The Latest Heisman Buzz As The Calendar Turns To November
November football is upon us as we get over our Halloween candy hangover. The cure, a weekend of gridiron action with the bonus of an extra hour of sleep courtesy of Daylight Saving’s kicking in Sunday at 2 a.m.
Before we “fall back” an hour, let’s fall forward into where the latest Heisman buzz is coming from. We are just over a month out from when ballots are distributed and the Heisman race is fascinating.
Let’s kick it off with former Colorado and UCLA Head Coach and current CBS broadcaster Rick Neuheisel, who tapped Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel as his current front runner for the Heisman. He had Miami QB Cam Ward second and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty third.
Fellow CBS commentator Randy Cross is all in on Ward, calling him “Clearly the best football player in America.” He had Jeanty second and Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter third.
CBS’s Aaron Taylor followed Neuheisel’s lead with Gabriel first with Ward second and Jeanty third.
2009 Heisman winner and Fox Sports commentator Mark Ingram has Ward and Jeanty at 1-2 at this juncture but is quite impressed with his fellow running back from Boise, saying: “Everyone wants to say ‘Oh, he’s playing in the Mountain West,’ this, that, I ain’t trying to hear it, man.
“Go watch the man play football. He is running, he is breaking tackles, he’s getting yards after contact. He’s picking up pass protection. He catches the football. He is RB1 for a reason. So, Ashton Jeanty right there, up there with Cam Ward on my ballot.”
As for Ward, Ingram said: “He has Miami 8-0. They would’ve lost three games if it wasn’t for Cam Ward. 24 touchdowns. Three rushing touchdowns and I think just a swagger, the demeanor that he’s playing with has resonated through that entire team. They’re playing with a swagger, demeanor that we haven’t seen from the U since the early 2000s and it all has to do with that quarterback, Cam Ward. They’re 8-0 and they would’ve lost three games if it wasn’t for him. So, right now I’m going with Cam Ward.”
NBC college football analyst Nicole Auerbach sees Gabriel taking a giant leap forward as a favorite heading into November action, but she has Jeanty in the top spot among her current top 5.
She cites this resume of accomplishments as why she has Gabriel second on her current Heisman list: “Gabriel has thrown for 2,371 yards and 18 touchdowns through eight games. He leads FBS in completion percentage, and he’s actually completing a higher percentage of his passes on the road (80.0) than he is at home (74.1). In the win over Ohio State, Gabriel threw for 341 yards and accounted for three total touchdowns. He ranks among the nation’s best in yardage per game and yards per attempt. The Oregon offense has been humming as of late, especially its passing attack — which is why Gabriel is near the top of my Heisman candidate list this week.”
Auerbach has Hunter third, Ward fourth and Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik fifth.
On Jeanty, Auerback says: “All that to say, Jeanty is a beast. He’s as special a running back as we’ve seen in college football, and he’s become a household name because he is appointment viewing. And in the biggest game of the season so far for Boise State — against UNLV last weekend — he rushed for 128 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown. His stat line looked underwhelming by his own insanely high standards, but it’s clear to anyone who watched that Jeanty was a difference-maker.”
In Bleacher Report’s latest Heisman rankings, they see it as a wide open race with Jeanty, Hunter, Ward and Gabriel among their top tier of candidates.
On Hunter, they said: “Hunter eliminated concerns about his health in the victory over Cincinnati, missing a single snap while blowing up the box score. He posted nine catches for a career-high 153 yards with two touchdowns, logged two tackles and broke up four passes. Pretty good!”
In BR’s second tier was Klubnik and Georgia’s Carson Beck while their third tier included five quarterbacks in Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart and Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith.
And in their dark horse fourth tier, they included Army QB Bryson Daily, Ohio State QB Will Howard and Alabama QB Jalen Milroe.
On3’s college football reporters listed their top 3 entering November, including Andy Staples, who had Hunter, Jeanty and Gabriel going 1-2-3. Colleague Ari Wasserman had it Hunter, Jeanty and Ward while reporter Jesse Simonton saw it as Jeanty, Hunter and Ward. See all the analysts current top 3 here.
Fansided sided with Hunter following the last weekend of October action, placing him first in their Heisman rankings. It had Jeanty second, Gabriel third and and Ward fourth. Klubnik, Sanders and Milroe filled the 5-7 spots while Daily, Dart and Smith were listed 8-10.
2013 Heisman winner Robert Griffin III has Jeanty atop his top 5 with Sanders second and Ward third.
Former NFL player and current radio commentator Will Blackmon has Ward topping his Heisman top 5 with Gabriel second and Hunter third.
Finally, let’s check in with Athlon, who lists Jeanty atop its rankings list with Hunter second, Ward third, Gabriel fourth and Rourke fifth.
Rourke missed the Hoosiers’ most recent win with surgery on his right thumb, but is expected to return in time for Saturday’s game against Michigan State. What follows are games against Michigan and Ohio State and if Rourke should keep Indiana unbeaten, he’ll likely rocket up the Heisman chart.
