A year ago at this time IU fans were introduced to an unfamiliar topic: a quarterback with a chance to win the Heisman Trophy.
Various sports books listed Kurtis Rourke with anywhere from 150/1 to 300/1 odds to hoist the coveted hardware in New York.
Including Rourke as a contender proved prescient, as he ended up ninth in the final 2024 Heisman voting.
Now Heisman talk is becoming situation normal in Bloomington.
Ahead of the 2025 campaign, new IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza has even better preseason odds than Rourke, ranging from 50/1 to 75/1 across six well known national sports books.
There are a number of factors that contribute to Mendoza having a better preseason outlook than his predecessor, who was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in April.
First, Indiana’s success in 2024 under first-year coach Curt Cignetti portends a 2025 season worthy of a Heisman contender. Rourke no doubt would have had better preseason odds if anyone could have seen an 11-2 season coming.
Moreover, with the benefit of hindsight, we now know Rourke was able to post historic numbers in 2024 for IU despite playing on a torn ACL. Mendoza has arm talent that is comparable to Rourke’s, and he should bring an added dimension to Indiana’s offense with his mobility.
Finally, Mendoza arrives at IU as a proven Power 4 quarterback. The 6-foot-5 and 225-pound redshirt junior was 265-of-386 (68.7%) passing for 3,004 yards, with 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions in 2024. He rushed for 105 net yards and two scores.
Some of the national leaders in the Heisman odds are Arch Manning (Texas), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), and Cade Klubnik (Clemson). Joining Mendoza as top contenders from the Big Ten are Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Drew Allar (Penn State), and Dante Moore (Oregon).
Indiana has never had a player win the Heisman Trophy.
Anthony Thompson was close to winning in 1989, finishing second in a controversial vote.
Rourke was Indiana’s highest finisher since running back Tevin Coleman finished seventh in 2014, and at least the sixth player to finish in the top-10. Here are IU’s all-time top finishers in the Heisman Trophy voting.
- Bill Hillenbrand — fifth in 1942
- Anthony Thompson — second in 1989
- Vaughn Dunbar — sixth in 1991
- Antwaan Randle El — sixth in 2001
- Tevin Coleman — seventh in 2014
- Kurtis Rourke — ninth in 2024
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