College Football 2024 Heisman Trophy Watchlist After Week 7

October 15, 2024

Justin's NCAA college football top Heisman Trophy contenders after Week 7 of the 2024 season. Top candidates include Ashton Jeanty and Cameron Ward.

Week 7 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, though the top is starting to come into focus.

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 7 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. Garrett Nussmeier - QB, LSU

LSU quarterbacks always find a way to get into the Heisman picture, don't they? And while it's too late for Garrett Nussmeier to make a real run at the award, he deserves mention after throwing for three touchdowns in the team's overtime win over Ole Miss.

Garrett Nussmeier was pressured 21 times vs Ole Miss and didn't take a single sack.

He's one of just three players in the last three seasons to have 20+ pressures in a game without being sackedpic.twitter.com/FkNfv4Ikc5

— Jack Brentnall (@Jack_Brentnall) October 14, 2024

His four interceptions in the past two games hurt his track record, but Nussmeier has throwing for over 300 yards in three consecutive games and is playing some high-level football right now.

Season Stats: 64.3% completion rate, 1,989 yards, six passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns

9. Jaxson Dart - QB, Ole Miss

After a strong start to the year, Jaxson Dart has thrown for two touchdowns over the last three games and the Rebels are 1-2 in that span. In Saturday's overtime loss to LSU, Dart completed under 50% of his pass attempts for the second game in a row and was picked off.

Season Stats: 70.2% completion rate, 2,384 yards, 14 touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns

8. Carson Beck - QB, Georgia

I counted Carson Beck out after the Alabama loss, but he's back in the conversation after two consecutive wins. In the 41-31 win Saturday over Mississippi State, Beck was picked off twice, but he finished with 459 passing yards and three touchdowns, his third multi-touchdown game in a row.

Season Stats: 67.9% completion rate, 1,818 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, five interceptions

7. Cade Klubnik - QB, Clemson

The Cabe Klubnik resurgence continues. Klubnik was awful in Week 1 against Georgia, but he's bounced back, leading the Tigers to five consecutive wins.

On Saturday, Klubnik threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Wake Forest. That loss to Georgia really showed how a team can shut down Klubnik, but he deserves massive credit for how he's bounced back from that. He's thrown 17 touchdowns to just two interceptions this season.

Season Stats: 66.8% completion rate, 1,528 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, two interceptions, four rushing touchdowns

6. Quinn Ewers - QB, Texas

He's back! Texas got Quinn Ewers back for the Red River Showdown and he immediately made a major impact as he led the Longhorns to a dominant win over the team's biggest rival. This might really be Texas's year.

3️⃣ brought the BOOM 😂@QuinnEwers pic.twitter.com/mU0WE5yY1n

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 14, 2024

Ewers was 20-for-29 for 199 yards with a touchdown and a pick on Saturday while also adding one rushing score. Statistically, Ewers could have done better, but he got his team the victory after not playing in about a month, so he deserves credit there.

Season Stats: 72.2% completion rate, 890 passing yards, nine passing touchdowns, three interceptions

5. Travis Hunter - WR/DB, Colorado

Injuries suck so mich. Travis Hunter was on his way to one of the most interesting seasons in recent memory, but that might all be on pause after he suffered a shoulder injury this week against Kansas State. He caught three passes for 26 yards before exiting.

No one makes the kind of impact on both sides of the ball that Hunter makes. He's one of the nation's best wide receivers and also one of the best defensive backs.

If Hunter can suddenly make his way back without missing time, he'll jump back into the top three of this list, but for now we have to consider how missing some time will impact his candidacy.

Season Stats: 49 receptions, 587 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 17 tackles, two interceptions

4. Jalen Milroe - QB, Alabama

Alabama came so, so close to losing its second game in a row, but escaped with a 27-25 win over South Carolina on Sunday. Quarterback Jalen Milroe had an up-and-down game, rushing for a pair of touchdowns but also tossing multiple interceptions for the first time this season.

Overall, Milroe was 16-for-23 for 209 yards with a touchdown and two picks. He added 18 carries for 36 yards and two touchdowns. He's the scariest dual-threat quarterback in the country, but he's also hit a few snags over the last two weeks.

Season Stats: 72.7% completion percentage, 1,483 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, four interceptions, 11 rushing touchdowns

3. Dillon Gabriel - QB, Oregon

I've been back and forth on how serious of a Heisman contender Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel is, but throwing a pair of touchdowns and rushing for another in a win over Ohio State on Saturday was a huge moment for him.

Notably, Gabriel gave his team a fourth-quarter lead with a 27-yard rushing score, and while the two teams traded field goals after that, the touchdown was probably the big turning point of the game for the Ducks.

Season Stats: 76.1% completion rate, 1,790 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, three interceptions, four rushing touchdowns

2. Cam Ward - QB, Miami

I still think betting on Cam Ward is a great bet because an undefeated Miami regular season would probably be a huge, huge resume boost for him, but he drops one spot after a bye this week.

Here's what I wrote about him after Week 6:

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

1. Ashton Jeanty - RB, Boise State

I couldn't deny making this change at the top any longer. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is the Heisman favorite.

Boise State's Ashton Jeanty has 1,248 rushing yards through Week 7.

Here are the 109 FBS teams with fewer rushing yards than Jeanty. pic.twitter.com/95NzjbyjoR

— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) October 14, 2024

Jeanty is the nation's best running back, averaging 9.9 yards per carry despite the defense knowing he'll be fed the ball. He had 31 carries for 217 yards and a touchdown against Hawaii and also added his first receiving score of the season.

Season Stats: 126 carries for 1,248 yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown

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