Heisman Buzz After An Upset-Heavy Weekend
Nothing like a large portion of the top 25, really the top 12, getting toppled on a Saturday to reshuffle the college football landscape, which is what we had on the first weekend of October play.
No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 9 Missouri, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 USC and No. 22 Louisville all fell on Oct. 5, as did No. 25 UNLV on Oct. 4.
And it took a(nother) Herculean effort by Miami QB Cam Ward to lead a last-minute 39-38 win at Cal and avert the No. 8 Hurricanes falling on the West Coast and joining the deluge of upsets.
A day like that can shake up the Heisman outlook for some players whose resumes were spotless, but Ward avoided the fallout with the comeback.
The senior first-year Miami signalcaller definitely did not appear shook when his Hurricanes trailed 35-10 in the third quarter or 38-18 with 14:13 left to play. Ward, a leading candidate for the Heisman, orchestrated three TD drives in the final frame, including a pair of TD passes, the last with 26 seconds left.
He finished with 437 yards on 35-of-53 passing and two scores and also ran one in. He leads the country with 20 TD passes and 369.8 yards passing per game.
Your national rushing leader? That would be Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, who is averaging 206.20 yards per game (52 yards more than second place), despite sitting out multiple quarters in Bronco blowout wins this year. He is averaging 64 yards in every quarter in which he plays. He also leads the nation in rushing scores (16) and average yards per carry (10.85).
Jeanty, in fact, is first in on3.com‘s national Heisman rankings among its five college football writers, including Andy Staples. In second, that would be Colorado dual threat WR/CB combo Travis Hunter, who was off this week on a Colorado bye. Ward was third.
That trio accounted for four of the five writers’ top 3. The outlier was Indiana QB Kevin Rourke, who has led the Hoosiers to their first 6-0 start since 1967.
Rourke, who transferred to Indiana after five years with Miami of Ohio, has thrown for 1,752 yards, completing 73.8% of his passes with 14 TDs and just two interceptions, leading a renaissance of football in Bloomington.
The on3.com poll listed Ohio State freshman WR Jeremiah Smith fourth ahead of Rourke in fifth while Alabama QB Jalen Milore was tied for sixth with his freshman wideout breakout star Ryan Williams.
Fansided’s latest Heisman rankings listed Jeanty in first following his 186-yard, three-touchdown effort. He became only the eighth FBS running back since 1996 to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing five games into a season, a list that includes Heisman winner Ricky Williams.
Ward was second in the poll with Hunter third. Though he was off this week, remember Hunter has 46 receptions for 561 yards and six TDs on offense and 15 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble on defense, playing about 535% of the team’s snaps (that’s an estimate).
Milroe is fourth in the poll. He will forever be linked as the Crimson Tide QB when Vanderbilt knocked off No. 1 Alabama, but he played admirably in the loss. He completed 18-of-24 passes for 310 yards with one TD passing and running and yes, one pick. Milroe is also leading the country in passer rating (201.20).
In fifth in the poll is Oregon QB Dillion Gabriel, who has led Oregon to a 5-0 start following a 31-10 win over Oregon. He threw for 257 yards and two scores in the win and also ran one in.
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart is squarely in the mix as he got the Rebels back on track with a 27-3 win over South Carolina with 285 yards passing.
Now, let’s dig a bit deeper with some dark horse candidates, including Navy QB Blake Hovath, the upcoming guest this week on the Official Heisman Trophy Podcast. Horvath passed for 134 yards and ran for 115 yards and two scores Saturday to lead Navy to a 34-7 win at Air Force. It was Navy’s biggest margin of victory over the Falcons in Colorado Springs since 1978 and it was the second-most points that Navy has ever scored at Air Force.
Navy is 5-0 for the first time since 2017. On the year, Horvath has rushed for 565 yards and 10 touchdowns (third in FBS in rushing TDs, fourth in total TDs) on just 65 carries. He has been responsible for 21.2 points per game, which is ranked ninth nationally and scoring 12.0 points per game, which is ranked fourth nationally.
Syracuse QB Kyle McCord has his squad off to a 4-1 start following a 44-41 upset at UNLV in which he completed 40-of-63 passes for 355 yards and three scores. His 17 TD passes on the year are second nationally.
How about Pitt freshman QB Eli Holstein, who has the Panthers at 5-0 following a 34-24 road win at North Carolina. Holstein threw for 381 yards and three scores and ran for 76 yards and another score on 10 carries. He has passed for 1,567 yards and 15 TDs, tied for fifth in the nation.
And let’s not forget Texas QB Quinn Ewers, who is set to return to the Texas lineup next week following his injury. Should the preseason favorite return to form and lead a juggernaut Longhorn offense in the second half of the season, don’t be surprised to see him rise quickly in the Heisman rankings.
Bleacher Report listed Jeanty, Milroe and Ward in its top three. Dart, Gabriel, Milroe and Ohio State QB Will Howard were just behind in its second tier.
If this week’s games are as eventful as last week, we could have a completely new shuffle of names next week. Can’t wait!
