This week college football fans look forward to one of the best weeks in the sports calendar. Every game has hardware on the line. As well as in the last decade, real playoff implications.
Enjoying championship week is like New Years or the Fourth of July. Something you look forward to each year. What is less than normal, however, is this year’s head-to-head scenarios. There is no round robin style tournament to crown the Heisman Trophy winner and head-to-head matchups increase the stakes.
2025's championship week will see several matchups that will have multiple Heisman candidates playing against other Heisman candidates in games that matter. History has not always been this convenient for Heisman voters. While there are examples of Heisman candidates playing each other in direct matchups, it is not exactly typical.
Look no further than last year’s Heisman race. Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, and Miami’s Cam Ward were all finalists with Hunter taking home the award. There was no scenario last year that had Colorado playing Boise State or Oregon playing Miami late in the season.
Indiana vs Ohio State
This will arguably be the game of the week. Short of week one, Ohio State has run the table as the almost wire-to-wire No. 1 team in the country. Indiana climbed the rankings early and have been in the top 5 much of the season.
By the end of this game, both teams will have played the same number of ranked opponents. Both teams having all three of those ranked opponents coming from the Big Ten. Tis the season to argue over team resumes, but by the end of this game there will be a Big Ten Conference champion and another team that must accept being No. 2 in the final standings.
The Buckeyes vs Hoosiers game will include three Heisman hopefuls. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. While many will see this as a battle of quarterbacks, if Smith has a stellar day, he could force a conversation among Heisman voters. If either quarterback has an impressive day over the other, it could make this a very short Heisman debate. Mendoza and Sayin are and have been the Heisman front runners for almost a month now.
Georgia vs Alabama
The Bulldogs vs the Crimson Tide adds a second layer to the battle of the quarterbacks idea. For a while the top tier of Heisman hopefuls included Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. The gap between the top two quarterbacks and Simpson has widened over the last few weeks. If Alabama can beat Georgia and Simpson looks good doing it, he could force his way back onto that top tier of candidates.
Georgia has become the big dog everyone likes to forget. Coming off of two very impressive defensive performances over Texas and Georgia Tech, it's easy to view them as just a collection of great talent. However, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton is within range. Simpson and Sayin are at almost a dead heat with yards (3,056 and 3,065 respectively). Mendoza is less than 300 behind those two.
Stockton is currently sitting at 2,535 yards and 20 touchdowns to only five interceptions is within about 200 yards of Mendoza. If Stockton has a great game and the Ohio State vs Indiana game is a defensive battle, Stockton could move up in the eyes of voters.
BYU vs Texas Tech
The Cougars and Red Raiders matchup could prove to be the most entertaining of the week with even more riding on that game than the previous ones mentioned. If BYU can beat Texas Tech, both could get into the playoff. If BYU loses that game, they could be in for a stressful Selection Sunday. Neither team has a quarterback in the mix, nor offensive skill position players. What the Red Raiders do have is maybe the most interesting candidate that is not getting as much publicity as the offensive players.
Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez has been gaining steam in the latter weeks of the season. A local fan driven grass roots campaign to get him noticed eventually turned into a great underdog story. The husband of a military helicopter pilot has become a story fans root for. With 104 combined tackles (57 solo), 10 tackles for loss, a sack, four interceptions, six pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and seven forced fumbles (that leads all FBS), Rodriguez has a case to be in the running to be a finalist.
History is not on Rodriguez’ side, however. There have only ever been two defensive players to win the Heisman Trophy, and both were revered as two-way players on some level. Charles Woodson in 1997 and more recently, Travis Hunter in 2024. It seems highly unlikely the voters would award a 3rd defensive winner so recently removed from its last defensive winner.
In an interesting twist, Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire tried to counter such a narrative when he put Rodriguez in on offense to take a direct snap rushing touchdown. When asked why he did that, McGuire simply responded with, “everybody is talking about quarterbacks for the Heisman, so we put him in at quarterback.”
Championship week always has raised stakes as hardware is involved. In 2025, championship week has an additional achievement at stake. Solidifying someone as the clear frontrunner to win the Heisman. Or, if the performances of the week leave much to be desired, adding chaos to an already difficult choice to make.
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- Virginia Tech reportedly funding roster near top of ACC for James Franklin
- Bill Belichick goes viral for awkward handshake after Wake Forest loss
- Texas state trooper reportedly relieved of duties after player exchange at Texas A&M