Heisman Watch: Week 9

There has been a massive shakeup in the Heisman Trophy race after some impressive performances in Week 9.

A “down week” from Ashton Jeanty mixed with great performances from Dillon Gabriel and Travis Hunter has completely flipped around the rankings after a cemented order for a couple of weeks.

Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon

Gabriel is the new favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He ranks second in completion percentage at an insane 76.2%, while continuing to be one of, if not the most accurate quarterback in the entire country.

Gabriel torched the Illinois defense for 291 yards and three touchdowns. That is a tough Illini defense that plays very physically and the fact he completed just about 70% of his passes is just very impressive.

It makes sense that the Heisman favorite is the quarterback for the No. 1 team in the country at the moment.

Travis Hunter, WR, Colorado

Hunter continues to impress on both sides of the ball and his most recent game proved he is fully back from his injury. Hunter may very well be the best player in the country but that doesn’t necessarily mean he wins the Heisman trophy.

That doesn’t sound like it should be the case, but the voters tend to favor quarterbacks despite two non-quarterbacks having historical seasons.

In Colorado’s victory over Cincinnati, Hunter caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. On the defensive side, he defended four passes while making two total tackles.

He has proved himself time and time again as the most unique but one of the best players in the country and his performance against the Bearcats is the most recent showing of his abilities.

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

Jeanty has been the Heisman favorite for the past couple of weeks, but a slower game for the Boise State running back makes him drop in the rankings. This was a game where he had to torch the defense similar to how he did against Oregon.

However, Jeanty didn’t have the breakaway run that he has been known to have in every game. His longest rush was only 16 yards. He ran the ball 33 times for 128 yards and only one touchdown.

UNLV was one of the better teams on the schedule for the Broncos and Jeanty needed to have another massive game. He had a good game, but no to the standards of a typical Ashton Jeanty game.

He is no longer on pace for Barry Sanders’ rushing yard record. With him playing some lesser competition, he will need to break that record to be able to win the Heisman Trophy.

Cam Ward, QB, Miami

Ward and Miami continue to survive each week and remain undefeated on the season. However, it hasn’t all been pretty.

Ward’s big play ability and impressive plays continue to keep him alive in the Heisman rankings. However, his struggles with fumbling are why he’s fourth in the rankings.

He didn’t fumble in Miami’s victory over Florida State and Miami won by a significant margin but it was to a Florida State team that’s now 1-7 on the season. His numbers and his play should have been really impressive but they really weren’t.

The Hurricanes relied on the run more to defeat Miami with Ward only throwing 208 yards without a touchdown.

These will be the four players heading to New York City in December as the four finalists barring some major collapse.

Andrew Deal is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email asd5765@psu.edu.