College Football 2024 Heisman Trophy Watchlist After Week 8

Justin's NCAA college football top Heisman Trophy contenders after Week 8 of the 2024 season. Top candidates include Ashton Jeanty and Cameron Ward.

Week 8 of the college football season is on in the rearview mirror and the 2024 Heisman race saw some shake-ups this week, but there was no change at the top.

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 10 contenders for the trophy.

Below are the top 10 Heisman contenders after Week 8 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.

Saying Goodbye to Quinn Ewers

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers stayed in this conversation while he was injured. He moved up after leading Texas to a win over rival Oklahoma. But Ewers was bad enough to be temporarily benched for Arch Manning on Saturday in a loss to Georgia. You don't get benched in a top-five matchup and come back to win the Heisman.

10. Drew Allar - QB, Penn State

Drew Allar enters the top 10 this week after throwing for 391 yards and two touchdowns in an overtime win against USC to move the Nittany Lions to 6-0 on the season.

Allar only gets to No. 10 though because he threw three interceptions in the win. USC is under .500 on the year and it probably shouldn't have taken OT for Penn State to get the W.

Season Stats: 70.5% completion rate, 1,492 yards, 11 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, three rushing touchdowns

9. Jaxson Dart - QB, Ole Miss

Ole Miss was off this week. Here's what I had to say about Dart last week:

After a strong start to the year, Jaxson Dart has thrown for two touchdowns over the last three games and the Rebels are 1-2 in that span. In Saturday's overtime loss to LSU, Dart completed under 50% of his pass attempts for the second game in a row and was picked off.

Season Stats: 70.2% completion rate, 2,384 yards, 14 touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns

8. Jalen Milroe - QB, Alabama

Alabama's Jalen Milroe takes a huge drop this week after Alabama's second loss in the last three games. It was also the second game in a row with multiple interceptions for Milroe, who hasn't thrown more touchdowns than picks in a game since Sept. 28.

Will Brooks played high school football 65 miles from the University of Alabama campus.

However, the school didn't offer him a scholarship, so he walked on at Tennessee.

Now, he intercepts Jalen Milroe to hand Alabama its second loss this season.

Crazy.pic.twitter.com/5ngcnY4rrG

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 19, 2024

Still, the raw numbers for Milroe keep him from falling out of the touchdown. Between his arms and legs, he's accounted for 24 touchdowns through the first seven games of the season.

Season Stats: 68.4% completion rate, 1,722 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, 11 rushing touchdowns

7. Garrett Nussmeier - QB, LSU

Garrett Nussmeier leads the SEC with 18 passing touchdowns, so it might be surprising that he didn't throw one in the 34-10 win over Arkansas on Saturday.

Despite not throwing a touchdown, he wasn't picked off, a change from his previous two games when he had four total picks. Nussmeier doesn't have a Heisman resume yet, but LSU is 6-1 and undefeated in conference play. If he keeps winning, he has a shot to make it to New York.

Season Stats: 64.7% completion rate, 2,222 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, two rushing touchdowns

6. Carson Beck - QB, Georgia

Honestly, I don't know what to make of Carson Beck right now. His numbers on Saturday were awful, as he was 23-for-41 for 175 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions against Texas.

But Georgia won, taking down the No. 1 team in the country. The team has won three in a row after its loss to Alabama. How much of that is because of Beck? Unclear. His high spot on this list remains tentative.

Season Stats: 66.0% completion rate, 1,993 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions

5. Travis Hunter - WR/DB, Colorado

Travis Hunter didn't miss time with the shoulder injury he suffered against Kansas State, but he definitely looked limited against Arizona as he caught a season-low two passes for 17 yards and recorded one tackle.

One bad game doesn't kill a Heisman campaign, but it doesn't help it either. What Hunter does on the field is unprecedented, but it seems like he has to do it at an absurd statistical rate too to have a real Heisman shot.

Season Stats: 51 receptions, 604 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 19 tackles, two interceptions

4. Cade Klubnik - QB, Clemson

If there was an award for the player who destroyed his Heisman case then rebuilt it all before the end of October, Clemson's Cade Klubnik would take it.

2024: Cade Klubnik through 7 games
- 1,836 Passing Yards 🏈
- 24 TD’s 🔥
- 3 INTS 😤
- 87.8 QBR (5th in the Country) 🫨

2019: Trevor Lawrence through 7 games
- 1,534 Passing Yards 🏈
- 19 TD’s 🔥
- 8 INTS 🤨

Clemson got them another one 💯 pic.twitter.com/WpEvpYvLUN

— #9 Clemson (6-1) 🐅 (@cucommentator) October 22, 2024

After playing awful football against Georgia, Klubnik has led Clemson to six wins in a row. In a 48-31 win over Virginia, he threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns and was picked off once. He now has 20 touchdown passes despite not throwing one in the season opener.

Season Stats: 66.7% completion percentage, 1,836 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, three interceptions, four rushing touchdowns

3. Dillon Gabriel - QB, Oregon

Bo Nix led the FBS in completion percentage last year for Oregon. Dillon Gabriel currently leads it this year for Oregon. Playing in the Ducks offense is a bit of a cheat code for quarterback, though you still have to be good to take advantage of what the structure in Oregon provides.

Gabriel completed 84.0% of his attempts in this week's 35-0 win over Purdue. He threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns and was picked off once. Oregon is now 7-0 and only has one more game against a ranked team all year, which is this week's home game against No. 20 Illinois.

Season Stats: 77.0% completion rate, 2,098 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, four rushing touchdowns

2. Cam Ward - QB, Miami

I've never seen anything like the third quarter of Miami/Louisville. The teams combined for 28 points, which included a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown from Louisville's Caullin Lacy.

Cam Ward has firmly established himself as the No. 1 quarterback in the country this season. He leads the FBS in passing yards and passing touchdowns and leads the ACC in yards per attempt and quarterback rating.

Cam Ward is the first player in @CanesFootball history with 300 pass yards in seven straight games 🔥 pic.twitter.com/T52dqJQsRy

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 21, 2024

On Saturday, Ward threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-45 win over Louisville. The Miami defense keeps letting the Miami offense down, but Ward finds a way to get the win anyway.

Season Stats: 68.7% completion rate, 2,538 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, five interceptions, three rushing touchdowns

1. Ashton Jeanty - RB, Boise State

I debated taking Ashton Jeanty out of the top spot after a bye week, but it seemed unfair to punish him for his team not having a game scheduled.

Jeanty has a chance to finish with the single greatest season for a running back ever. If he keeps his current pace up, no one else is taking this award. But because he's an RB on a non-power conference team, any misstep or bad week might kill his candidacy.

Season Stats: 126 carries for 1,248 yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown

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