Ohio State Wide Receiver, Jeremiah Smith

The Heisman Trophy is the most famous award in collegiate athletics and the most coveted award in college football. Members of the elite club are often immortalized in college football lore and are revered by their alma mater as time goes by.

The famous trophy can also bring about controversy. Voters have often gotten backlash from fans who believe the recipient of the trophy was not as deserving of the award as another. The 1997 Heisman race is one of the most controversial; Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson defeated Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, becoming the first primarily defensive player to win the award. Other controversial years include 2003, Jason White getting the award over Larry Fitzgerald, and, most recently, last season, Travis Hunter winning over Ashton Jeanty.

After the conclusion of Week 5 in the college football world, Heisman candidates are becoming more concrete. Frauds have become clear, and potential finalists for the award are clearer. In this article, I will break down who I think will be finalists for the Heisman Trophy this season, as well as a brief snippet where I talk about two quarterbacks who I KNOW are frauds. So just sit back, and see what Ro Knows.

Dante Moore - Quarterback, Oregon

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is the frontrunner for the Heisman trophy right now. He finished Week 5 with a huge win over Penn State. Moore threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns, also rushing for 35 yards. So far this season, Moore has thrown for 1,210 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 1 interception (ESPN doesn’t count the one he threw in overtime of the Penn State game). Moore is also 13th in the nation in quarterback rating, 83.0 being the exact number. If he can raise that percentage, he will become a greater candidate for the Heisman.

Oregon has a fairly difficult schedule in the coming weeks. They do have a bye week in Week 6, but that will be followed by playing a strong Indiana team, and finishing the season playing USC and Washington. Dante Moore got the toughest game out of the way; the rest of the season should be smooth sailing. If Moore can throw for over 3,500 yards and Oregon maintains a playoff-bound record, then we will be seeing Moore at the Downtown Athletics Club in December.

Jeremiah Smith - Wide Receiver, Ohio State

He was the receiver in the nation last year as a freshman, and he is the best player in the country this year. Jeremiah Smith has been NFL-ready since the beginning of last year, and he has only gotten better since then. Smith’s freshman season was actually better than former Buckeye Marvin Harrison Jr’s 2023 season. Harrison Jr was named a Heisman finalist in 2023, and Smith had a better season than him in his freshman year.

At the moment, Smith has caught four touchdowns and has 396 receiving yards. He has also rushed for one touchdown. The one thing that could hinder Smith’s Heisman odds is the guy who is throwing him the ball, Julian Sayin. Sayin is good, but he’s young, and he hasn’t even eclipsed 1,000 passing yards yet this season, while having already thrown three interceptions. Despite this, Ohio State is still the number 1 team in the country.

If Smith has the same kind of season as his freshman year, or does better than that, and Ohio State finishes the season undefeated and as the number one team, then don’t be surprised to see Smith claiming a Heisman trophy in December.

Jayden Maiava - Quarterback, USC

After last year's Notre Dame-USC game, a game in which the Irish stopped the Trojans, I told my friend Matthew Decarlo (an avid USC fan) that I thought that USC quarterback Jayden Maiava could be a Heisman contender this year. Turns out, I was right. Maiava has started to gain national attention for his play so far this season, and I think he could very well be a Heisman finalist come December.

So far this season, Maiava leads the country in quarterback rating with a score of 93.4. Maiava has thrown for 11 touchdowns so far this year and has rushed for four. He is 2nd in the nation in passing yards and has only thrown one interception.

USC has a difficult schedule ahead of it, and could likely be playing four ranked teams in the coming weeks. If the Trojans can pull off a winning record and Jayden Maiava continues his elite play, it would come as no surprise if USC got its ninth Heisman winner in program history.

Ty Simpson - Quarterback, Alabama, or Fernando Mendoza - Quarterback, Indiana

Ty Simpson’s play this past weekend is the reason why he made my list. Alabama got its biggest win of the season so far against Georgia, in between the hedges at Athens. Simpson was the perfect leader the Crimson Tide needed to win that game. He threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 12 yards and one touchdown.

The week before this, Simpson had arguably his best game of the season. In Week 4, Simpson threw four touchdowns and 382 yards in an absolute domination of the Wisconsin Badgers. Simpson bounced back after Alabama’s loss to FSU in week 1 and has been a great leader for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama has a tough schedule to finish the year, and could potentially be playing six ranked teams through October and early November. If Alabama can stack on more wins, and Simpson continues to play well, then he could very well be the Heisman.

One man who could take his Heisman finalist spot, though, is Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza, like Simpson, has been excellent. Indiana has dominated every game they have played so far, except for their most recent win against Iowa. Mendoza is second in the nation for touchdown passes thrown with 16. He has only thrown one interception and has thrown for 1,208 yards so far this year. There can only be four Heisman finalists, and I think this final spot will be between either Ty Simpson or Fernando Mendoza.

Honorable Mention: Jeremiyah Love

Like I just said, unfortunately, there can only be four Heisman finalists. Jeremiyah Love will no doubt continue his excellent play, but I don’t know if that will land him a Heisman bid in December.

Love was a key part in Notre Dame’s beatdown of Arkansas on Saturday. He finished the game with four touchdowns. Two rushing TDs and two receiving. Overall, this season, he has rushed for five touchdowns and caught three. The only problem is that his rushing stats outside of touchdowns are quite meager. Love has only rushed for more than 100 yards once this season, and is not even top 50 in the country for rushing yards or rushing touchdowns.

Love barely rushed for 1,000 yards last season. He’s an incredible athlete, and my favorite player on the Fighting Irish right now. Unfortunately, I don’t think he will be a Heisman finalist, and that is why he is an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention - John Mateer

Mateer was straight up ballin' to start the season. To be fair, his QBR isn’t great, and his completion percentage is basically the same as Garrett Nuessmeier's, but he hasn’t thrown less than 270 yards this season, which is pretty darn great. He has also run for one or more touchdowns in every game he has played, and has kept Oklahoma undefeated.

The only problem, Mateer just suffered a significant hand injury. The estimated recovery time is about a month, which is a fair amount of time to miss in the CFB season. Mateer is an honorable mention because, without the hand injury, he surely would have made this list. I think he will miss too much time due to the injury and will be unable to catch up to his competitors by the time the season ends.

The Fruads: Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier

I thought it was so stupid at the beginning of the year when I saw Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier as favorites for the Heisman trophy. I want to make one thing clear.

These guys are not good.

Drew Allar was incredibly meh vs Oregon on Saturday. Yes, he threw an incredible touchdown pass in an attempt to lead a comeback over the Ducks, but he only completed 56% of his passes and threw the game-losing interception in overtime. His passing yards are nothing compared to guys like Dante Moore, Ty Simpson, and Fernando Mendoza.

Garrett Nussmeier is the other extremely overrated quarterback who had no business being a Heisman candidate. He played pretty good against Clemson and Florida, two teams who have now been revealed to be mid, but he was just sloppy in his most recent loss to Ole Miss. His completion percentage is 67.3, and he has thrown three interceptions. Could he rebound? Yes, yes, he could. Will he rebound? I sure as heck don’t think so.

Prediction

Jeremiah Smith or Dante Moore. That’s who I think it will come down to. Both teams are ranked #1 and #2 in the country, and could easily go undefeated throughout the season. Dante Moore would likely have the edge here because the Heisman award has favored quarterbacks in recent years. I hope Jeremiah Smith can beat that narrative and walk away with the award, but he is going to have to show out.

Dante Moore or Jeremiah Smith (and maybe Maiava from USC). One of those gentlemen will walk away with the award. The CFB season has been great so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Potential Heisman Finalists

The Rivalry of the South