Diego Pavia did not win the Heisman Trophy and it was not particularly close. He does not agree with the decision of the voters, to say the least.
The Vanderbilt quarterback trashed the electors on social media.
It was not a great look for one of the most polarizing personalities in college football. His haters are going to be furious.
Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide vote.
Fernando Mendoza was named on 95.16% of all ballots, which is tied with Marcus Mariota in 2014 for the second highest in the history of the Heisman. He claimed 2,362 total points with 643 first-place votes.
Pavia finished second. The 23-year-old sixth-year senior received 1,435 points in total with 189 first-place votes. From there it was Jeremiyah Love, Julian Sayin, Jacob Rodriguez, Jeremiah Smith, Gunner Stockton, Trinidad Chambliss, Caleb Downs and Haynes Kings.
It was a comfortable second-place finish for Diego Pavia. He did not come close to Mendoza, who delivered an incredible speech in victory. The third-place finisher did not come close to him.
Even though Pavia did not win, it looked like he fully expected to hear his name called and stand up. The immediate disappointment on his face was evident.
The moment Fernando Mendoza became a Heisman winner 🥹🏆 pic.twitter.com/nEobBz3T8U
— ESPN (@espn) December 14, 2025
Credit where credit is due, Pavia showed the utmost respect to Mendoza after he took a second to gather his emotions. They shared a friendly embrace.
Diego Pavia does not agree with the decision.
The Heisman Trophy is voted on by three different groups:
- 870 college football media members divided into six geographic regions
- Approximately 59 living former Heisman winners
- One singular aggregated fan vote
Mendoza received the majority of first-place votes. Jacob Rodriguez won the fan vote.
Some voters left Diego Pavia off of their ballots all together, which seems like a personal vendetta.
Regardless of who voted for what, the second-place finisher does not agree with the results.
Pavia expressed his disappointment with the Heisman Trophy winner on social media. It was not kind.
People who already did not like Pavia are going to hate how he reacted in defeat. Some of his supporters are going to turn against him for not losing with class. He doesn’t care. F— the voters!