An Indiana football player has never won a Heisman. Here's a full rundown of the Hoosiers who finished in the top 10:
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza is looking to become the first player in program history to win the Heisman when he travels to New York this weekend to attend the trophy's annual award ceremony.
Mendoza led the Hoosiers (13-0) to a No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff as the only unbeaten team left in the country. He helped them win their first Big Ten title since 1967 as the MVP of the league championship game in a 13-10 win over Ohio State.
He's in rarified company of just making it to New York as a finalist for the Hoosiers. Here's a look at the program's history with the award:
Has an Indiana football player ever won the Heisman Trophy?
The closest an Indiana player came to winning the award was Anthony Thompson's runner-up finish in 1989. The running back back finished second to Houston quarterback Andre Ware by the thinnest of margins, 1073-1003.
Thompson led the country that season with 1,793 rushing yards — his third straight seasons with 1,000-plus yards — and 24 rushing touchdowns. He set the then-NCAA single-game rushing record with 377 yards in a win over Wisconsin.
The two-time Big Ten MVP won the Walter Camp Award and Maxwell Award as a senior.
“It was basically my job to not fumble the snap, and make sure Anthony got he ball,” former Indiana quarterback Trent Green told the IndyStar in 2021.
Who are Indiana football's other top-10 Heisman finishers
Mendoza's predecessor Kurtis Rourke was the team's first top-10 finisher for the Heisman in a decade. He finished No. 9 in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was a semifinalist for many of the same national awards that Mendoza is chasing, including the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and Davey O'Brien Award.
He threw for 3,042 yards and 29 passing touchdowns, a single-season IU record that Mendoza topped in IU's regular season finale against Purdue.
Rourke, who was drafted by San Fransisco in the seventh round last season, was the first player in IU history to win the Jim Cornish Trophy, honoring the NCAA's top Canadian performer.
Indiana's other top-10 finishers include:
- Tevin Coleman (RB), 2014: Coleman finished seventh in the voting after running for 2,036 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior. He was just the 18th player in FBS history to top 2,000 yards and the program's third unanimous All-American.
- Antwaan Randle El (QB), 2001: Randle El finished sixth in 2001 in a year where the top six finishers were all quarterbacks. He earned Big Ten MVP honors in 2001 after putting up 2,500-plus total yards for a fourth straight season.
- Vaughn Dunbar (RB), 1991: Dunbar finished sixth in 1991 when he led the country with 1,805 rushing yards. He earned MVP honors in the Cooper Bowl that season with 106 yards and a touchdown in a 24-0 win over Baylor that remains the program's most recent victory in bowl game.
- Bill Hillenbrand (RB), 1942: Hillenbrand finished fifth in the voting after leading the Hoosiers in rushing, passing and scoring, per his slight IU athletics Hall of Fame bio. He also was a talented punt returner.
2024 Heisman Trophy finalists
Mendoza will be joined in New York by Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. The Heisman Trophy Trust voted in 2021 to officially invite the top four finalists to the ceremony on an annual basis.
What are the latest Heisman trophy odds
Mendoza heads into the weekend as a heavy favorite to win this year's Heisman trophy. Per BetMGM, Mendoza is at -1200 while Pavia is the only one of the finalists that Vegas gives a real chance at +700. Love is +15000 and Sayin is at +50000.
When is the Heisman Trophy ceremony?
This year's Heisman Trophy winner will be announced Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. Mendoza will attend the ceremony in New York at the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Everything Indiana football fans need to know about their Heisman history
Category: General Sports
