The race for the Heisman Trophy is beginning to get real ahead of the first rendition of this season’s College Football Playoff rankings, which are set to be released Tuesday.
Defending champion Ohio State and their sophomore stud quarterback Julian Sayin are making it hard to look away. The Buckeyes took care of Penn State this week as the five-star recruit threw for four touchdowns for the second week in a row. On the year, he’s completed a whopping 80.7% of his passes with almost a third of those completions going to his favorite target Jeremiah Smith, another star sophomore and Heisman hopeful.
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Indiana continues to roll behind Fernando Mendoza. The California transfer didn’t put up numbers that will blow you away in Week 10, but he helped lead the No. 2 Hoosiers to a dominant win over Maryland where their offense put up more than 50 points for the second week in a row.
Quarterbacks continue to shine in the SEC, too, although the conference’s top-ranked schools in Alabama and Texas A&M had the week off. Ty Simpson and Marcel Reed have balled for their respective squads, and they will both return to action next week as they look to finish out their gauntlet of an SEC schedule. Diego Pavia, a recent riser in Heisman talks, and Vanderbilt suffered a tough loss to Texas on Saturday despite every effort from the star QB to storm back with 21 fourth-quarter points.
As we inch toward the regular season’s conclusion, here are the five top Heisman candidates ranked in order as we currently stand:
1. Julian Sayin — QB, Ohio State
Ohio State’s star sophomore is the big riser this week thanks to his second straight four-touchdown game. Sayin has been nearly perfect over the past two games, completing 86.2% of his passes with over 700 yards in the air and eight touchdowns. The top-ranked Buckeyes advanced to 8-0 with their win over Penn State on Saturday in a game where the Nittany Lions kept it close in the first half but Sayin led the offense to 21 unanswered points in the last 30 minutes for a resounding win. They have winnable games over the next three weeks with Purdue, UCLA and Rutgers ahead before they travel to the Big House for their regular-season finale against Michigan. If Sayin can keep Ohio State perfect and get them their first win over the Wolverines since 2019, he could very well hear his name called for college football’s biggest honor.
2. Fernando Mendoza — QB, Indiana
Mendoza and Curt Cignetti’s second-ranked Hoosiers continue to be one of the season’s best stories. The junior Cal transfer has excelled in his first season at Indiana. His 25 passing touchdowns are the most in the nation aside from Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson (26). Mendoza has put up his numbers on greater efficiency, though, completing 72.3% of his throws this year. The 9-0 Hoosiers travel to Happy Valley to play a stumbling Penn State team next week before they finish their Big Ten schedule against Wisconsin and Purdue.
3. Ty Simpson — QB, Alabama
Red-hot Alabama got a week to relax in Week 10. Over the Crimson Tide’s seven-game winning streak since their opening week loss to Florida State, Simpson’s quarterback play has been flawless. He has just one interception on the year, which came Oct. 4 in Alabama’s 30-14 win over then undefeated Vanderbilt. The Tide struggled with South Carolina last week, but they scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter including a touchdown pass from Simpson to Germie Bernard with just over two minutes left to tie the game. The junior QB is going through a bit of a fumble problem, coughing one up in each of Alabama’s past three games. Otherwise, though, his strong season certainly puts into the top group of Heisman candidates. The Tide have their toughest two games left in the next two weeks, playing a stumbling LSU and then No. 11 Oklahoma both in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
4. Marcel Reed — QB, Texas A&M
Reed and Texas A&M are another top SEC squad who got some rest this week. In their last game, Reed scored four total touchdowns on the Aggies’ way to a 49-25 road win over LSU which led to the Tigers canning Brian Kelly. Currently sitting at No. 3, Texas A&M has a couple tough road tests to finish their season with No. 19 Missouri next week and No. 13 Texas on Nov. 28. The redshirt sophomore QB has been impactful with both his arm and his legs this year, notably rushing for 108 yards and two scores in their most recent win over LSU.
5. Trinidad Chambliss — QB, Ole Miss
Our last spot could go many which ways, but I’ll give the nod to Chambliss here as he continues to lead Ole Miss through an incredible season where the Rebels are shaping up to be a true player in the College Football Playoff. After their only loss of the year Oct. 18 against Georgia, Ole Miss bounced back with two wins in a row over Oklahoma and then South Carolina this week. Now at 8-1, they have a clear path to finishing their regular-season schedule with one loss as they finish with games against The Citadel, Florida and Mississippi State. Chambliss, the Division II transfer, has looked the part since taking over as Ole Miss’ starting quarterback in their third game against Kentucky. He’s excelled over his seven starts and deserves to be in Heisman conversations even if he may be on the outside looking in.
Others considered: Gunner Stockton (QB, Georgia), Jeremiah Smith (WR, Ohio State), Diego Pavia (QB, Vanderbilt), Haynes King (QB, Georgia Tech)
Under-the-radar candidate: Bear Bachmeier (QB, BYU)
