Our vote is in: Give Pavia the Heisman

James Madison has secured a spot in the College Football Playoff, 10-2 Notre Dame is opting to skip a bowl game, Utah is accepting money from a private equity firm, and Indiana stands as the best team in the country.

Yes, college football is in a weird place in 2025.

All those things register on different levels of outrageous and unbelievable, but possibly the most stunning thing from the sport this year should happen Saturday night in New York.

If the Heisman Trophy voters did their homework and made the right call, then Diego Pavia - the former zero-star recruit who began his career in junior college at New Mexico Military Institute - will walk across the stage and become the latest winner of the vaunted award.

A once unknown, 5-foot-11 prospect who journeyed from JUCO to New Mexico State and ultimately Vanderbilt is now being honored as the best player in college football. The story is so improbable, even Hollywood would reject the pitch as too far-fetched for a movie.

Yet there Pavia will be Saturday night, sharing the stage with Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State's Julian Sayin, and Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love as the Heisman's handed out.

While a Buckeye quarterback and a Fighting Irish running back in contention certainly isn't a surprise, a Hoosier at the ceremony is a stunner considering the program's underwhelming history. But Mendoza joined a team that went 11-1 last season, and although he's been excellent this year, the highly touted NFL prospect was primarily asked to drive a sports car slightly faster than the previous driver.

Pavia's challenge essentially fell on the opposite end of that spectrum, as we now must remind everyone he's doing this for Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt! The Commodores have been playing football for 122 years, but we might as well divide the eras in Nashville into two categories: before Pavia and after Pavia.

Prior to his arrival, Vanderbilt football largely meant losing - and lots of it. The campaign before Pavia appeared on campus, the Commodores posted a 2-10 record and failed to win an SEC game. In Year 2 A.P., they flipped that mark and achieved the first 10-win season in the program's history. Talk about immediate impact.

Pavia's move to Vanderbilt didn't exactly make a big splash nationally, with 247 Sports ranking him as the third-best JUCO transfer quarterback, just behind Gino Campiatti. If you're unfamiliar with his work, Campiatti ended up at UMass ... as a tight end.

A colossal upset over Alabama, capped by one of the most viral moments of the season, catapulted Pavia into stardom.

OK, enough about the origin story - why should Pavia win the Heisman this season?

The race is essentially down to two players, with Mendoza favored ahead of Pavia. The Indiana passer leading the Hoosiers to an incredible Big Ten title win over Ohio State certainly makes him a worthy winner, but, as we covered above, he benefited from stepping into the perfect situation.

Mendoza piled up 3,220 total yards of offense with 39 touchdowns on the season, sitting out a number of fourth quarters as Indiana held insurmountable leads. However, Pavia surpassed those numbers by a significant margin, recording 4,018 total yards and 36 touchdowns. But it was during the closing stretch when Pavia really pulled away, delivering clutch performances and doing all he could to drag Vanderbilt to the playoffs.

Indiana allowed 11 points per game in its last four contests, showcasing why its defense ranks second in the nation. Vanderbilt surrendered 28.25 points per game during the same stretch, forcing Pavia to go nuclear to keep the Commodores involved. And that's exactly what he did.

Pavia put up over 1,850 total yards of offense with 16 touchdowns across the season's final four games, topping the 400-yard mark in each. He became the first player in SEC history to accomplish that feat. In a powerhouse conference that sends more players to the NFL than any other, the only man ever to do it is former zero-star recruit Diego Pavia.

Mendoza has produced Heisman moments in wins over Oregon, Iowa, Penn State, and Ohio State, but Pavia's sustained brilliance on every single drive over the past month should be what gives him the Heisman.