Now that we are in Week 7 of the college football season, the Heisman frontrunners have started to pull away. This may be the first time since 2020 that a non-QB wins the award, so who is the best bet to win the most prestigious individual award in college football this year?
RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State (+240)
Based on odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook, Ashton Jeanty is the slight favorite to take home the Heisman Trophy this year. I’m sure you’ve seen his highlight reel, so you know about his impeccable balance and that it takes a full 11-man defense to bring him down, but let’s look at the numbers to see just how absurd his season has been.
The back that has perhaps the most menacing backfield stance in college football history and has the whole country tuned in to watch Boise State football games every week leads the nation with 1,031 rushing yards this season. Just in case you were wondering, the next closest back is nearly 300 yards behind Jeanty with only 771 rushing yards.
Jeanty has those 1,031 rushing yards on just 95 attempts, which has him placed at just 15 th in the country, and his 10.9 yards per carry are by far the most of any back with at least 50 carries. Jeanty also leads the nation in rushing touchdowns with 16, four ahead of the next closest back. His longest rush of the year is 77 yards, tied for 12 th in the nation.
Boise State has a pretty easy remaining schedule, but that could be something that holds Jeanty back in the eyes of some voters. The Broncos have played just one ranked opponent this year, the No. 7 Oregon Ducks who they lost to in a 37-34 battle where Jeanty rushed for 192 yards and 3 TDs. Additionally, they do not have a game vs. another currently ranked opponent for the rest of year.
Some will say that Jeanty doesn’t deserve the Heisman because of his team's weak strength of schedule. They will likely also bring up the fact that the Heisman Trophy has not gone to a non-Power 5 player since 1990 when the award went to Ty Detmer. However, when you have someone putting up video game numbers and making Boise State much watch television every single week, it is hard to look past that, which is why Ashton Jeanty is the best bet to win the Heisman Trophy this year.
WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado (+320)
Travis Hunter and the Colorado Buffaloes have been among the biggest talking points in the college football world for each of the last 2 years, and Hunter is showing the whole world why.
Hunter has racked up 46 receptions for 561 yards ad 6 TDs this season, averaging 12.2 yards per catch. You may be thinking those numbers sound good, but not enough to take this award away from someone like Jeanty or a QB, but Hunter plays both sides of the ball.
On defense, Hunter’s 3 passes defended and 2 INTs look like nothing to write home about, but if you watch Colorado play you know that Hunter’s numbers on the stat sheet are low simply because opposing QBs don’t throw the ball his way.
Hunter has been both the best receiver and best defensive back on a 4-1 Colorado squad for each of the last 2 seasons. If he and the Buffaloes can show out and win against the No. 18 Kansas State Wildcats Saturday, it will be hard to ignore his chances for the Heisman Trophy.
QB Cam Ward, Miami (+450).
The final name that is in the top 3 Heisman odds to this point of the season is Miami’s gem QB from the transfer portal, Cam Ward.
Perhaps the most nonchalant looking player on the field in all of college football, but his play has been anything but uninteresting. He has led the Miami Hurricanes to the No. 6 ranking in the country and led an impressive comeback win vs. Cal in his last outing, scoring each of the final 3 TDs to help his team comeback from down 38-18 in the fourth quarter.
He leads the nation with 2,219 passing yards and 20 TDs. His average of 10.4 yards per pass attempt is good for sixth in the country and his completion percentage of 69.2% is second in the ACC.
Ward got the college football world’s attention in his outing vs. Florida in Miami’s season opener, and if he performs well against opponents like Duke, Syracuse, and Louisville, he will continue to make a case for a QB winning this award for the fourth straight year.
The Field
Now that we have talked about the three favorites to win the award, let’s talk about the rest of the field. I mean after all, there is still a lot of college football left to be played.
Some notable names included in the race for the Heisman are QB Jalen Milroe from Alabama, QB Dillon Gabriel from Oregon, and QB Carson Beck from Georgia.
All three of these quarterbacks have played phenomenally and are leading their teams to top ten spots in the AP Top 25 Poll week in and week out, but I don’t think any of them have a real shot to take the award away from the top three.
Milroe has played exceptionally well, but the loss to Vanderbilt greatly hurt his Heisman chances. If the three guys atop this list continue their stellar play, there isn’t much Milroe can do to realistically get back into the top of this conversation.
Gabriel has played solidly, but he and the Ducks have had some struggles against lesser tier teams like Boise State at times, and while his play has been very good, nothing about it screams “Heisman” to anyone.
Beck has also played well, and he showed a lot of fight in that second half comeback attempt vs. Alabama. His play has also left much to be desired and is decidedly not enough for him to leap over any of the guys ahead of him. With a continued tough schedule in the SEC, his chances of redemption will likely stay slim.
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