Top Heisman Candidates to Watch in the 2025 Race After Week 10

The 2025 Heisman Trophy race looks wildly different after the first Saturday in November than it did in the college football preseason.

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin is the front-runner after Week 10. He was far from the early-season discussion dominated by Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, LaNorris Sellers and others.

It's pretty clear at this moment that the award will go to a quarterback, unless Sayin's teammate, Jeremiah Smith, produces one of the best four-game stretches we've ever seen from a wide receiver.

The Heisman could very well be decided in the Big Ten Championship Game between Sayin and Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Sayin and Mendoza are the top two favorites to capture the Heisman at DraftKings Sportsbook ahead of a handful of SEC quarterbacks.

Saturday's Penn State-Ohio State was supposed to be one of the marquee games of the college football season, but instead it was a one-sided win for the Buckeyes.

The status of Saturday's opponent changed over the last month, but Sayin still found a way to impress with 316 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Sayin's second consecutive four-touchdown performance showcased how much command he has of an offense with at least two NFL-caliber wide receivers in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.

Sayin has four more opportunities to put up video game-style numbers and pad his advantage in the Heisman race prior to the Big Ten Championship Game.

Ohio State and Indiana are expected to meet on the first Saturday in December, and if both teams are still undefeated, Sayin could be playing Mendoza for the top individual honor in the sport.

One thing is for sure about the Heisman race: Fernando Mendoza will put up a ton of passing stats.

Mendoza and the Indiana offense hung 55 points on the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday to mark their fifth 50-plus-point outing of the season.

The Cal transfer only threw for 369 yards in the last two games, but he accounted for six total touchdowns in the blowout wins over the UCLA Bruins and Maryland.

Mendoza has three more chances to impress ahead of the impending Big Ten Championship Game showdown with Ohio State.

The next matchup is against the same Penn State defense Sayin torched through the air. That will be one of the few comparable data points Heisman voters will have to use to break down the race prior to December.

Illinois, Penn State, Purdue and UCLA are the four common opponents between Ohio State and Indiana. If voters need to find fine margins between Sayin and Mendoza, they could use performances in those games as data points.

Ty Simpson faced the toughest schedule of the Heisman favorites.

Simpson threw for nine touchdowns and one interception across a four-game stretch versus Top 25 opponents, a run that started with a win over the Georgia Bulldogs.

The Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback has as strong of a case to win the Heisman as Sayin and Mendoza right now. You can't really point to the season-opening loss to the Florida State Seminoles as a resume flaw because Simpson passed for 254 yards and two scores in that contest.

Alabama's schedule is much easier in November. The Oklahoma Sooners are the only ranked team on their docket, so there will be a chance to pad stats in order to keep pace with Sayin and Mendoza.

Alabama is one of two teams still undefeated in the SEC. That's an important fact because Simpson may have to play on conference championship weekend to upend either Sayin or Mendoza for first-place votes.

Marcel Reed is the Heisman candidate who deserves more buzz for the season he's having.

The Texas A&M quarterback threw for 202 yards, ran for 108 yards and had four total touchdowns two weeks ago in primetime against the LSU Tigers.

That was the breakout performance on a national stage that Reed needed to put himself into the Heisman mix.

Reed was equally as impressive in September against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He had 397 total yards in that game, a win that looks better by the week for Mike Elko's team.

A&M has two road games against the Missouri Tigers and Texas Longhorns in November in which Reed needs to thrive to not just keep the Aggies undefeated in SEC play, but to challenge the other quarterbacks in the Heisman race.

Reed has comparable passing stats to Sayin, Mendoza and Simpson. His X-factor will be rushing statistics. He can make more of an impact on the ground than the other three top Heisman contenders.

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