The race for the Heisman heats up, and the top 4 finalists have been named, and they are Jeremiyah Love, Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia, and Julian Sayin. The winner will be announced on the Heisman awarding ceremony on Dec. 13 on ABC at 7:00 PM ET, and this might be a very close one.
Many believe that the two frontrunners are Mendoza and Sayin, as the two of them come from the No. 1 and the No. 2 teams in the nation, respectively. It means that their individual success is reflected on how well their team has done so far, with Fernando Mendoza’s Indiana being the only undefeated team left, while Julian Sayin’s Ohio State only losing once this season, and that came at the hands of Mendoza’s Indiana Hoosiers.
Both are quarterbacks, but who actually has the edge based on their stats?
Fernando Mendoza vs. Julian Sayin Stats Comparison
Fernando Mendoza
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way, and yes, he has already beaten Julian Sayin during the Big Ten championship game, handing Ohio State their first and only loss of the season so far, and Indiana staying undefeated. So that is a big plus for Mendoza, winning the head-to-head.
In terms of passing yards, Mendoza has 2,980 on 316 attempts and 226 completions, having a completion rate of 71.5%. This has led to a total of 33 touchdowns so far, but he does have six interceptions and was sacked 18 times. Mendoza’s rushing stats are decent for a quarterback, having 240 rushing yards on 69 carries, with him scoring six touchdowns as a rusher.
Julian Sayin
While Mendoza won that game, that does not mean that Julian Sayin is out of the race, as Sayin actually has him beat in terms of stats.
Sayin has 3,323 passing yards on 356 attempts and 279 completions, which means he has a completion rate of 78.4%. This is a little bit higher than Mendoza, but the Hoosiers QB does have the edge on touchdown passes, as Sayin only has 31. He has also been intercepted six times and sacked 11 times, and his rushing stats are dismal at -2 rushing yards on 39 carries, with no rushing touchdowns.
Bottom Line
It is clear that the two are very different quarterbacks, with Mendoza being a bit more flexible as he can go with the rushing game, while Sayin prefers to go with the passing game a lot more. There is also the question of age, as Mendoza is now a senior and expected to leave Indiana for the NFL draft, while Sayin is just a sophomore with plenty of room to grow.
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