College Football 2024 Heisman Trophy Watchlist After Week 6

October 8, 2024

Justin's NCAA college football top Heisman Trophy contenders after Week 6 of the 2024 season. Top candidates include Ashton Jeanty and Cameron Ward.

Week 6 of the college football season is on in the rearview mirror and the 2024 Heisman race continues to be one of the most chaotic recent races.

No trophy in college sports means as much as the Heisman Trophy, which recognizes the best player in college football. 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 6 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. Jeremiah Smith - WR, Ohio State

I've had Jeremiah Smith's quarterback, Will Howard, on this list almost all season, but Howard fell off this week, and Smith has proven himself to be the best player for the Buckeyes.

BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS IS CRAZY 😂

JEREMIAH SMITH ONLY NEEDS ONE HAND 🔥

( 📸 @OhioStateFB) pic.twitter.com/mADoA9fBrV

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 5, 2024

The freshman wide receiver caught four passes for 89 yards and a touchdown against Iowa on Saturday. He has found the end zone in every game so far this season, totaling six receiving scores already while also adding one on the ground. He's fueling this undefeated Buckeyes offense.

Season Stats: 23 receptions for 453 yards and six touchdowns, two carries for 33 yards and one touchdown

9. Carson Beck - QB, Georgia

Carson Beck fell off the list after Georgia lost to Alabama, but poor play from Nico Iamaleava and Miller Moss has allowed Beck to sneak back into the picture.

His three picks in the loss to the Tide really mars his overall resume, but Beck bounced back well against Auburn this week, going 23-for-29 for 240 yards and a touchdown in a 31-13 win. And sure, the Alabama loss was bad, but he did have 439 yards and three touchdowns in it.

Season Stats: 65.8% completion rate, 1,359 yards, 12 touchdowns, three interceptions

8. Cabe Klubnik - QB, Clemson

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik was awful in Week 1 against Georgia, but in the past four games, he has 14 touchdown passes and four touchdown runs with just one pick. The Tigers have scored 29 or more points in each game and look like ACC favorites.

Sometimes, one bad game defines you, but when that bad game is in Week 1 and comes against a team as good as Georgia, you get a chance to redefine yourself. That's what Klubnik and the rest of this Clemson team are doing.

Season Stats: 64.3% completion rate, 1,219 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, two interceptions, four rushing touchdowns

7. Jaxson Dart - QB, Ole Miss

Jaxson Dart moving up a spot here is more about Nico Iamaleava falling out of the race, because Dart didn't really do every much in Saturday's 27-3 win over South Carolina.

Dart completed a season-low 51.9% of his passes in the win over the Gamecocks, throwing for 285 yards and failing to find the end zone for the first time all year. That's now two games in a row with under 300 yards for Dart.

Season Stats: 73.4% completion rate, 2,100 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, two interceptions, three rushing touchdowns

6. Quinn Ewers - QB, Texas

I've been saying for a little bit now that Quinn Ewers still has a Heisman case if he can play on Oct. 12 against Oklahoma. Well, it's trending toward Ewers stepping back into that role for that contest. If a few players ahead of him falter and Ewers gets Texas a top-four playoff seed, he'll be in the conversation at the end of the season.

Ashton Jeanty is the Heisman front runner.
The beautiful thing about his game is that it’s not just him running through huge gaps in the defense created by the blocking scheme. He is breaking tackles in the back field and 20 yards down the field to make routine runs SPECTACULAR. pic.twitter.com/vPgfHR8iMI

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 6, 2024

Season Stats: 73.4% completion rate, 691 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, two interceptions

5. Dillon Gabriel - QB, Oregon

The Ducks are 5-0, but Dillon Gabriel sits a distant fifth in the Heisman race at this point, and considering it's become a four-horse race, fifth isn't a great spot to be.

Gabriel led the Ducks to a 31-10 win over Michigan State this week, but the Spartans got to him a bit. He was picked off twice and competed a season-low 62.5% of his pass attempts.

Season Stats: 77.8% completion rate, 1,449 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, three interceptions, three rushing touchdowns

4. Jalen Milroe - QB, Alabama

Jalen Milroe entered last week as the Heisman favorite. Then, the Crimson Tide lost to Vanderbilt. Milroe was fine in the game, going 18-for-24 for 310 yards with a touchdown and a pick while also adding a rushing touchdown. Of course, the pick went for six points the other way, so...there's that.

Not that a first-quarter pick-six should define the game. Alabama's defense had plenty of chances not to let Vanderbilt put up 40 points, so don't blame the entire loss on Milroe.

Season Stats: 73.4% completion percentage, 1,274 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, two interceptions, nine rushing touchdowns

3. Travis Hunter - WR/DB, Colorado

The Buffaloes had the week off, so I'm just going to quote what I said last week about Travis Hunter because it all continues to be true:

We have another huge jump here because Travis Hunter has become undeniable. In this week's 48-21 win over UCF, Hunter failed to hit the 100-yard mark for the first time all season, but he caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, giving him six scores on the year.

Oh, and he also picked off his second pass of the year and had a pass deflection as well. This is now three games in a row where Hunter has forced a turnover. No n0n-QB impacts the game more than Hunter because he makes huge plays on both sides of the football.

Season Stats: 46 receptions, 561 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 16 tackles, two interceptions

2. Ashton Jeanty - RB, Boise State

Ashton Jeanty is currently the betting favorite for the Heisman. I'm not sure I'm taking that bet because a non-power conference running back winning the award still feels so wild, but you can't deny that he's having one of the greatest starts to the season we've ever seen.

Ashton Jeanty is the Heisman front runner.
The beautiful thing about his game is that it’s not just him running through huge gaps in the defense created by the blocking scheme. He is breaking tackles in the back field and 20 yards down the field to make routine runs SPECTACULAR. pic.twitter.com/vPgfHR8iMI

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 6, 2024

Against Utah State this week, Jeanty had 13 carries for 186 yards and three touchdowns, marking the fourth time in five games that he's recorded at least three rushing touchdowns in a game. The only time he didn't was against Portland State when the team didn't need him to play out of his mind.

Jeanty has already gone over 1,000 yards on the year and has found the end zone 16 times through five games. He's on pace for arguably the best season we've ever seen from a running back.

Season Stats: 1,031 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, 10.9 yards per attempt

1. Cameron Ward - QB, Miami

Cam Ward isn't the betting favorite, as he sits third at +400. However, in a close race like this, I still lean toward quarterbacks being the right bet.

Ward had some issues early against Cal, but he led the Hurricanes to a 39-38 comeback victory, throwing for 437 yards and two touchdowns and also rushing for one as well. Miami trailed 35-10 at one point, but Ward came alive in the fourth quarter. The team is now 6-0.

Season Stats: 69.2% completion rate, 2,219 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, five interceptions, three rushing touchdowns

More College Football Analysis