Lemon City Live 2025 Heisman Watchlist | Week 13

---

Miami, Florida – A handful of names remain with two games to go for the Lemon City Live 2025 Heisman Watchlist in what has been a thrilling season. Week 12 brought another instance of higher-ranked teams winning their games except for fourth-ranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide fell to No. 11 Oklahoma 23-21, shaking up the SEC standings. Third-ranked Texas A&M nearly joined Bama in the loss column, mounting a tremendous 31-30 comeback victory over South Carolina after being down 30-3 at the half. Elsewhere, Georgia’s Gunner Stockton played wonderfully against tenth-ranked Texas, handing them a 35-10 defeat that impacted the Heisman race.

The ACC situation continues to evolve as Clemson edged out No. 20 Louisville 20-19, and No.16 Georgia Tech squeaked out a 36-34 win over lowly Boston College. Virginia took care of Duke while Miami dominated NC State. The latest results yielded changes at the top and bottom of the Watchlist, with Ty Simpson jettisoned by a fellow SEC rival. Here’s the newest edition of LCL’s Heisman rankings.

Fernando Mendoza

No. 15 → No. 3 for six. @qb_fernando | @TheOmarCooper | #IUFB | 📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/qlT5GU8ygq

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) November 15, 2025

Previous Ranking: 2

Wisconsin proved no match for Fernando Mendoza, who threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns, earning him a promotion into the rankings. It’s the Badgers, sure, but Mendoza put up the best numbers of his peers. Numbers two and three on this list faced weak opposition, with the Miami-native experiencing the most success. Game strategy plays a big role, as we’ll see further down the list.

Marcel Reed

Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Honorable Mention➡️ @BethelRoman13 #GigEm | @CampbellAward pic.twitter.com/wN47p9c0ar

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) November 18, 2025

Previous Ranking: 1

Like Mendoza the weekend before, Marcel Reed found his Heisman moment. Down 30-3 at halftime, Reed led his team to victory, throwing three TDs to help complete the biggest in school history, surpassing a 21-point comeback by Johnny Manziel in a 52-48 win over Duke at the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Aggie completed the game with 439 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. So why not give him the top spot? He turned the ball over three times, including two interceptions and a fumble.

Julian Sayin

Scenes from the Shoe 😄 pic.twitter.com/L9sgko5BC1

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 17, 2025

Previous Ranking: 3

Ohio State’s star player stood pat with a seemingly lackluster performance versus UCLA, recording 184 yards and a TD. Given they won 48-10, it’s clear the game plan was to spread the ball around, with the running backs accounting for four of the touchdowns. This is largely why Julian Sayin remains at three, fending off a strong game from the next player.

Gunner Stockton

Gunner Stockton vs Texas:

– 24/29
– 258 tot yards
– 5 tot TD’s
– 1 INT
– 1 Manning award for Week 12

14 snatched Arch’s chain 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/KlmkIUEOQU

— Chanluh 🪐 (@chxnluh) November 17, 2025

Previous Ranking: NR

Welcome back, Gunner, welcome back. Gunner Stockton went ham on tenth-ranked Texas, totaling 229 yards, four touchdowns, and a rushing TD. Stockton did throw a pick in what was an otherwise perfect game, completing 24 of 29 passes. Accumulating 2,269 yards, 19 TDs, and three interceptions, the Georgia signal caller faces Charlotte and then Georgia Tech in the schedule. These are opportunities to climb, especially the state rivalry.

Diego Pavia

Diego Pavia out here striking the Heisman pose. And I don’t think you can really argue with him.

Dude is playing unreal. pic.twitter.com/RKYcibLOrW

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) October 18, 2025

Previous Ranking: 4

Vanderbilt was on a bye week, making this decision somewhat difficult. I try to keep guys at the position they were previously in, although that is particularly difficult at the back end of the season. Ty Simpson could have bumped off Diego Pavia, but his outing versus Oklahoma was not good enough. Pavia returns to action with Kentucky and then Tennessee. Out of the five quarterbacks in this edition, he has the most urgency to put up a Heisman ending to the year.

About Post Author