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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
Nothing about this Heisman Trophy race has followed the script we have come to expect. For one, there are no representatives from the SEC — the conference that has won four of the past five trophies.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, the same top four players on our midseason list remain on this one, though in a slightly different order. Colorado receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter has moved past Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty into the top spot. But only five points separate them, suggesting a tight race that could go down to the wire.
Two quarterbacks might have something to say about that. Going back to 2000, quarterbacks have won the Heisman 20 times; the only two non-QBs to win in the past 14 years were wide receiver Devonta Smith in 2020 and running back Derrick Henry in 2015. In addition, no player outside a power conference has won the award since Ty Detmer in 1990.
Here is how ESPN writers voted on their top Heisman candidates headed into the final week of the regular season. In this round of voting, 10 different players received votes.
To arrive at the final rankings, 12 voters were asked to select their top five. First-place votes earned five points with four points assigned for second-place votes, three points for third-place votes, two points for fourth-place votes and one point for fifth-place votes.
Total points: 56 (first-place votes: 9)
0:31
Travis Hunter hits the Heisman pose after 2nd TD for Colorado
Travis Hunter hits the Heisman pose after he catches his second touchdown of the game for Colorado vs. Kansas.
Simply put, nobody has done what Hunter has done this season, and that is the biggest reason why he has vaulted to the top of our Heisman watch. We are not just talking about the snap count here, which on its face is unprecedented; Hunter has played 1,266 snaps, more than any player since 2018, when ESPN started tracking snap count data.
He has been an elite starter at both of his positions: receiver and cornerback. Hunter has 82 catches for 1,036 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. His receiving touchdowns number is tied for the second most in a season in school history. Defensively, he has three interceptions and is the first player with 1,000 receiving yards and three interceptions in a season since at least 1980.
His snap count breakdown is nearly identical: 602 on offense, 640 on defense (with an addition 24 on special teams). The only other season in which someone played at least 200 snaps on both sides of the ball since 2018? Yup, Travis Hunter last year (412 on offense, 572 on defense).
According to ESPN Research, Colorado has run 710 plays on offense this season, and Hunter has played on 85% of them. On defense, Colorado has run 772 plays, with Hunter playing 83%.
For a comparison, the only defensive player to win the Heisman, Charles Woodson in 1997, played the bulk of his snaps on defense and was merely a contributor on offense, with 238 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
Is it any wonder Hunter has begun striking the Heisman pose at a much more frequent clip?
“Travis is who he is,” said Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who also played both ways as a player. “It’s supposed to go to the best college football player. I think that’s been a wrap since, what? Week 2?”
ESPN BET Heisman odds: -800
Total points: 51 (first-place votes: 3)
0:29
Ashton Jeanty can’t be contained on thrilling 61-yard TD
Ashton Jeanty finds an opening in the offensive line and houses a 61-yard touchdown to put Boise State ahead against Wyoming.
Jeanty has already reached his goal of 2,000 yards rushing through 11 games this season, continuing his master class of speed, toughness and big-play ability every time he touches the ball. He is now the first player to rush for 125 or more yards in 11 straight games in the same season since Troy Davis did it at Iowa State in 1996.
Jeanty needs three more rushing touchdowns to join Barry Sanders as the only players in FBS history with 30 rushing touchdowns and 2,000 yards rushing in a single season.
With 2,062 yards rushing so far this season, Jeanty leads the nation — with nearly 600 more yards than his closest competitor. He is also the first back since 2019 to rush for more than 2,000 yards.
Still, he is a ways away from the single-season rushing mark Sanders set in 1988 (2,850 yards). His production has also fallen off a tick since midseason. After averaging 9.9 yards per carry in his first six games, Jeanty has averaged 5.74 in the past five. He had three 200-yard performances in the first six games of the season, and just one in the past five.
But even when he is slowed, he is not completely stopped. Against UNLV, in which he had season lows in yards (128) and yards per carry (3.9), he scored the deciding touchdown in a 29-24 win. Last week in a closer-than-expected 17-13 win over Wyoming, Jeanty was forced out of the game and into the medical tent after taking a hard hit to the legs in the third quarter. He missed one drive but had 53 yards rushing upon his return to set up the go-ahead score.
“This is Game 11, Week 13 of the season, and he’s an absolute warrior playing through being banged up,” coach Spencer Danielson said after the victory over Wyoming. “We got to be smart with his body and make sure we get him what he needs.”
ESPN BET Heisman odds: +600
Total points: 34
2:19
Cam Ward goes off against Duke with 5-TD performance
Cam Ward goes 25-for-41 with 400 yards and five touchdowns to push the Hurricanes past the Blue Devils.
