INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza each have one prize in mind for their showdown this weekend in Indianapolis: a Big Ten championship.
It's another one — Heisman Trophy winner — that will consume most of next week's debate.
The two first-year starters at their respective schools each played their way into frontrunner status by leading their teams to unbeaten regular seasons, posting outstanding numbers and delivering when the stakes have been highest. They get final chances to pad those Heisman resumes when No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana square off in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Sayin and Mendoza appear tailor-made for the moment.
“With the spotlight, with the pressure of it, comes a privilege,” said Mendoza, a two-year starter at California before arriving in Bloomington.
Mendoza has been deferential to his teammates and coaches all season, routinely using his platform to build up those who helped him reach the precipice of becoming the first Indiana player to win college football's most prestigious award.
Sayin, meanwhile, has spent most of this season trying to get acclimated to being the starter for the defending national champs and more recently with a revolving door of receivers caused by injuries. He started his career at Alabama and redshirted last season in Columbus. He would be Ohio State's first Heisman winner since Troy Smith in 2006.
Mendoza and Sayin find themselves as the feature attractions in a rare, late-season head-to-head matchup between the Football Bowl Subdivision's last two unbeaten teams.
The tale of the tape is every bit as close as one might expect.
Sayin' staggering 78.9% completion rate leads the nation, as does his passing efficiency of 184.85. His 30 touchdown passes rank second nationally. He's 13th in passing yards with 3,065 and tied for 15th in points responsible for with 180.
Mendoza leads the FBS with 32 TD passes, ranks second in passing efficiency at 183.71 and points responsible for at 228, fifth in completion percentage (72.0%) and 27th in yards passing with 2,758.
Both are 12-0 overall, 9-0 in conference play and have five interceptions. The biggest difference statistically — Mendoza averages 13.07 yards per throw, No. 24 nationally, while Sayin ranks 62nd.
And while Sayin's signature moment came last week when he snapped a four-game losing streak to the dreaded Wolverines, Mendoza delivered two of this season's biggest plays — beating an Iowa blitz with a tiebreaking, 49-yard TD pass to Elijah Sarratt with 1;28 left in a 20-15 victory and the incredible 7-yard TD pass to Omar Cooper Jr. in the final minute to beat Penn State 27-24.
After throwing a tying Pick-6 late at then-No. 3 Oregon, Mendoza responded by taking Hoosiers on a 75-yard scoring march and throwing the go-ahead TD pass to Sarratt for a 30-20 victory that cemented Indiana's spot in the national championship conversation.
“The Oregon game, I think, gave us a lot of credibility,” second-year Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti said. “That was a step we had to take as a program — go on the road, play a top five team and come back with a win. Oregon's a great team and Dan Lanning is a great football coach and so, I think, from that point on, there has been a little bit more acceptance of where we're at as a program.”
Mendoza has a chance to put an exclamation on Indiana's second straight record-breaking season — if Indiana beats the Buckeyes for the first time since 1988, claims its first conference crown since 1967 and reaches to No. 1 in The Associated Press poll for the first time in school history.
Sayin is trying to extend the nation's longest active winning streak to 17 games, capture Ohio State's first conference crown since 2020 and help the Buckeyes become back-to-back national champions for the first time in school history.
Cignetti knows just how challenging it will be to derail those plans.
“Julian Sayin is a tremendous football player. He’s young but doesn’t play like he’s young,” he said. “Super quick release, very accurate and he’s mobile. They've got great weapons on the outside."
But as coaches and players stay focused on Saturday's contest, the quarterbacks are downplaying the game inside the game — whether the winner has the inside track to winning the Heisman.
“A lot of quarterbacks have struggled with (Ohio State's defense) throughout the entire season, and there's a reason for that," Mendoza said. “I think it's a great opportunity and a great challenge for the Indiana offense to play the Indiana brand of ball we want to play against such a great defense.”
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