College Football 2024 Heisman Trophy Watchlist After Week 13

November 26, 2024

Justin's NCAA college football top Heisman Trophy contenders after Week 13 of the 2024 season. Top candidates include Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty.

Week 13 of the college football season is in the rearview mirror. The Heisman Trophy race is down to just four players at this point, but that doesn't mean we have to just ignore every other player out there.

No individual trophy in sports means as much as the Heisman Trophy, which recognizes the best player in all of college football. It's as prestigious of a trophy as there is, and that's why each week I'll be taking stock of the top 10 contenders for the trophy.

Below are the top 10 Heisman contenders after Week 13 of the college football season. These are the 10 players who I view as having the best shot to win the trophy based on their performances this season.

10. Drew Allar - QB, Penn State

Drew Allar led Penn State to its 10th win of the season this week as the team defeated Minnesota 26-25. He was 21-for-28 for 244 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for a score.

There’s not a better player who’s talked about less than Drew Allar. pic.twitter.com/Dt4HI68EMt

— Dylan Burd (@Dylan_Burd) November 25, 2024

Allar's only blemish this season was a touchdown-less day in a loss to Ohio State, but mostly the Nittany Lions quarterback has made good play after good play, putting his team in position for a playoff spot.

Season Stats: 72.2% completion rate, 2,497 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, five interceptions, four rushing touchdowns

9. Jaxson Dart - QB, Ole Miss

Ole Miss suffered a surprising loss to Florida this week, falling 24-17 to the Gators. Jaxson Dart threw a pair of touchdowns in the loss and completed just 58.5% of his pass attempts, his second week in a row under 60%. With their third loss of the season, the Rebels can now say goodbye to any playoff hopes they had.

That's the bad with Dart. The good is that he still leads the SEC in completion percentage, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. He helped Ole Miss upset Georgia earlier in the month.

Season Stats: 69.3% completion percentage, 3,732 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, three rushing touchdowns

8. Jalen Milroe - QB, Alabama

Yikes. Jalen Milroe and the Crimson Tide hit their lowest point of the season this week in a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma with Milroe throwing zero touchdown passes and three interceptions in the loss.

This now marks three times in the last four games that Milroe failed to throw a touchdown pass. So, why is he even still in the top 10? Well, his 17 rushing touchdowns are part of it. No quarterback is a bigger threat when they use their legs than Milroe is, even if he's struggling when he takes to the air.

Season Stats: 65.0% completion rate, 2,396 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions, 17 rushing touchdowns

7. Cade Klubnik - QB, Clemson

After his heroics against Pitt that included a game-winning touchdown run, Cade Klubnik got to take it easy against The Citadel this week.

CADE KLUBNIK WAS DETERMINED TO FIND THE END ZONE 😤 pic.twitter.com/MvvOq0tunx

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 16, 2024

In the matchup against the FCS foe, Klubnik was 12-for-16 for 198 yards and three touchdowns before exiting the game because, well there was no way Clemson was losing to The Citadel.

Season Stats: 63.9% completion rate, 2,761 yards, 29 touchdowns, four interceptions, five rushing touchdowns

6. Shedeur Sanders - QB, Colorado

Why is Shedeur Sanders moving up after a loss? Partly it's because these spots outside the top five are all basically even. Another part of it is just that Sanders deserves more credit for how well the Buffaloes have played this year.

Despite the loss to Kansas this week, Sanders had another strong game, going 23-for-29 for 266 yards and three touchdowns. He leads the Big 12 in completion percentage, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.

Season Stats: 73.4% completion rate, 3,48 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions, four rushing touchdowns

5. Will Howard - QB, Ohio State

By leading Ohio State to a 38-15 win over previously undefeated Indiana, Will Howard put the Buckeyes back in the driver's seat in the Big Ten. They're all but assured a spot in the playoff, and with a win over Michigan will get a shot at revenge against Oregon in the Big Ten title game.

Howard was 22-for-26 for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Indiana. He was picked off once on a pass dropped by his wide receiver, but also scored a rushing touchdown in the victory.

While Howard hasn't necessarily carved his name on the list of the greatest Buckeyes quarterbacks ever, his 74.0% completion rate leads the nation, and his 26 passing touchdowns lead the Big Ten.

Season Stats: 74.0% completion rate, 2,685 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, seven rushing touchdowns

4. Dillon Gabriel - QB, Oregon

Alright, on to the four people who still have a shot at winning the Heisman, starting with Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. The Ducks were off this week, so I'll just repost what I said about Gabriel last week:

With two non-QBs running away at the top of this race, the third and fourth spots are likely to keep switching back and forth between Dillon Gabriel and Cam Ward based on the vibes each week.

Oregon stayed undefeated this week, but the team sure tried to lose, beating Wisconsin 16-13. Gabriel failed to throw a touchdown in the win and was picked off, but he did complete 71.0% of his pass attempts.

Season Stats: 73.8% completion rate, 3,066 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, six rushing touchdowns

3. Cam Ward - QB, Miami

Miami bounced back from its loss to Georgia Tech, defeating Wake Forest 42-14. Quarterback Cameron Ward was 27-for-38 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and a pick in the win. He also added a rushing touchdown.

🚨OFFICIAL INVITATION🚨

🔊⬆️ Thank you to @coach_cristobal and staff from @CanesFootball for having us on campus to hand deliver an invitation to QB @Cameron7Ward #BestOfTheBest #ItsAllAboutTheU #GoCanes #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/o2efK4eFTC

— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) November 26, 2024

Ward has led the Hurricanes back into national relevance this season, leading the country in touchdown passes and establishing himself as the top quarterback in the race. In a normal year, that might be enough to win him a Heisman. This isn't a normal year though.

Season Stats: 67.2% completion rate, 3,774 passing yards, 34 touchdowns, seven interceptions, four rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown

2. Ashton Jeanty - RB, Boise State

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has now gone over the 2,000-yard mark and currently sits 19th on the single-season rushing yardage list. How far can Jeanty make it up the list?

Against Wyoming this week, Jeanty had a game that was disappointing by his standards as he only rushed for 169 yards and one touchdown. Still, Jeanty is having a historic season and has the Broncos positioned to potentially make the College Football Playoffs.

Season Stats: 275 carries for 2,062 yards and 27 touchdowns, 18 catches for 102 yards and one touchdown

1. Travis Hunter - WR/CB, Colorado

Heisman frontrunner Travis Hunter had a huge game against Kansas, catching eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. He also had three solo and four assisted tackles, with one pass defended.

Travis Hunter just has such ridiculous fluidity and closing speed in coverage. Casually scoring touchdowns on offense while mirroring the top WR on defense. pic.twitter.com/LvqFdpq4JC

— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) November 23, 2024

The two-way star leads the Big 12 in receptions and receiving touchdowns. His unique ability to contribute on both sides of the ball has helped him separate from the pack in this race. It's hard to make an argument that he isn't the best player in all of college football.

Season Stats: 82 catches for 1,036 yards and 11 touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, 31 tackles, one tackle for loss, three interceptions

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