Miami built its football dynasty with a succession of elite quarterbacks who earned it the nickname “Quarterback U.” But it has been more than 20 years since the Hurricanes both won a championship and had a quarterback make it to New York as a finalist for the Heisman.
Ward appears on the verge of changing all that. He has not been perfect, but Ward has been, quite simply, the most dazzling quarterback in college football this season. Some of his plays border on incomprehensible — from no-look shovel passes to big throws across his body — but others are the routine throws that he needs to make to get the job done. Ward is completing a career-high 67.2% of his passes and has the Hurricanes ranked No. 1 in the nation in total offense, averaging 541.5 yards per game.
Along the way, he has reset the single-season school record for touchdown passes (34 and counting), passing yards (3,774) and completions (268), doing it with an unflappability that has earned him widespread praise from his coaches and teammates. The latter two marks were set by Bernie Kosar in 1984. Not since Ken Dorsey made it to New York in 2001 and 2002 has there been so much excitement around the quarterback position at Miami.
Ward has brought hope that the program has turned a corner. A win on over Syracuse on Saturday puts the Hurricanes in the ACC championship game and keeps their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Ward put a 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech on Nov. 9 — in which he fumbled on the final drive — behind him, following it up with a 280-yard, two-touchdown performance in a 42-14 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday. He knows he has to be at his best for the Hurricanes to reach the goals they set when the season began.
ESPN BET Heisman odds: +1200
Total points: 26
0:25
Dillon Gabriel becomes FBS all-time TD leader with pass to lineman
Dillon Gabriel finds Gernorris Wilson in the end zone to pass Case Keenum as the all-time touchdown leader in FBS history.
Gabriel has done exactly what he has done over the course of his six-year career: throw for lots of yards and score lots of touchdowns. Indeed, for the fifth time in his career, he is over 3,000 yards passing (the lone exception at UCF in 2021, when he went down with a season-ending injury early in the year). Gabriel also set the NCAA FBS record earlier this month for total touchdowns (179), so his productivity and longevity cannot be denied.
The difference, this year, is that his veteran presence, savvy playmaking and remarkable accuracy has lifted Oregon to the No. 1 ranking as the only undefeated team left in the country.
That is no coincidence. Gabriel is completing a career-high 73.8% of his passes as he has methodically guided the offense, ranking No. 5 in the country in QBR. At the midseason point, Gabriel was at No. 4 in this poll as well. To climb higher, he will have to do more in his last two games. Last time out against Wisconsin, he failed to throw a touchdown for the first time all season as Oregon scored a season-low 16 points. Still, Gabriel made plays to lead the Ducks to a come-from-behind 16-13 win in which they outscored the Badgers 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
Against Maryland on Nov. 9, Gabriel threw three touchdown passes but only for 183 yards. In his past two games, his QBR was well below his season average. Opportunities against Washington and in the Big Ten championship game could potentially be difference makers in the Heisman race.
ESPN BET Heisman odds: +5000
Total points: 8
0:30
Cam Skattebo celebrates 3rd TD by autographing football
Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo immediately autographs a football after scoring his third rushing touchdown of the game.
As Arizona State has begun its rise, so too has Skattebo. After receiving zero votes in our midseason poll, Skattebo sits at No. 5, thanks in large part to the impact he has had on the Sun Devils’ offense. He ranks No. 2 in the nation in all-purpose yards behind Jeanty with 1,681 (1,221 yards rushing, 460 yards receiving).
The 5-foot-11, 215-pounder plays like a battering ram, making him one of the hardest players to bring down in college football.
According to TruMedia, Skattebo ranks No. 2 in the country behind Jeanty in forced missed tackles on rushes, with a whopping 86 through Week 12. (Also consider: He has 49 fewer runs than Jeanty.) One other particularly impressive stat: Skattebo has been the most effective in the fourth quarter. In that quarter, Skattebo has 337 yards rushing, more than any other quarter. Especially eye-opening considering he missed one game and sat out the fourth quarter in two blowout wins.
Skattebo also averages his highest yards per carry in the fourth quarter (6.1) and has more 10-plus-yard runs in the fourth than any other quarter.
There has been something endearing about his rise to national prominence. He has an NIL deal for his signature “Skatteburger” at a local restaurant chain, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
ESPN BET Heisman odds: N/A
Also receiving votes: Omarion Hampton, North Carolina, RB (1 point); Kyle Kennard, South Carolina, DE (1); Bryson Daily, Army, QB (1); Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green, TE (1); Tyler Warren, Penn State, TE (1)
