Hey Team 👋

There may not have been a full slate of college football this weekend, but it still found a way to steal the spotlight. Between a dramatic Army–Navy showdown and the crowning of a new Heisman Trophy winner, college football gave us plenty to talk about.

Letter Rip!

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Tradition & Trophies🏆

America’s Game delivered exactly what it always promises: Tension, tradition and a finish that came down to the wire. Army controlled the tempo — and the narrative — for most of the afternoon, but everything flipped in the fourth quarter when quarterback Cale Hellums threw his first interception of the game.  Navy capitalized on the opportunity by executing a gutsy fourth-down play that resulted in a touchdown. That touchdown proved to be the difference that allowed the Midshipmen to retain the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for another year. The season isn’t over for either program, though. Army will face UConn in the Fenway Bowl Dec. 27, and Navy will take on Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl Jan. 2. 

While America’s Game lived up to the hype, it wasn’t the only college football moment of the weekend. On Saturday night, Fernando Mendoza claimed the Heisman Trophy, edging out Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. Mendoza became the first Indiana Hoosier ever to lift the trophy after leading IU to a perfect 13–0 season.

Mendoza was the engine behind Indiana’s historic run, guiding the Hoosiers past Ohio State to claim the Big Ten Championship — their first conference title since 1967. His Heisman win feels inevitable in hindsight, but the journey was anything but predictable.

Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy was well-deserved, but it didn’t always seem likely. Entering the season, Mendoza wasn’t listed by oddsmakers as a Heisman contender. He didn’t even crack the Big Ten’s preseason honors list. But that didn’t deter him: Mendoza has been overlooked before.

As a high school recruit, Mendoza was rated just a two-star prospect and received only one FBS scholarship offer. He started out at Cal — the only team that believed in him. He redshirted his freshman year and went into his second season buried in the depth chart as QB3. His opportunity finally came in the sixth game of the season against Oregon State, and he never gave the job back, starting the final eight games and securing the role for 2024. After a 6–6 season at Cal, Mendoza entered the transfer portal and took a chance on Indiana. That gamble paid off in historic fashion, and the rest is classic college football lore.

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia came in second for Heisman voting with 189 first-place votes, followed by Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love in third and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin in fourth.