BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has won the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien awards on the eve of the Heisman Trophy presentation, and the redshirt junior is heavily favored to take the top prize in college football.
Mendoza took the honors for the nation's player of the year and top QB on ESPN's college awards show on Friday night. The Heisman winner will be named Saturday night in New York, and Mendoza is an overwhelming favorite, according to BetMGM.
The Maxwell and O'Brien honors came a day after Mendoza was named The Associated Press player of the year.
The California transfer led the Hoosiers to a 13-0 record, a victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Indiana's first O'Brien winner set a program record with an FBS-leading 33 touchdown passes.
“It's a wonderful feeling. It really doesn't feel real,” Mendoza said from New York after being named the O'Brien winner. “It's a testament to so many people who believed in me, who have helped groom me into the player I am today and all those people, especially before anybody knew my name.”
Mendoza won the O'Brien over Ohio State freshman Julian Sayin and Texas A&M's Marcel Reed, two other quarterbacks getting ready to lead their teams in the CFP.
The Maxwell nod for Mendoza came over Sayin and Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love, who was that storied program's first Doak Walker Award winner as the nation's premier running back. Love set a school record with 21 touchdowns.
Mendoza is Indiana's second Maxwell winner after running back Anthony Thompson in 1989.
Mendoza's coach, Curt Cignetti, was named coach of the year for the second consecutive season. The Hoosiers had their first undefeated regular season since 1945, won the Big Ten for the first time in 58 years and ended a 37-year losing streak to the Buckeyes. The win over Ohio State earned Indiana its first No. 1 AP ranking.
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the defensive player of the year. He was already the Bronko Nagurski Award winner, also for the best defensive player.
Southern California's Makai Lemon was named the Fred Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver. He was in the top 10 nationally with 1,156 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner as the top defensive back, and Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman.
Oklahoma's Tate Sandell won the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker, and Georgia's Brett Thorson took the Ray Guy Award as the top punter. Both programs are headed to the CFP.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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