Travis Hunter? Ashton Jeanty? Web cam Ward? Votes remain in for

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• Max Olson, ESPN Staff WriterOct 15, 2024, 07:00 AM ET Close Covers the Huge 12 Joined ESPN in 2012
• Graduate of the University of Nebraska

On this date in 2015, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. looked like the Heisman Prize front-runner after defeating Oregon. In 2022, Hendon Hooker held the lead at midseason following Tennessee’s upset of Alabama. The year before, Kenneth Walker III and Matt Corral were surging.None of those players wound up taking home the hardware. The Heisman race is a marathon, not a sprint, and a tricky one to forecast early in the season.Here’s how ESPN authors voted on their leading Heisman candidates at midseason. In this round of ballot, 11 different players got votes.To get to the last rankings, 14 citizens were asked to vote for their top five. First-place votes earned five points with four points designated 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: 66(first-place votes: 11) Marco Garcia/Imagn Images In college football, few private records have actually appeared more solid than Barry Sanders ‘single-season rushing record. The Oklahoma State superstar rewrote the record books and protected the Heisman in 1988 with a jaw-dropping 2,850 rushing lawns and 44 touchdowns.Six games in, Jeanty is well on his way to breaking it. Boise State’s unstoppable star has actually acquired 1,248

hurrying yards and scored 18 overall touchdowns while balancing an unreasonable 9.9 yards per carry. Sanders had 1,156 hurrying backyards and 19 TDs on 7.5 backyards per perform his very first six games in 1988. Jeanty is the most explosive playmaker in the sport, with eight touchdown runs of 50 or more yards. Defenses invest all week computing to

pack package and slow him, however Jeanty leads all FBS backs in broken deals with. He has done all this regardless of remaining the second half of two blowout wins for the No. 15 Broncos as they go after another Mountain West title and a College Football Playoff bid.A running back from a non-power conference hasn’t been invited to New york city as a Heisman finalist considering that TCU’s LaDanian Tomlinson in 2000. Jeanty is leaving little doubt he’ll be there in December.Heisman moment: No one has found out a great way to close down Jeanty, which includes the now-No. 2 ranked Oregon Ducks. Jeanty hurried for 192 backyards and three goals in Eugene on Sept.

7 and legally put Oregon on upset alert in a 37-34 thriller. Jeanty broke a 70-yard touchdown run early in the 4th quarter to tie ball game, then punched in his 3rd score of the night with 10 minutes delegated put the Broncos ahead 34-27. The Ducks rallied late and won on a game-winning basket with time ending, however Jeanty made a lot more believers that night.Key stat: Jeanty has actually acquired 841 hurrying yards after first contact, according to TruMedia. That’s 355 lawns more than any other running back in FBS. Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson ranks second with 586. How severe is that number through six games? In

2023, only 8 FBS running backs ended up the season with 850 or more hurrying lawns after contact. Jeanty was one of them, ranking fourth nationally with 934. ESPN BET Heisman odds: +175 Total points: 52( first-place votes: 3) Don Juan Moore/Getty Images No one else in college football can do what Hunter does.

Colorado’s two-way star and future first-round choice left to a dominant start in the Buffaloes’very first season back in the Huge 12, leading the conference in catches with 49 for 587 backyards and six goals. He opened the season with 4 successive 100-yard efficiencies at receiver, but his play at cornerback has actually been simply as excellent. Hunter has yet to permit a goal pass and has actually tape-recorded three pass breaks up and 2 interceptions.Hunter suffered a shoulder injury on Saturday night versus Kansas State and needed to miss the 2nd half of the Buffaloes’31-28 loss. After the game, coach Deion Sanders didn’t use an upgrade on the intensity of the injury nor a timetable for Hunter’s return. Let’s hope it’s just a minor problem for the most vibrant player in the game.Heisman moment: Hunter struck the Heisman pose after diving for an interception against UCF, one of several highlight plays he made in a 48-21 blowout road win on Sept. 28. Hunter also hauled in 9 catches for 89 lawns and a goal against the Knights.Key stat: Prior to his injury, Hunter had been on the field for 92 %of Colorado’s plays on offense and defense. He has amounted to 322 snaps on offense

and 341 on defense, according to TruMedia. No other FBS player has actually played more than 500 snaps this season.ESPN BET Heisman odds: +1100 Overall points: 43 Eakin Howard/Getty Images 6 games in, Ward

is genuinely going beyond Miami fans’wildest expectations. The Washington State transfer took control of a team that went 7-6 in 2023 and turned it into the undefeated front-runner to win the ACC.The 6-foot-2, 223-pound senior has actually always possessed elite arm talent but he has actually taken his game to another level this fall with 2,219 passing lawns(second-most in FBS), 23 total touchdowns and five interceptions while running the No. 1 scoring offense in the country.Ward controlled Florida in his launching, has actually pulled

off dramatic resurgence wins over Virginia Tech and Cal and has actually developed genuine CFP expectations for the Hurricanes as they have actually increased to No. 6 in the AP poll. After two seasons at the FCS level at Incarnate Word and 2 at Washington

