The Heisman race seems to be down to six, but our top five remains unchanged for the second week in a row.
1. Marcel Reed | Texas A&M QB | Sophomore (RS) | Last week: 1
Missouri mostly bottled up Reed as a runner on Saturday, but he beat them with his arm (221 yards and two touchdowns) as the Aggies leaned on their defense in a 38-17 win. The top two Heisman performances of any player this season belong to Reed with the 41-40 win in the final seconds over Notre Dame and a dominant victory over LSU—and both notably came on the road in primetime.
Season stats:
62.3% | 2,193 PASS YDS | 19 PASS TD | 6 INT
69 CAR | 378 RUSH YDS | 6 RUSH TD | 5.5 AVG
2. Ty Simpson | Alabama QB | Junior (RS) | Last week: 2
Simpson took care of the ball through the air on Saturday night versus rival LSU, but he did lose a fumble and have a modest showing as a passer (21-of-35 for 277 yards and one touchdown) for what turned into a low-scoring game. The possible SEC Championship matchup versus Texas A&M could go a long way towards determining the race, but Simpson will get a great opportunity this weekend versus No. 12 Oklahoma.
Season stats:
66.9% | 2,461 PASS YDS | 21 PASS TD | 1 INT
55 CAR | 87 RUSH YDS | 2 RUSH TD | 1.6 AVG
3. Fernando Mendoza | Indiana QB | Junior (RS) | Last week: 3
Mendoza kept the Hoosiers undefeated with late-game heroics on an unbelievable touchdown catch by Omar Cooper Jr. in the final moments to beat Penn State—and the quarterback showed tremendous toughness all afternoon. That said, those crowning a new favorite should keep in mind that it came against a team that had lost five games in a row, and the outing was similar to the win over Oregon where Mendoza had a costly interception in the second half that was overcome.
Season stats:
71.3% | 2,342 PASS YDS | 26 PASS TD | 5 INT
56 CAR | 240 RUSH YDS | 5 RUSH TD | 4.3 AVG
4. Jeremiah Smith | Ohio State WR | Sophomore | Last week: 4
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin has become the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy after another win, and he’s the sixth name in consideration by completing 80.9% of his passes on the year. However, Smith was responsible for a large chunk of the production in the victory over Purdue (10 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown), and he leads all “Power Four” players with 10 receiving touchdowns.
Season stats:
65 REC | 862 REC YDS | 10 REC TD | 13.3 AVG
2 CAR | 20 RUSH YDS | 1 RUSH TD | 10.0 AVG
5. Gunner Stockton | Georgia QB | Junior (RS) | Last week: 5
Again, Julian Sayin is certainly in the Heisman race, but Stockton had three more touchdowns in a win over Mississippi State last week—heating up as a passer over the past three games to match the production as a runner. If he’s going to stamp himself firmly into the race in the eyes of the voters, Stockton needs to have a huge night in a top-10 clash versus Texas this weekend.
Season stats:
69.4% | 2,040 PASS YDS | 15 PASS TD | 2 INT
77 CAR | 321 RUSH YDS | 7 TD | 4.2 AVG