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Justin's top 10 Heisman Trophy contenders ahead of Week 4 of the 2025 college football season. Where do Dante Moore and John Mateer rank?
Top 10 Heisman Contenders For Week 4
Wow. That’s about all that can be said about the Heisman race, which has really changed shape over the past few weeks. Of the three big preseason favorites, just one appears to even have a shot at the award at this point. This week, we say goodbye to a few players.
- LaNorris Sellers, QB – South Carolina (Injury)
- Arch Manning, QB – Texas (Performance)
- Devon Dampier, QB – Utah – (Performance of others on the list)
10. Drew Allar, Quarterback, Penn State
Last Week: Eighth
Drew Allar has done a fine job this year, but it’s hard to really feel excited for his Heisman candidacy when the Nittany Lions have faced Nevada, Florida International, and Villanova.
Through three games, Allar has only thrown four touchdown passes. Can he up his game when Penn State starts to actually face difficult opponents? We won’t find out this week, as Penn State is on a bye.
9. Julian Sayin, Quarterback, Ohio State
Last Week: Unranked
After managing the season opener against Texas well despite throwing just one touchdown, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin has thrown seven touchdowns over the last two games.
Of course, those games were against Grambling and Ohio, so Sayin’s Big Ten-best completion percentage of 78.9 percent probably deserves an asterisk for now. Still, it’s been a good first season as a starter for the former five-star recruit.
8. Joey Aguilar, Quarterback, Tennessee
Last Week: Unranked
If Tennessee had managed to defeat Georgia, Joey Aguilar would be somewhere around sixth on this list. Even with the loss, though, he’s shown that he’s a big-time college quarterback.
The former App State star took over the Vols starting job when Nico Iamaleava left for UCLA. He’s completed 66.3 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns already, including four of them in an overtime loss against the Bulldogs this week. I’m only holding his two interceptions this week against him a little bit.
7. Marcel Reed, Quarterback, Texas A&M
Last Week: Unranked
Marcel Reed was really good through the first two games of the season, but he was missing that “whoa” moment. He got it on Saturday as the Aggies pulled off a huge upset over Notre Dame.
Reed completed just 45.9 percent of his passes against a very good Irish defense, but he threw for a season-high 360 yards and threw the game-winning touchdown to Nate Boerkircher with just 13 seconds left to play.
6. Gunner Stockton, Quarterback, Georgia
Last Week: Ninth
It feels like the top six players here are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the field. Do I realistically see anyone ranked below Gunner Stockton winning the Heisman? Probably not. Maybe Reed if the Aggies go on a generational run here, but probably not.
But Stockton? He can certainly win it, and his performance in the overtime win over Tennessee would be a huge reason why. He was 23-for-31 for 304 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for a score as well. Stockton has proven he was the right pick to be Georgia’s starter.
5. Jeremiah Smith, Wide Receiver, Ohio State
Last Week: Fifth
Jeremiah Smith is probably the best player on this list, and he’s coming off a huge game against Ohio that saw him catch nine passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.
So, why didn’t he move up beyond fifth?
Because the level of competition matters. Smith has played one good team, and that team, Texas, mostly shut him down, holding him to six catches for 43 yards. I need to see him destroy some good teams for him to pass anyone else on this list.
4. Dante Moore, Quarterback, Oregon
Last Week: Seventh
Dante Moore threw his first interception of the season against Northwestern, but he also completed 80.0 percent of his pass attempts. His completion percentage is 78.1 percent this season, and he’s thrown for seven touchdowns.
Now, I will say that of the four quarterbacks in the top four here, Moore is the one I trust the least at the moment. He’s not super mobile, and he hasn’t faced the stiffest competition yet, so it’s possible that he drops — or rises! — in two weeks, when the team faces Penn State.
3. Garrett Nussmeier, Quarterback, LSU
Last Week: First
It was another middling performance for Garrett Nussmeier this week against Florida as he had his lowest completion percentage of the year and his fewest yards. He’s also failed to throw multiple touchdown passes in any game.
So, why is he still third on this list? Because the Tigers are 3-0 with multiple power conference wins, and we saw in 2024 that Nussmeier can be a very, very good quarterback. I have a lot of faith that his numbers are going to go up soon.
2. Carson Beck, Quarterback, Miami
Last Week: Third
Earlier, I said that I could see any of the top six on this list winning the Heisman. That’s still true, but I do think that he top two is going to be really tough to surpass unless both players hit a rough spot. You can’t hope to outplay them; you have to hope they have struggles.
Carson Beck is currently the FBS leader in completion percentage at 79.3 percent. He’s led the team to a win over Notre Dame and then, this week, threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns against South Florida, which is probably the nation’s best Group of Five school.
1. John Mateer, Quarterback, Oklahoma
Last Week: Second
John Mateer has rushed for at least one touchdown in every game. He’s thrown for 270 or more yards in each game. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s been picked off in every contest, he’d be running away with this award.
There’s still time for the field to catch up, especially when factoring in that only one of the team’s three games has been against a good team, but if Mateer can keep this level of play up against SEC schools, he’ll have a strong, strong shot at the Heisman.
