Two Latino QBs Rattle Heisman Like It’s Their Grandma’s Living Room Party

KEY POINTS

•Fernando Mendoza led Indiana to its first Big Ten championship since 1967 and was named Associated Press player of the year.
•Diego Pavia, unoffered scholarships and all, helped Vanderbilt reach a 10-2 record including a huge upset over Alabama.
•Their achievements spotlight Latino prominence as nearly two in three say being Latino feels unsafe in the US now.

Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Miami-born Cuban grandson and AP player of the year, threw 33 TD passes and sprinted in 6 more to snag the Big Ten crown and a No. 1 College Football Playoff seed, ending a 58-year drought since 1967. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Albuquerque native who didn’t get a single Division I scholarship, bounced back from silence to lead Vandy to a 10-2 record and an upset over No. 1 Alabama. Pavia’s Heisman bid was powered by a legal victory that snagged him an extra eligibility year, making him the Commodores’ first-ever finalist. Their climbs come when nearly two thirds of Latinos believe it’s a bad time to be Latino in America — talk about a plot twist with every scoreboard beep. Historical nods to 1970’s Jim Plunkett and 2021’s Bryce Young salute the breakthrough Latino legacy on the gridiron.