Fresh on the heels of his Heisman Trophy landslide, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza got the better of Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia once again.
Mendoza was voted on the Associated Press’ All-American first team, with Pavia getting a second-team nod. Fellow Heisman finalist Jeremiyah Love was also a first-teamer.
Ohio State came up short against the Hoosiers in the Big Ten title game, but the Buckeyes had four first-team All-Americans, including wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
2025 AP All-American Team
Indiana finished the year as the clear No. 1 team. It went 13-0 during the regular season, having previously beaten Illinois by 53 points and going on the road to take down Oregon before the conference championship.
The Hoosiers didn’t have a lot of individual standouts, though. Mendoza is their only first-team All-American honoree, while offensive tackle Carter Smith, cornerback D’Angelo Ponds and safety Louis Moore were second-teamers. Interior lineman Tyrique Tucker and linebacker Aiden Fisher cracked the third-team defense.
Curt Cignetti’s squad, nonetheless, is the favorite heading into the College Football Playoff.
The SEC is generally considered the toughest conference in college football, but the Big Ten claimed bragging rights in the All-American category. The B1G had 10 players in the first team, four more than in the SEC. The Big 12 was next on the list with three honorees.