Julian Sayin has emerged as the clear favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Jason Mowry / Getty Images

It appears we have a clear favorite to win the Heisman Trophy: Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin. After weeks of having favorites rotate in and out like a game of musical chairs, Sayin has steadily moved into the forefront of the race.

The Buckeyes quarterback put up huge numbers against Penn State on Saturday and is now +175 to win the Heisman on BetMGM. He’s not quite 50-50 to win the award with those odds, but he’s getting there.

Sayin was 20-for-23 for 316 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-14 win. Yep, just three incompletions. Sure, Penn State isn’t anywhere close to the team it was projected to be at the start of the season, but Sayin is still doing stuff like this:

Sayin with a DART to Jeremiah Smith 🎯@ohiostatefb pic.twitter.com/VHTmnbSChn

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 1, 2025

OK, yeah, that’s pretty good. Throws like that are why Ohio State has officially launched Sayin’s Heisman campaign. Considering all the possible puns with his last name, the slogan could use some work.

The nation’s QB1. #WeSayinHeisman https://t.co/8E69w0Q7PH pic.twitter.com/FxIB32Wh7A

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 2, 2025

Sayin is the starting quarterback for the No. 1 team in the land that has been mostly unchallenged so far. Just based on that alone, he’s a logical contender. When you dig deeper, he’s also a logical favorite. He leads the country in completion percentage at a downright silly 80.7 percent. He’s third in touchdown passes (23) and yards per attempt (10).

Sayin has the numbers, is on an elite team and plays quarterback, even if his wide receivers are making him look better by doing stuff like this:

Jeremiah Smith said GIMME THAT 😤@OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/Hel6CNfgWT

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 1, 2025

So, who are the challengers to Sayin? Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is second in the odds at +225. Mendoza did what he and the Hoosiers have done for most of the season: blew a team out and then sat Mendoza before the end of the game. IU won 55-10 at Maryland, which meant Mendoza only had 21 pass attempts. He completed 14 of those for 201 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The numbers aren’t there, but Indiana winning big is important for now. As long as Indiana keeps winning, Mendoza can sneak into the Heisman by outplaying Sayin in the Big Ten Championship Game, which has a chance to be a game for the Heisman if both he and Sayin (and their teams) stay on this trajectory.

Alabama’s Ty Simpson (+350) and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed (+750) were both on byes this past week, so they didn’t move much while Sayin and Mendoza saw their odds get shorter.

Someone who dropped in the race on Saturday was Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. Pavia had a career-high 365 yards and four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) without throwing an interception, but the Commodores lost at Texas, and most of Pavia’s numbers came in the fourth quarter when Vanderbilt went from down 34-10 to 34-31.

In the previous game, Pavia passed for a season-low 129 yards against Missouri, but Vandy won a low-scoring game so his Heisman buzz remained. Against Texas, he put up numbers, but Vandy lost, so Pavia is now viewed as a long shot at +2500, behind Georgia’s Gunner Stockton (+2000). The Heisman race is fickle.

In Week 11, Mendoza gets his crack at Penn State, which could be an interesting comparison point. Plus, Alabama plays LSU, and A&M has a ranked test at Missouri, so both Simpson and Reed have decent opportunities to gain ground in the race.

Nov 3, 2025

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Dan Santaromita is a senior editor for sports betting who has worked at The Athletic since 2021. Dan previously worked at NBC Sports Chicago and ProSoccerUSA. He is a University of Missouri graduate who resides in Chicago. Follow Dan on Twitter @TheDanSanto