16 FEBRUARY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED
BY TYLER HORKA AND JACK SOBLE
I
t's probably a sign of program health
for a team to have a Heisman Tro-
phy finalist and that player feeling a
little bit of heat for the title of Most
Valuable Player. Jeremiyah Love right-
fully earned the award, but fellow unan-
imous All-American Leonard Moore
definitely has something to say about it.
We begin this edition of the BGI
Awards right there, with a breakdown
of the MVP race, before getting into five
other honors and who they were be-
stowed upon.
MVP
1. Junior RB Jeremiyah Love
It's extremely rare for a running back
to be his team's most valuable player. But
Love was BGI's near-unanimous winner.
Love's ability to make something out
of nothing on one end and turn a good
play into a great play on the other was
unparalleled in college football this year.
His numbers (199 carries for 1,372 yards
and 18 touchdowns; 27 receptions for
280 yards and 3 scores) are excellent but
they don't come close to doing justice in
describing his impact.
Love was best known for his electric
touchdown runs of 63, 94, 56 and 68
yards in the second half of the season,
but for a microcosm of what he meant to
Notre Dame, head coach Marcus Free-
2025 BGI
AWARDS
Junior running back Jeremiyah Love's
electric performance earned him
team MVP honors
