How latest results are boosting Heisman chances for Notre Dame star

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Jeremiyah Love’s odds of winning the Heisman Trophy improved on Black Friday even as the Notre Dame football star running back rested up for Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Stanford.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the frontrunner at most online betting sites, posted modest numbers in a 56-3 win over Purdue. Mendoza went 8-of-15 passing for 117 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions while adding a rushing score as well.

The completion percentage (53%) and passing yardage were both season lows for the leader of the second-ranked Hoosiers.

DraftKings.com adjusted Mendoza’s odds to -105 with Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin at +260 and Love the third choice at +290.

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FanDuel’s latest odds on Saturday morning had Mendoza at +100 (even money), Love at +250, Sayin at +360 and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia at +650.

Sayin, a redshirt freshman who leads the nation in completion percentage (79.4), staked the top-ranked Buckeyes to a 17-9 halftime lead on Saturday at Michigan.

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Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, the only other quarterback of an undefeated team before Friday, dropped from those ranks with a 10-point loss at Texas. Reed posted 251 combined scrimmage yards but he threw two interceptions and no touchdowns.

Both quarterbacks in Friday’s Georgia-Georgia Tech slugfest, Gunner Stockton and Haynes King, had underwhelming numbers in a game that featured six field goals among its 25 combined points.

Stockton, in his first full year as the Bulldogs’ starter, had just 70 passing yards while the more experienced King passed for 181 yards and rushed for just 39 for the Yellow Jackets.

Both had been on the periphery of the quarterback-heavy Heisman list along with Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, DraftKings’ fourth choice at +1000. Pavia faces a ranked Tennessee team on Saturday afternoon.

Heisman Trophy ballots are distributed on Dec. 1 with votes due by Dec. 8 and the awards ceremony in New York City on Dec. 13.

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football RB Jeremiyah Love climbs in Heisman rankings