October Football Is Here, Along With the Latest Heisman Buzz
We’re just going to go out on a limb and say it even though we’ve yet to see any October football yet. This is going to be a superb Heisman race, we can just feel it.
The amount of standout college football being played across the nation is impressive and any number of young men have a great chance to become the newest member of the Heisman fraternity.
With that, let’s review the latest musings of the Heisman voting world — the college football media zeitgeist, as it were (and of course Heisman winners) — and see where we are.
Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter is gaining momentum in many circles. Athlon’s latest rankings have him first following another standout game in which he caught nine passes for 89 yards and a score in the Buffs’ 48-21 win at Central Florida. He also intercepted his second pass this season and followed it with a Heisman pose.
He is tied for fourth nationally with 9.2 receptions per game to go with 112.2 yards per game, eighth nationally. He played 128 snaps against the Knights and has played 660 snaps in five games.
Bleacher Report wrapped up Hunter, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe and Miami QB Cam Ward in its top tier of Heisman contenders entering the pumpkin month.
Hunter and Milroe were 1-2 on Athlon’s list and Milroe was first on College Football News’ chart with Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty second. CBS’s Danny Kanell had Hunter and Milroe 1-2, with Jeanty third, Ward fourth and USC’s Miller Moss fifth.
CBS’s Dennis Dodd has Milroe atop his latest “Heisman Hype” rankings with Hunter second and Jeanty third.
Let’s take a look at some of these early favorites.
Milroe is coming off a monster 27-of-33, 374-yard passing performance with two TDs and 117 rushing yards on 16 carries and two more TDs in Alabama’s barnburning 41-34 win over Georgia. He has rushed for two TDs in each of Alabama’s four wins (his eight rushing TDs are tied for fifth nationally) and passed for a combined 10, completing 72.9% of his passes for 964 yards.
Ward had the nation’s attention during a Friday night game in which Miami came back to move to 5-0 with a 38-34 win over Virginia Tech. Ward threw for 343 yards and four touchdowns for the Hurricanes, including the game winner with 1:57 left.
He leads the nation in total offense (385.6 yards per game) and passing TDs (18) and is third in passing yards per game (356.4). Ward, by the way, takes his top 10 Hurricanes out west to play its first ACC game in Berkeley at resurgent California.
As for Jeanty, he leads the nation is rushing yards per game at 211.25, totaling 845 through four games, to go with nation-best 13 scores on the ground. Jeanty also hit the Heisman pose over the weekend following his fourth rushing score in the Broncos’ 45-24 win over Washington State.
His numbers are being compared to recent Heisman-winning running backs, like Reggie Bush, who had 491 rushing yards through four games in 2005, and Derrick Henry, who had 422 in 2015 in his first four games.
USC’s Moss is seemingly a bit under the radar but his second-half performance that led the Trojans to a 38-21 win over Wisconsin made folks notice. He is 11th nationally with 299.5 yards passing per game with eight scoring passes and just two interceptions.
Hunter’s wingman in Boulder, Colo., er, quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, is hovering on most lists, a bit overshadowed by Hunter’s exploits. He is averaging 326 yards passing per game, seventh nationally, and his 14 TD passes are tied for fourth.
Bleacher Report’s second level of Heisman contenders featured Jeanty, Moss, Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava (who had a bye last week), Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart (ranked fifth by Athlon) and Ohio State QB Will Howard.
Dart suffered his first loss of the season last week as Kentucky beat the Rebels, 20-17, though he still threw for 261 yards and a score.
Howard got Ohio State to 4-0 with a 38-7 win over Michigan State with 244 passing yards and two scores. He has 1,039 passing yards and eight TDs overall.
Gabriel had a breezy 278 passing yards and three scores as the Ducks went to 4-0 with a 34-13 win over UCLA. He has 1,192 yards passing with nine TDs and just one pick.
Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson, off last week, is second nationally with 685 yards and nine TDs and has a huge stage this week when the Hawkeyes travel to Ohio State. A big game there gives his him a big Heisman push.
Johnson was featured this week on The Official Heisman Trophy Podcast. You can listen to his interview here.
And how about Navy QB Blake Horvath, who has the Midshipmen positioned at 4-1 entering their Saturday showdown against Air Force. He has 1,087 yards of total offense and is responsible for 15 touchdowns, including this 90-yard scoring run against Memphis.
The Washington Post profiled Navy’s new star here.
Finally, let’s end this week’s look at Heisman hopefuls with something familiar, namely an LSU QB. Junior QB Garrett Nussmeier, following in the footsteps of recent Tiger Heisman winners Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, has helped LSU with four straight following a season-opening loss to USC. He has passed for 1,652 yards and 15 scores. Will the momentum continue?
