College football is down to its final two regular-season weeks, followed by conference championship weekend. That means the playoffs and bowls are just around the corner — and so is awards season.
For 100 years, the Chicago Tribune Silver Football has been awarded to the Big Ten’s best player, based on a vote of the conference’s head coaches. The award is announced in early December, and this year the race for the Silver Football looks like it will intertwine with the race for the Heisman Trophy.
Here’s a look at some of the players under consideration for the conference’s top football honor.
The favorites
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana QB
Mendoza has a compelling backstory. After 19 starts over three seasons at Cal, he transferred to suddenly relevant Indiana to join his younger brother Alberto in the quarterbacks room. His pairing with coach Curt Cignetti has vaulted him to become one of the best players in the country for an 11-0 team that’s No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings — success that was unthinkable for the Hoosiers for decades before Cignetti’s arrival last season.
Mendoza has the stats too. He leads the nation with 30 touchdown passes while throwing just five interceptions. He’s second in the Big Ten with a 73% completion percentage, fourth with 2,641 passing yards and tied for first with 9.5 yards per completion.
An Indiana player hasn’t won the Silver Football since Antwaan Randle El in 2001 — or ever won the Heisman — but Mendoza has steadily built his case for both, including engineering the winning drive against Penn State and then completing 22 of 24 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns against Wisconsin in the last two weeks.
Julian Sayin, Ohio State QB
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin plays against Penn State on Nov. 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Barring a big surprise over the final two regular-season weekends, Mendoza has one major competitor for the Silver Football: fellow Heisman candidate Sayin.
No. 1 Ohio State’s follow-up season to its 2024 national championship has felt matter-of-fact and drama-free, and Sayin’s performance in his first season as a starter is a big reason.
Sayin, who sat behind starter Will Howard last season, leads the nation with an 80.1% completion rate on 226-for-282 passing and 186.24 passing efficiency. He has thrown for 2,675 yards and 25 touchdowns with four interceptions.
Sayin is looking to become the 24th Ohio State player to win the Silver Football, and he has a big game coming up to cement his case: a Nov. 29 clash with No. 18 Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Also in consideration
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith warms up before a game against UCLA on Nov. 15, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (Jason Mowry/Getty Images)
One contributor to Sayin’s incredibly efficient numbers this season? One of the best receivers in the country.
In his second season with the Buckeyes, Smith continues to be a highlight reel, making ridiculous one-handed catches on more than one occasion. He was an All-American and the Big Ten’s receiver of the year as a freshman, and he has followed that up by totaling 69 catches for 902 yards and a conference-leading 10 touchdowns in 10 games.
He was limited against UCLA last week with an unspecified injury, so his status will be worth watching in the weeks ahead.
Jayden Maiava, USC QB
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava gestures to teammates during the first half against Iowa on Nov. 15, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Maiava has been at the helm of one of the nation’s top offenses. He leads the Big Ten and is ninth in the country with 2,868 passing yards and also has 18 touchdown passes. He also leads the country in ESPN’s QBR metric at 90.7.
USC is in the middle of a tough seven-game stretch that included victories over Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa and losses to No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 21 Illinois. Maiava threw all six of his interceptions in that span but also had nine touchdown passes.
He and the No. 15 Trojans face another big test Saturday at Oregon, led by our next candidate.
Dante Moore, Oregon QB
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore passes against Penn State on Sept. 27, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Moore was an early Heisman candidate, but that fell off after quiet performances against Wisconsin — when he exited after getting hit in the face in the second half — and against Iowa in the rain. He had just 198 yards and no touchdown passes in those two games, though both were wins, including a last-minute comeback against the Hawkeyes.
He then had his biggest game of the season last week against Minnesota, completing 27 of 30 passes (90%) for 306 yards and two touchdowns. He’s third in the Big Ten with a 72.8% completion percentage and tied for third with Illinois’ Luke Altmyer with 21 touchdown passes against five interceptions.
Leading the No. 7 Ducks boosts his profile, and Oregon has a couple of tough games — against USC and at Washington — for Moore to keep building his case.
Others worth noting
In alphabetical order
Luke Altmyer, Illinois QB
Altmyer’s stats are on par with Moore’s for the No. 21 Illini. He has thrown for 2,427 yards and 21 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Hank Beatty, Illinois WR/PR
Beatty earned Sporting News midseason All-America honors as an all-around player. He not only is fourth in the Big Ten with 758 receiving yards, but also has 185 punt-return yards. He has a passing, receiving, rushing and punt-return touchdown this season.
Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana WR
Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. catches a touchdown pass over Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley on Nov. 8, 2025, in State College, Pa. (Barry Reeger/AP)
Cooper has 55 catches for 740 yards and is tied for the conference lead with 10 receiving touchdowns. His winning touchdown catch against Penn State was a highlight not to be missed.
Caleb Downs, Ohio State S
One of the best players on the nation’s best defense, Downs has 46 tackles, including four for a loss, and two interceptions. He’s a projected top-10 NFL draft pick.
Justice Haynes, Michigan RB
Haynes led the Big Ten with 122.4 rushing yards per game and totaled 10 touchdowns. The problem is he played in only seven games before suffering a foot injury that required surgery. Worth noting: Michigan’s Jordan Marshall has stepped up with some big games with Haynes out and has 871 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Emmett Johnson, Nebraska RB
Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson carries the ball against Northwestern on Oct. 25, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Bonnie Ryan)
Johnson is the conference rushing leader with 203 carries for 1,131 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has 1,431 all-purpose yards, which ranks third in the nation at 143.1 per game.
Makai Lemon, USC WR
The only Big Ten receiver to top 1,000 yards so far this season, Lemon is averaging 109 receiving yards per game and has eight receiving touchdowns for the No. 15 Trojans. Some might consider Lemon as good of a candidate as his teammate Maiava.
Antwan Raymond, Rutgers RB
Raymond has 1,000 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He rushed for a whopping 240 yards Nov. 8 against Maryland.
Arvell Reese, Ohio State LB
Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, left, celebrates his sack against Penn State with defensive lineman Kenyatta Jackson on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
The Athletic recently ranked Reese as the top player in this year’s draft class. He has 58 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 6½ sacks and two passes defended this season.
Carnell Tate, Ohio State WR
Tate, a Chicago native who’s the other half of the Buckeyes’ formidable receiving duo, has 39 catches for 711 yards — a Big Ten-leading 18.2 yards per catch — and seven touchdowns.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/20/big-ten-silver-football-candidates/
