LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier entered the 2025 season as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. The veteran QB ranked fifth in the country last season with 4,052 passing yards to go along with 29 touchdowns. He also led the SEC with 337 completions. However, Nussmeier's final collegiate season hasn't gone as planned, as an abdominal injury has hindered his ability and left him sidelined for LSU's last two games.
Joe Burrow gets promising news ahead of Thanksgiving Day game vs Ravens
The 2025 Heisman race has been wide open for most of the season. Entering Week 13, there is still no overwhelming favorite to win the prestigious award. Nobody has firmly cemented themselves as the favorite, which is a far different story than back in 2019 when Joe Burrow put together a historic campaign.
No 2025 Heisman contender is even close to Burrow's 2019 numbers
As it stands, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the betting favorite to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy with odds of -115 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Through 11 games, Mendoza ranks 31st in the country in passing yards with 2,641 and is tied for first in passing touchdowns with 30. Neither of those numbers are even close to Burrow's historic 2019 season when he had 4,014 passing yards and 41 touchdowns through 11 games.
Other QBs in the Heisman race include Ohio State's Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia, Texas A&M's Marcel Reed, and Oregon's Dante Moore. None of them are in the same stratosphere of Burrow's historic 2019 season.
Comparing Joe Burrow 2019 to Heisman Candidates through 11 Games:
— SEC Numbers Guy (@secnumbersguy) November 23, 2025
Yards:
-Burrow 4,014
-Sayin 2,823
-Mendoza 2,641
-Moore 2,447
Touchdowns:
-Burrow 41
-Sayin 27
-Mendoza 30
-Moore 23
Joey B was just on another level.
pic.twitter.com/CefNQSeP0T
The contender closest to Burrow's passing yard total of 4,014 through 11 games is Sayin, who has 2,283 yards so far this season. The Buckeye QB is also the closest in terms of touchdown passes, as he has 27 thus far when Burrow had 41 at this point of the 2019 season. Sayin leads the country with a 79.4 completion percentage, which contends with Burrow's NCAA-leading completion percentage of 76.3 in 2019. But Sayin still has to battle Michigan, play in the Big Ten Championship Game, as well as the College Football Playoff. It's quite possible that his completion percentage drops over the next few weeks.
In total, Burrow finished his incredible 2019 season leading the nation with 5,671 passing yards and 60 touchdowns. Needless to say, nobody is going to be breaking those numbers this season. The 2019 season is arguably the greatest season in college football history and Burrow is the main reason why.
Tiger fans are excited to watch Burrow back in action on Thanksgiving Day, as he leads the Bengals in a pivotal divisional matchup against the Ravens. Burrow has been sidelined since Week 2 after undergoing turf toe surgery, but is expected to start Thursday's matchup against Baltimore.