Heisman Trophy Rankings, Week 11: Did Cam Ward cost himself the Heisman?

This past Thursday, the first bracket for the College Football Playoff was unveiled. From there, teams had a better idea of their standings and to see how they could improve. Well in Week 11 on Saturday, there were plenty of bracket-altering results.

The Miami Hurricanes suffered their first loss of the season in a 28-23 defeat by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Ole Miss Rebels kept their Playoff hopes alive after a 28-10 upset win over the Georgia Bulldogs. The Alabama Crimson Tide won a playoff eliminator in convincing fashion against the LSU Tigers. That is just a couple of results from this weekend.

With games getting that much more important in each passing week, that allows some of the top players to make a case to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Some of the favorites to win the award are in the Playoff picture.

So, what do the Heisman rankings look like after Week 11? Is Travis Hunter still the favorite? Did Cam Ward hurt his chances in Miami's loss? Let's take a look.

Heisman Trophy Power Rankings after Week 11

The Ohio State Buckeyes picked up a huge win last week against Penn State. This weekend they took on the one-win Purdue Boilermakers, and it went just how you expected. Ohio State picked up a decisive 45-0 win over Purdue.

Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith led all Buckeyes receivers on Saturday after recording six receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. This was Smith's ninth receiving touchdown of the season, which is now the single-season record for an Ohio State freshman. The previous record was held by Cris Carter.

Bryson Daily was sidelined for Army's game last week against Air Force. In that game, Army picked up a 20-3 win with backup Dewayne Coleman getting the start. This weekend, Daily returned and got the start against the North Texas Mean Green. To the surprise of no one, it was a great outing for the quarterback, who ran all over the Mean Green.

In the 14-3 win, Daily ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries, With that, Army improves to 9-0 on the season and remains contenders to make it into the College Football Playoff as a Group of Five winner.

Last week, the Clemson Tigers were soundly defeated by the Louisville Cardinals. Quarterback Cade Klubnik didn't do much to help the team, as he had a poor showing in that game. With their College Football Playoff hopes seemingly dead, they came back to life in Week 11.

Clemson defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 24-14 to improve to 7-2 on the season and 6-1 in the ACC. Pair that with a loss by Miami, and Clemson's Playoff hopes are still alive. Klubnik accounted for all three of Clemson's touchdowns, as he threw for 211 yards while completing 16-of-34 pass attempts.

Next up for Klubnik is a huge game against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Jaxson Dart helped Ole Miss do something that no non-Alabama team hasn't done since 2020 — beat Georgia. The Rebels were in a position where they couldn't afford to lose another game, as they were 7-2 on the season. One more loss would effectively eliminated them from Playoff contention.

Dart suffered an injury scare on the opening drive, where he limped off the field with a hurt ankle. Even though backup Austin Simmons led them to a touchdown drive, Dart returned to the game, ad helped lead Ole Miss to a 28-10 upset win over Georgia.

Dart threw for 199 yards, one touchdown, and one interceptions while completing 13-of-22 pass attempts. Dart also ran for 50 yards on eight carries. Scoring 28 points against Georgia's stout defense? That's pretty good. The fact that Dart overcame an ankle injury to help defeat a top-two seed? That was huge.

Jalen Milroe has been on a concerning pace since playing Georgia earlier this season. He looked like a different quarterback in losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee, and in a narrow win over South Carolina. Milroe did have a respectable performance last week against Missouri. But his next true test would be in Week 11 against the LSU Tigers.

Well, the old Jalen Milroe showed up, as he completely put LSU's defense in a blender to lead Alabama to a huge 42-13 win. Milroe didn't do much in the passing game, throwing 12 completions for 108 yards on 18 attempts, but he made up for it in the running game. Milroe ran for a staggering 185 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries. That's right, nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

This is the Milroe that Alabama has been missing — the quarterback that makes life miserable for opposing defenses with his ability to make deep passes and extend plays with his legs. With this win, Alabama's Playoff hopes are still alive.

