On3 Sports Heisman Poll Defies Logic with a Hype-First Focus

On Mondays On3 Sports produces a Heisman Poll of five national experts, but we're compelled to trust them about their expert status, since the five aren't actually named.

The poll they produced leaves it an open question. Each expert votes for ten candidates rated 1-10, and they tally up the points, 10 for first, etc., so it's very mock-scientific.

The resulting ballot leans heavily into hype over football with a decided Flavor of the Month quality. Here's who they've got:

1. Travis Hunter, Colorado

2. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

3. Jalen Milroe, Alabama

4. Cam Ward, Miami

5. Ryan Williams, Alabama

6. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee

T-6. Kalel Mullings, Michigan

T-8. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State

T-8. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

10. Kurtis Rourke, Indiana

Others Receiving Votes: QB Miller Moss, USC – 8 QB Cade Klubnik, Clemson – 5 CB Will Johnson, Michigan – 5 QB Carson Beck, Georgia – 4 QB Kyle McCord, Syracuse – 2 QB Arch Manning, Texas – 1 QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss – 1.

This is the work of unserious people. After Saturday night's epic showdown between Georgia and Alabama it's hard to think how anyone can be ranked ahead of Jalen Milroe, who has thrown for 10 touchdowns and ran for 8 touchdowns while leading Alabama to a 4-0 record and number one in the polls.

Jeanty and Hunter are nice stories, but one is a Group of 5 running back with upcoming games against Utah State and Hawaii. The other is a two-way player on a 4-1 team from the Big 12. Colorado is likely no better than 4-4 in their remaining games.

It's as you move down the list that it gets wonky. Garrett Nussmeier? Kurtis Rourke? These are names that don't even appear on the odds board at FanDuel. Nussmeier's season totals are heavily padded by appearing in five games and throwing 6 touchdowns against Nicholls State. Rourke and the Indiana Hoosiers are a great story at 5-0, but they haven't exactly faced a murderer's row, with wins over Florida International, Western Illinois, UCLA, Charlotte and Maryland. They'll face Michigan and Ohio State in November.

It's absurd too that Dillon Gabriel, currently 5th on the Heisman odds board at FanDuel, didn't even get a single vote for 10th among the five On3 experts. Gabriel leads the FBS in accuracy at 81.5%. In #6 Oregon's 4-0 start he's thrown for 1192 yards with 9 TDs and 1 INT, rushing for 49 yards and two touchdowns.