State, Ward came close to getting in the NFL draft but had a late change of mind. He wished to come back to school for one final season, win huge and prove he’s a first-round talent. Up until now, so good.Heisman moment: If you kept up late enough to enjoy it, you experienced success from Ward during Miami’s durable

39-38 comeback win at Cal on Oct. 5. Ward faced a 25-point deficit midway through the 3rd quarter however just kept playing. He threw for 437 yards and skillfully led four consecutive goal drives, connecting with tight end Elijah Arroyo for the game-winning score with 26 seconds left.Key stat: Ward is balancing 12.2 backyards per attempt on third downs according to TruMedia, best amongst all FBS beginning quarterbacks. The Hurricanes are No. 1 nationally in third-down conversions(60.3%) thanks to their veteran QB.

Ward has played 64 snaps on third downs and has actually accounted for 559 overall lawns and 7 touchdowns.ESPN BET Heisman odds: +600 Total points: 32 Alika Jenner/Getty Images The Ducks looked for a veteran quarterback with big-game experience to prosper Bo Nix as they aimed to take their next big action as a program in Year 3 under Dan Lanning.

They were right to bank on Gabriel, a 49-game starter at Oklahoma and UCF who is predictably proving to be a terrific fit as a leader and playmaker.Gabriel made the relocate to Eugene understanding his final college season would be specified by how he carried out in high-pressure scenarios on a squad with national championship ambitions. He aced his toughest test yet with amazing poise Saturday night, installing 373 overall yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers in the Ducks ’32-31 upset of No. 2 Ohio State, the program’s second-ever win over an AP top-2 opponent.Six games in, Gabriel has actually represented 1,893 total backyards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions while finishing a career-high 76% of his passes. A 12-0 run through Oregon’s regular-season schedule looks entirely possible now, which would certainly keep Gabriel in the Heisman race the rest of the way.Heisman moment: Gabriel’s efficiency against Ohio State was probably the very best of his profession.

He beat one of the top defenses in the nation again and once again with amazing precision on downfield shots, going 6-of-7 for 220 lawns with a touchdown and no turnovers on tosses of 15-plus backyards versus the Buckeyes.Key stat: Gabriel requires just 2,563 more passing yards and 18 more passing goals to go beyond Houston’s Case Keenum as the NCAA all-time leading passer.ESPN BET Heisman chances: +375 Total points: 4 Michael Reaves/Getty Images Discovering a brand-new beginning quarterback in the transfer website was high on coach Curt Cignetti’s order of business upon taking the Indiana job. He discovered a proven winner to develop around in Rourke, a 33-game starter at Ohio who had actually tossed for more than 7,500 yards and earned MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. And together, they simply keep winning.The sixth-year senior has been excellent during the Hoosiers’stunning 6-0 start and increase to No. 16 in the AP poll, passing for 1,752 yards with 16 total touchdowns and 2 interceptions on a Huge Ten-best 11 yards per attempt. Rourke has actually set up a 91.9 QBR– finest amongst Power 4 starters– while masterfully running a rebuilt offense that’s scoring 47.5 points per game. His experience and efficiency have actually injected a ton of self-confidence into a team that went 3-9 a year ago.Heisman moment: Indiana has yet to route in any game, so

Rourke hasn’t faced a lot of pressure minutes. With Nebraska up next and games versus Michigan and Ohio State on their November schedule, those chances are coming soon. When Northwestern did make it a 3-point game versus the Hoosiers early in the fourth quarter, Rourke shut down the Wildcats ‘upset quote with consecutive goal drives, ending up with 380 passing yards and three TDs in a 41-24 win.Key stat: Indiana has outscored its 6 opponents by a combined margin of 196 points. Just Texas(221 points)and Ole Miss( 216)have been much better by that standard. In their 9 losses last season, the Hoosiers were outscored by a combined margin of 135 points.ESPN BET Heisman chances: +6000 Also receiving votes: Army QB Bryson Daily(3 points ), Alabama WR Ryan Williams(3), Navy QB Blake Horvath(2), Alabama QB Jalen Milroe(2), Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith(2), Pitt RB Desmond Reid (1)