The race for college football’s most prestigious individual honour is set, as the Heisman Trust announced four finalists to represent the best of the 2025 season.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza (Indiana), Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) and Julian Sayin (Ohio State) got the committee’s nod for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, with the winner to be crowned Saturday night at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.

Love powered a 10–2 Notre Dame campaign with 1,372 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns and an eye-catching 6.9 yards per carry, the best mark among Power 4 backs with at least 1,000 yards. The junior also posted standout performances against USC (228 yards) and Syracuse (171 yards, three TDs). He is also a finalist for the Walter Camp, Maxwell and Doak Walker awards.

Indiana’s unbeaten run to the #1 seed in the College Football Playoff was driven by Mendoza, a junior transfer from Cal who delivered 2,980 passing yards, a nation-leading 33 touchdowns and a 71.5 percent completion rate. Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to three wins over top-10 opponents and engineered a late game-winner at Penn State to highlight a perfect 13–0 season. He is also up for the Manning, Maxwell and Walter Camp awards.

Vanderbilt star Pavia, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner, is coming off the programme’s first-ever 10-win season. The senior dual-threat amassed 3,192 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 826 rushing yards, ranking second nationally with 334.8 total yards per game.

Rounding out the finalists is Ohio State freshman sensation Sayin, who led the nation with a 78.4 percent completion rate. Sayin threw for 3,329 yards, 31 touchdowns and just six interceptions in his debut season, guiding the Buckeyes — who are seeking their seventh Heisman and first since Troy Smith in 2006 — to the #2 CFP seed.

Saturday’s announcement could deliver historic results: Notre Dame hasn’t had a top-five Heisman finisher since Manti Te’o in 2012; Indiana has had only two players ever finish that high; and Vanderbilt has never produced a top-five finalist.