The Heisman Buzz, TipToeing Closer To Heisman Weekend

We are a month out from the 2024 Heisman Trophy weekend and still have a wide open race for the stiff-arm trophy with a number of players vying for the coveted award.

Let’s dig right into the how the college football media world is looking at the race.

Bleacher Report is staking its ground. Its headline spoils any suspense in the article, saying “Travis Hunter’s Race To Lose Entering Week 12”. As we’ll see, it’s somewhat of a common refrain.

BR included Hunter, Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, Miami QB Cam Ward and Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty in its trio of favorites for the award.

Hunter is coming off of a nine-catch, 99-yard and a touchdown performance in a win at Texas Tech last week while pulling double duty, as usual, at DB.

Gabriel has led No. 1 Oregon to 10 weeks of unbeaten play, most recently a 39-18 win over Maryland with a three-TD-passing performance. He leads the nation in completion percentage (74.1) and is sixth in TD passes and passing efficiency.

Jeanty ripped off another 200-plus yards (209 to be exact) in a surprisingly close win over Nevada, 28-21. It gave him national bests with 1,734 yards and 23 touchdowns in nine games, some of which he didn’t play much, if at all, in the second half. The Broncos are now 8-1 with a roadie at solid San Jose State on Saturday.

Ward and Miami suffered through their first loss of the season Saturday, 28-23 to Georgia Tech, dropping to 9-1. The Hurricanes, masters of the comeback this season, finally faced a second-half deficit they couldn’t escape. It wasn’t for a lack of Ward’s work. The senior passed for 348 yards and three TDs and now leads the country in yards per game (349.4) and TD passes (32) while his passing rating is fourth (173.99).

Hunter, meanwhile, is seventh nationally in receptions with 69, 12th in reception yards (856) and is tied for sixth in TD catches (nine). All while averaging close to 125 snaps per game overall.

Bleacher report includes a trio of QBs in its second tier of Heisman hopefuls, including unbeaten Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe and Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart, all of whom are coming off strong Saturdays.

Milroe led the Crimson Tide to a 42-13 win over LSU with a career-high 185 rushing yards and four scores and 109 passing yards (yes, those are not reversed), including a 72-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Dart orchestrated a 28-10 win for Ole Miss over No. 3 Georgia, passing for 199 yards and a score with another 50 rushing yards. Rourke led the Hoosiers into the Big House and came out with a close-fought 20-15 win over the Wolverines, passing for 206 yards and two scores.

Dart is second nationally in passing yards (3,409). Rourke is second nationally in passing efficiency (182.67) while Milroe is 15th nationally in total offense (290.1 ypg).

Yahoo Sports also is giving a nod to Hunter’s chances, calling him a clear favorite with a few weeks to go.

Athlon’s rankings list Hunter first, Jeanty second, Gabriel third, Ward fourth and Rourke fifth in its top 5. Dart and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders are sixth and seventh, respectively, with Milroe eighth.

On3’s collection of reporters released another Heisman straw poll, and it was topped by Hunter and Jeanty, separated by a slim margin. Ward and Gabriel were third and fourth with Rourke fifth. Sanders, Dart, Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith, Milroe and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia were listed 6-10.

Smith is tied for sixth nationally with nine touchdown catches among his 45 receptions this year, averaging 17.0 per catch.

NBC’s Nicole Auerbach released her latest top 5 with Jeanty first, Hunter second, Gabriel third, Ward fourth and Rourke fifth.

The Athletic concurred with others that Hunter is the new leading contender leading down the stretch.

CBS’s Dennis Dodd has Jeanty atop his top 10 list with Hunter and Sanders 2-3 and Milroe and Gabriel at 4-5.

Other noteworthy contenders include Army QB Bryson Daily, who has the Black Knights at 10-0 while rushing for 1,062 yards and 21 TDs, Clemson QB Cade Klubnik, who has helped the Tigers rebound from a slow start, Ohio State QB Will Howard, who has guided the Buckeyes to another strong season and Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson, who is on pace to lead the SEC in rushing. Oh yeah, how about Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who has emerged as possibly the best at his position in the country with a nation-leading 1,170 receiving yards and 83 receptions, second-best.