And just like that, the Colorado Buffaloes have a clear path to the College Football Playoff. Returning from the bye week, Shedeur Sanders had the case to not only improve his NFL Draft stock, which is already sky high, but also to make a case to win the Heisman Trophy.

On Saturday, Colorado picked up a convincing 41-27 win over Texas Tech. Sanders showed up big time for the Buffaloes, as he helped them overcome a 13-0 deficit to turn the game around. Sanders completed 30-of-43 throws for 291 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 16 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Another big game for Sanders. With the Big 12 field thinning out, Colorado is in position to compete in the conference championship game if they win-out.

Just last week, we had Cam Ward ranked second on our Heisman power rankings. Ward has played the role of superhero throughout this season, as he had to lead the Hurricanes to wins when the defense hasn't played up to par. But for Ward, the magic for Miami ran out.

Miami and Ward were handed their first loss of the season in the form of a 28-23 defeat by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Don't get us wrong, Ward did his best to bring Miami back into the game, as evidenced by throwing two touchdowns after trailing 21-10 in the second half. However, on the team's late fourth quarter drive, Ward fumbled after trying to evade defensive pressure, and it clinched the win for the Yellow Jackets.

Ward threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns while completing 25-of-39 pass attempts. With this loss, Ward tumbles down our power rankings a bit.

The Boise State Broncos are a good football team this season, and were rewarded with a spot in the first official College Football Playoff bracket. But one of the main reasons why there is so much attention on Boise State is star running back Ashton Jeanty, who was putting up video game umbers early on this season. There were some "normal" performances by Jeanty, but he is a literal human highlight reel.

On Saturday, Boise State picked up a 28-21 win over the Nevada Wolfpack to improve to 8-1 on the year and help their chances of keeping a Playoff spot. Jeanty had some incredible numbers, as he recorded 209 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 34 carries. That's 6.4 yards per carry.

With this game in the books, Jeanty has now run for 1,734 yards and 23 touchdowns on 224 carries (7.7 yards per carry). Jeanty is unlikely to break Barry Sanders' single-season rushing yards record with three more games left in the regular season. What does hurt Jeanty's Heisman chances is the level of competition he is playing in the Mountain West conference. That's not taking away anything Jeanty has accomplished this season, but he may fall short of winning the Heisman.

The Oregon Ducks sit at the top of the college football world. The Ducks are undefeated and held the No. 1 seed in the first College Football Playoff bracket. They are one of the most complete teams in the country, and quarterback Dillon Gabriel has played a role in their success this season.

On Saturday, Oregon picked up their 10th win of the season with a 39-18 victory over the Maryland Terrapins. In this game, Gabriel made history, breaking the record for all-time leader in total touchdowns, surpassing Case Keenum, who accounted for 178. Gabriel threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns while completing 23-of-34 throws, and ran for 28 yards on four carries.

As we have seen in the past, if you are the quarterback of the top team in the country, you are going to receive an invitation to Heisman Trophy ceremony (see Stetson Bennett in 2022). But Gabriel is putting up great numbers this year, and is deserving of being a finalist for the award.

Travis Hunter remains the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this season after Week 11. We haven't seen a player dominate on both ofense and defense in quite some time. Hunter, fresh off a bye week, showcased exactly what he can do.

In Colorado's 41-27 win over Texas Tech, Hunter helped extend their lead to 31-20 on a 24-yard touchdown reception. On offense, Hunter recorded nine receptions for 99 yards. Defensively, Hunter didn't record a statistic, and that's not a bad thing.

Hunter is an elite wide receiver and defensive back, which is why he very well could be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. As a legit difference maker on both sides of the line of scrimmage, that's why he's still the favorite to win the Heisman. Considering the Buffaloes are in contention for the Big 12 championship, Hunter has the chance to further help his case to take home college football's prestigious individual award.