Heisman Trophy finalists rankings: Will Travis Hunter or Ashton Jeanty win?

The college football regular season has reached its end, and it is officially bowl season. All eligible teams will look to end their season on a high note by hoisting the trophy of their respective trophies. For 12 teams, they will compete in the College Football Playoff for the chance to win the National Championship.

With the regular season over, awards are being handed out.. Perhaps the most prestigious individual award is the Heisman Trophy, which is given to the most outstanding player in college football. While there were two candidates that are conssidered the favorites, there was intrigue as to who the other two finalists will be.

On Monday, the Heisman Trophy finalists were officially announced — Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter, Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward, and Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

With these four finalists heading to New York City for the awards ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 14, let's power rank each player's chances of winning the award from least likely to most likely.

Heisman Trophy finalists power rankings

4. Cam Ward, Miami

What a story Cam Ward has been this season. After spending years with the Washington State Cougars, Ward flirted with entering the NFL Draft last year before ultimately choosing to transfer to Miami, who have had their issues at the quarterback position. Ward has been everything the Hurricanes could have hoped for and more.

This season, Ward turned Miami into a legitimate College Football Playoff contender in the ACC. The Hurricanes were 9-0 to start the season, and Ward at times put the team on his back to lead tem to victory. Look no further than the team's game against the California Golden Bears, when they overcame a 35-10 deficit to win 39-38.

Unfortunately for Ward, Miami was unable to make it to the ACC Championship Game after losing two of their last three games, which can be attributed to the defense.

On the year, Ward threw for 4,123 yards, 36 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while running for 196 yards and four touchdowns on 58 carries.

3. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Whenever there is an undefeated team in college football, the quarterback of said team is usually rewarded as a Heisman finalist. The Oregon Ducks are the lone undefeated Division I team in college football, and quarterback Dillon Gabriel played a huge role in that.

Oregon was making a jump from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, where the competition would be that much tougher. Not to mention, quarterback Bo Nix declared for the NFL Draft, where he was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round. That left head coach Dan Lanning needing to find a replacement, and Gabriel was available in the transfer portal after some time with the Oklahoma Sooners. As it turns out, Gabriel was just what the Ducks needed to help in their quest to win their first-ever National Championship.

This season, the Ducks went 12-0, and defeated three teams that are currently in the College Football Playoff (Ohio State, Boise State, and Penn State). Out of those games, Gabriel's performance against Ohio State stood out in a back-and-forth matchup. Gabriel completed 23-of-34 pass attempts for 341 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 32 yards and a touchdown on four carries in the 32-31 win.

On the year, Gabriel threw for 3,558 yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions on a 73.2 completion percentage, while also running for 192 yards and seven touchdowns on 63 carries.

While Gabriel and Ward should be commended for the season's they had, this is a two-player race between Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter.

2. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

There has been no player more impactful for their team than running back Ashton Jeanty has been to the Boise State Broncos. Jeanty has put up video games numbers throughout the season, and is the main reason why Boise State won the Mountain West championship and clinched the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff.

While Jeanty will be docked for playing primarily against Mountain West teams, but he had an outstanding game against Oregon. In the 37-34 loss, Jeanty ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. That's an average of 7.7 yards per carry.

On the season, Jeanty ran for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns on 344 carries (7.3 yards per carry).

Any other year, Jeanty would probably easily win the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first running back to do so since Derrick Henry did so in 2015 as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide. But this year, Jeanty is competing against a player who is doing something that hasn't been done for a long time.

1. Travis Hunter, Colorado

Travis Hunter has long-hyped football player since being recruited out of high school. He notably flipped his commitment from Florida State to join Deion Sanders at Jackson State. But after one year at Jackson State, Hunter joined Sanders once he accepted the head coaching position at Colorado. While his first year didn't pan out team-wise, Hunter put on an incredible season in his junior year.

Hunter is known to play both cornerback and wide receiver for the majority of Colorado's game. The fact that he's been able to play both roles at a high level was truly incredible to watch. There was the game-winning forced fumble against Baylor in overtime earlier in the year. Then, the 153 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns performance against Cincinnati.

But Hunter made a true final argument in their regular-season finale against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. In the 52-0 win, Hunter caught 10 passes for 116 yards and three touchdowns, while recording two defended passes, one intercepton, and one total tackle.

On the year, Hunter recorded 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver, while posting 31 total tackles (20 solo, 11 assisted), 11 passes defended, four interceptions, and one forced fumble as a cornerback.

Given what Hunter was able to do playing two different positions on opposite sides of the line of scrimmage, he gets the edge as our favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this Saturday.