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While Fernando Mendoza is enjoying his Heisman Trophy victory as he prepares for the Indiana Hoosiers’ College Football Playoff, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, one of the Heisman finalists, is not happy with how the voters arrived at their results Saturday night.
Pavia, the Commodores’ veteran signal caller, was straightforward about how he felt about Mendoza winning in New York City.
Making a post on his Instagram stories of a photo with a few of his Commodores teammates, Pavia offered his thoughts on the voters.
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Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Diego Pavia of the Vanderbilt Commodores speaks during a news conference prior to the 2025 Heisman Trophy presentation at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on December 13, 2025 in New York City. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
“F-All the voters,” he wrote with a thumbs-down emoji. “But … family for life.”
Pavia, 23, finished second, albeit a distant second, after receiving 189 first-place votes to Mendoza’s 643 votes.
INDIANA’S FERNANDO MENDOZA WINS 2025 HEISMAN TROPHY
On Sunday evening, Pavia issued an apology on X.
“Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor. As a competitor, like in everything I do, I wanted to win,” he wrote. “To be so close to my dream and fall short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and didn’t represent myself the way I wanted to. I have a lot of love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake and I’m sorry.
“Fernando Mendoza is an elite competitor and a deserving winner of the award. I have nothing but respect for his performance as well as the success Jeremiah and Julian had this season. I’ve had my doubts all my life.
“Every step of my journey I’ve had to break down doors and fight for myself because I’ve learned that nothing was going to be given to me. My family has always been in my corner and my teammates, coaches and staff have my six. I love them – I’m grateful for them – and I don’t want anything to distract from that. I’m looking forward to competing with my family and my family one more time.”
Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State to remain undefeated and set them up as the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.
But Mendoza naysayers pointed out that he had just 2,980 yards passing, even though he threw for a Big Ten-leading 33 touchdowns with just six interceptions thrown in 13 games. Mendoza also added six touchdowns on the ground on 69 attempts.
Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander (28) celebrates with quarterback Diego Pavia (2) after scoring a touchdown in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Meanwhile, Pavia, playing in his second season at Vanderbilt after starting at New Mexico State, led the SEC with a 71.2% completion rate with 27 touchdowns, 3,192 yards passing and nine rushing scores. He rushed for 826 yards on 152 attempts.
Pavia’s reaction to the voting results isn’t much of a shock, though, as he’s always been confident to the point where he kept telling voters to send him to New York City when he felt he deserved the Heisman.
Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Diego Pavia of the Vanderbilt Commodores poses with the Heisman Memorial Trophy before the 2025 Heisman Trophy presentation at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on December 13, 2025 in New York City. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
“The Heisman Trophy winner goes to the best player in college football,” Pavia said on OutKick’s “Hot Mic.” “I believe that to be myself, you check the numbers and especially — there’s two things that don’t lie to you: numbers and tapes. I’ve been taught since I was young, you go check it out. I feel like I’m hands down the best player in college football.”
Vanderbilt had a 10–2 record on the year, and was ranked No. 14 nationally at the end of the season.
