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There is only one regular season game left, and it's arguably the most important game in all of football...Army-Navy in Baltimore next Saturday.
The last time a Heisman recipient came from a service academy was none other than "Captain America," Roger Staubach in 1963.
While the Army-Navy game may never decide the Heisman race again, Sunday night's Big Ten Championship appears to have been a recent anomaly in the quest for the bronze statue.
Going into Sunday, Fernando Mendoza was a slight favorite over Julian Sayin. The conference upset victory easily propelled Mendoza past his counterpart in terms of Heisman projections, and likely vaulted the Hoosiers to the top seed in the country.
According to BetOnline.ag, Mendoza went from a +125 favorite to a -3000 favorite for the Heisman. That's a shocking, and perhaps, unprecedented shift of numbers when it comes to the Vegas side of things. In case you were wondering, these odds are equivalent to getting heads on a coin toss eight straight times.
Sayin slipped all the way to fourth on the board, while Diego Pavia is a longshot at second just in case there are some voters who are just fed up with the Big Ten victors.
This has been a crazy year in the Heisman Race. When the odds opened way back in January, Arch Manning was the favorite. In fact, these next seven names on the board will also not be attending the Heisman ceremony in NYC next Saturday: Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnick, Jeremiah Smith, DJ Lagway, Drew Allar, John Mateer, LaNorris Sellers and Nico Iamaleava.
Other favorites throughout the season included John Mateer, Dante Moore, Carson Beck, Ty Simpson and Pavia.
Of note...the odds of Sayin, Mendoza and Pavia opened during the preseason at 18/1, 40/1 and 250/1, respectively. Yes indeed. If you happened to bet Mendoza early in the season, ,the payout would be $4000 for every $100 wagered. We'd have to guess there were a few Mendoza backers out there at that time, especially in Indiana.
Heisman future spreads are subject to change and can be found here: https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/ncaaf-futures/heisman-trophy.
2025 Heisman Trophy
Fernando Mendoza
1/30
-3000
Julian Sayin
500/1
+50000
Diego Pavia
15/1
+1500
Jeremiyah Love
100/1
+10000
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com Senior Sports Reporter
