RADIO
Week 4 of the college football season is on in the rearview mirror. It was...a week, you know? A lot of the top players were off this week, so there's really only some small movements in this week's list.
No trophy in college sports means as much as the Heisman Trophy, which recognizes the best player in college football. That's why each week I'll be taking stock of the top five contenders for the trophy.
Below are the top 10 Heisman contenders after Week 4 of the college football season. These are the 10 players who I view as having the best shot to win the trophy based on their performances this season.
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10. Ashton Jeanty - RB, Boise State
Ashton Jeanty is coming off his worst game of the season, rushing for 127 yards and no touchdowns against Portland State. Still, he's the best running back in the country and deserves to be in the Heisman conversation, even if a non-power conference player hasn't won since Ty Detmer for BYU way back in 1990.
Season Stats: 56 carries, 586 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns
9. Will Howard - QB, Ohio State
Will Howard's candidacy is tough to gauge right now. He had another good game this week, completing 80.0% of his passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, but it was against Marshall. Ohio State hasn't played a power conference opponent yet, so we don't really know how much of this we should buy with Howard. A matchup with Michigan State this week probably won't tell us too much anyway, but the Iowa defense is coming up soon.
Season Stats: 68.9% completion rate, 795 yards, six touchdowns, one interception, two rushing touchdowns
8. Travis Hunter - WR/DB, Colorado
Travis Hunter recorded his fourth 100-yard game of the season in a win over Baylor, plus he added three tackles and forced a fumble. No non-quarterback impacts the game like Hunter does and if the Buffaloes keep winning, he's going to keep rising in these rankings.
Colorado is a sideshow of a program but if you let that obscure that Travis Hunter is on the very short list of the best college football players you've ever seen, you are only short-changing yourself
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) September 22, 2024
Because here's the thing: I really like almost all the quarterbacks I have listed above Hunter, but they all have more chances to fall flat than Hunter does. One bad game can end a Heisman candidacy when you're a QB, whereas the way Colorado uses Hunter makes it unlikely he puts up any atrocious stat lines.
Season Stats: 37 receptions, 472 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns, 14 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception
7. Quinn Ewers - QB, Texas
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers missed this week's 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe, but he should step right back into the starting role when he's healthy. The problem is that if he isn't healthy soon, he simply won't have tine to build the resume to propel him back near the top of this list.
Right now, Ewers is listed as questionable for the team's first SEC game against Mississippi State. It feels like he has to be back by the next game, an Oct. 12 meeting with Oklahoma. I'd say that's a make-or-break moment for his chances. Miss that game or struggle in it because he's not all the way healthy and his shot at the award is over.
Season Stats: 73.4% completion rate, 691 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, two interceptions
6. Carson Beck - QB, Georgia
Georgia didn't play this week, so Carson Beck holds on to this sixth spot. I don't think he holds on for too long though considering he threw for just 160 yards and zero touchdowns against Kentucky last time out. This week's meeting with Alabama is a prove-it moment for Beck. Is he a star, or is he just another in a line of solid Georgia quarterbacks who lack some of the needed oomph to win the Heisman?
Season Stats: 68.3% completion rate, 680 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, zero interceptions
5. Dillon Gabriel - QB, Oregon
Oregon was off this week. Dillon Gabriel currently leads the FBS in completion percentage at 84.0%, which is...well, it's almost what you expect out of Oregon QBs after seeing what Bo Nix did last year.
I know some people have been disappointed by Gabriel this year, but I'm not one of them. He's completed over 83% of his passes in each game. He's thrown multiple touchdowns in each game. He hasn't been picked off. Oregon is 2-0 with wins over Boise State and Oregon State. He's doing what he needs to do.
Season Stats: 84.0% completion rate, 914 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, two rushing touchdowns
4. Nico Iamaleava - QB, Tennessee
Nico Iamaleava had his second game in a row with under 200 passing yards, but he still led the Volunteers to a win over Oklahoma. Tennessee is now 4-0 on the year after the 25-15 win and has just two ranked opponents left all season. Iamaleava might not have the top statistical Heisman case, but if the Vols keep winning, he'll keep getting credit.
NICO IAMALEAVA LEADS THE VOLS TO VICTORY IN NORMAN 🍊 pic.twitter.com/hVAITDj7WZ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 22, 2024
Season Stats: 69.3% completion rate, 892 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, two interceptions, one rushing touchdown
3. Jalen Milroe - QB, Alabama
We have another player who didn't see action in Week 4, so I'm just going to quote what I wrote about him after Week 3.
I had Jalen Milroe just outside the top five [after Week 2], but he was just so good against Wisconsin. Milroe was 12-for-17 in that game for 196 yards and three touchdowns and also added 75 rushing yards and two rushing scores.
Sure, Wisconsin isn't the program it once was, but Milroe's dominant showing against a Big Ten team is just what his Heisman campaign needed to get him back in the conversation.
Alabama and Georgia is this week, and it feels like Milroe has a chance to end Carson Beck's Heisman candidacy. I think it speaks strongly to Milroe's case that a loss wouldn't end his shot like it might Beck's.
Season Stats: 67.3% completion rate, 590 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, six rushing touchdowns
2. Jaxson Dart - QB, Ole Miss
Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss did play this week, dominating Georgia Southern to the tune of a 52-13 victory. Dart currently leads the FBS in passing yards after throwing for 382 yards and four touchdowns this week. Dart is posting some eye-popping numbers, so I think the Heisman race is really going to come down to which of these top two falters first.
Season Stats: 79.8% completion rate, 1,554 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions, three rushing touchdowns
1. Cam Ward - QB, Miami
I've run out of things to say about Cameron Ward. He threw for 404 yards and three touchdowns in a win over South Florida and now has an FBS-high 14 touchdown passes this season, with at least three in each game. Miami is 4-0 and looks closer to being "back" than the team has since at least 2017. Ward is the Heisman favorite because he has the numbers and the narrative working in his favor right now.
Cam Ward told the defense where they were going ...
They still scored 😅 @CanesFootball pic.twitter.com/Qmd3qD6A89
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) September 22, 2024
Season Stats: 72.4% completion rate, 1,439 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, two interceptions, one rushing touchdown
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