out of the race with poor outings in losses to Ohio State and Florida.

The book’s third-biggest liability is Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who received some love from the public as a longshot to begin the season but has not emerged as a Heisman factor. Mateer stood to be a big liability after bursting out of the gates, but may have too far to go to recover from his three-pick outing in a return from hand surgery Saturday.

The biggest remaining liability for BetMGM is Smith, who has the shortest odds among non-quarterbacks. The sophomore has hauled in 40 passes for 505 yards and 7 touchdowns during the Buckeyes’ 6-0 start.

Also likely out of the conversation are LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, who spent short stints atop the Heisman odds earlier this season.

Nussmeier, who outdueled Sellers in a 20-10 win by the Tigers, has drawn 6.3 percent of the total bets but currently sits as a +4000 longshot. Sellers has plummeted to +10000 but remains fifth at the book while being backed by 5.7 percent of all bets.

–Field Level Media