Tag: Sayin

Sep 14, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith walks the sideline before a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Reports: Arthur Smith expected to be next Ohio State OC

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Ohio State is expected to hire Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as the Buckeyes’ next offensive coordinator, multiple outlets reported Saturday.

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day had to search for a replacement after offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline left to become the head coach at South Florida.

Smith, 43, has been the Steelers offensive coordinator for the past two seasons after serving as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021-23. In three seasons at the helm in Atlanta Smith had a record of 21-30, finishing 7-10 each season.

This past season, the Steelers offense ranked 25th in yards per game (305.6), 26th in rushing yards per game (103.3) and 15th in points per game (23.4).

He’ll join a team which won the 2024 national championship and inherit an offense with top 2027 NFL Draft prospect Jeremiah Smith at receiver and Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Julian Sayin. The Buckeyes finished in the top 30 in FBS in scoring offense (33.4 points per game, 21st), total offense (422.6 yards per game, 26th) and passing offense (262.8 yards per game, 23rd).

Smith rose to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans as a part of their AFC Championship run in the 2019 season. Smith helped the Titans finish top three in rushing offense in back-to-back seasons (2019-20).

–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

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