The three finalists for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football will share a field Saturday night during the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (listed alphabetically) helped lead their teams to 12-0 regular seasons and the conference title game between the No. 1 Buckeyes and No. 2 Hoosiers.
Their extraordinary play this season made them the top vote-getters for the Silver Football, which is awarded to the Big Ten’s best player as voted on by the conference’s head coaches. The winner of the award, presented by the Tribune in partnership with the Union League Club of Chicago, will be revealed at 11 a.m. Tuesday on Big Ten Network.
Chicago Tribune Silver Football: Winners of the annual award for best Big Ten football player
The trio has been among the best players not only in the conference, but also the nation.
Mendoza’s 32 touchdown passes lead all FBS quarterbacks, while Sayin is third with 30. Sayin leads the nation with a 184.9 passing efficiency rating, while Mendoza is second at 183.7.
While sharing the load with wide receiver Carnell Tate, Smith has averaged 85.6 receiving yards per game, ranked 13th in the FBS, and is tied for fifth with 11 receiving touchdowns.
All are also Heisman Trophy candidates.
Mendoza, a redshirt junior transfer from California, has completed 72% of his passes for 2,758 yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions and has rushed for six scores. He has topped 200 passing yards in nine games, has thrown four or more touchdown passes five times and has completed more than 90% of his passes in three games.
His play led the Hoosiers to their first undefeated regular season since 1945.
In his first season starting for the defending national champion Buckeyes, Sayin has completed 78.9% of his passes — also best in the FBS — for 3,065 yards with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions. The redshirt freshman has thrown for more than 300 yards six times and completed more than 80% of his passes in five games.
Smith has followed up his All-America freshman season in 2024 by totaling 72 catches for 942 yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 games. He reached 2,000 career receiving yards (24 games), 100 catches (20) and 25 touchdown catches (25) faster than any player in Ohio State history, and he has topped 100 receiving yards in four games this season.
Sayin and Smith have helped Ohio State to a 16-game winning streak that dates to last season. The Buckeyes haven’t trailed in the second half during the streak.
All three players have a huge month ahead of them: the Big Ten championship Saturday, the Heisman announcements next week and then the start of the College Football Playoff, in which both teams are likely to receive first-round byes.
They’ll also find out who won the Silver Football, which is in its 101st year. Illinois’ Red Grange was the inaugural winner in 1924, and the award has continued uninterrupted through Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel last season.
Each of the 18 Big Ten coaches selects a first- and second-place choice, and they are not allowed to vote for their own players. First-place votes are worth two points and second-place votes are worth one.
What to know about the Silver Football
- How the Silver Football was born — and how the selection process has evolved over 100 years
- Chicago Tribune Silver Football: Winners of the annual award for best Big Ten football player
- Catching up with Jim Grabowski, the 1965 Silver Football winner from Illinois
- Catching up with Lee Gissendaner, the 1992 Silver Football winner from Northwestern
- Remembering Ken Rouse, the 1927 Silver Football winner from University of Chicago
- Catching up with Bob Timberlake, the 1964 Silver Football winner from Michigan
- Column: Silver Football winners, from Red Grange to Marvin Harrison Jr., are the definition of greatness
- What to know about the Silver Football, the Big Ten’s highest honor
