What a great weekend of college football – really, it started with a shootout between the upstart Texas State program and a surprisingly fun Arizona State program. Friday night was great between UNLV-Kansas and Kansas State-Arizona. Shit, college football is like a three-day affair nowadays! Nonetheless, now that we’re about a quarter of the way through the season (where does the time go?), it’s finally starting to look like the Heisman race is shaping up. Here’s how the dominos fell for me this week.
Heisman Watch: Week 3, 2024
5. QB Arch Manning, Texas – Am I going to start a quarterback controversy by putting Manning here? I mean, come on…if we’re going week to week based on individual performances….you have to put Manning on this list, right?!?! He finished the game 9/12 for 223 yards with four passing touchdowns, 53 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown.
4. WR Luther Burden III, Missouri – When Mizzou needed a play on Saturday to get back into the game against Boston College, they turned to their prolific wide receiver. Burden is one of the most electric receivers in the college football game and could be the first receiver off the board next spring. He finished this gutsy game with six catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
5. QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon – Finally, the preseason Heisman favorite gets on the board here! Gabriel had a near perfect QBR of 99.3 against the 2-0 rival Oregon State (side bar: I hate having these rivalry games so early in the season). He finished the game 20/24 for 291 yards, two passing touchdowns, 64 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown.
2. QB Cam Ward, Miami – Another week of gaudy passing stats from Ward, who is now a serious threat to win this award through a quarter of the season. I’d have given him the edge this week, but the level of competition accounts for something, and dominating Wisconsin is a bit more impressive than dominating Ball State. Nonetheless, Ward’s 346-yard, five-touchdown performance is undoubtedly prolific enough to pad those stats. As the Heisman race shapes up, it’s going to be a fun one to watch.
1. QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama – Boy, Alabama fans had to be nervous about heading to Wisconsin after the way the South Florida game went. And, what for? No big deal – the Crimson Tide just spanked the Badgers. Milroe was prolific, reminding us not to forget about him in this Heisman race, going 12/16 for 196 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, 75 rushing yards, and two more touchdowns rushing. That makes five total touchdowns in the 42-10 win.
Heisman Watch 2024 Standings
- Cam Ward – 9
- Ashton Jeanty, Jalen Milroe – 6
- Quinn Ewers – 5 (total points)
- Jaxson Dart – 4
- Dillon Gabriel, Tetairoa McMillan, Jam Miller – 3
- Luther Burden III, Miller Moss – 2
- Ethan Hampton, Arch Manning – 1
If you haven’t already, be sure to go subscribe to the College Football Roundup Podcast, on which Steven McCash and myself break down all the action from the college football world and look ahead to the week to come.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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