I don’t know about you, but I’d be buying stock in Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy campaign. He has the best resume up to this point of any of the quarterbacks in the running. While it’s abundantly clear a quarterback will probably be winning college football’s top award this year, the question becomes who. Mendoza has the most compelling argument at this point.
That said, the Heisman race is still wide open. Carson Beck and Ty Simpson are still in the thick of the race, as well as Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith. Smith is currently the only non-quarterback in the race and hanging on by a thread.
Here are this week’s Heisman rankings, which saw one of the favorites from last week, Dante Moore, get booted out and another name resurfaces as a favorite as we enter the second half of the season.
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6. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State Buckeyes
Odds: +1800
Smith is the only non-quarterback in the hunt and probably the only non-quarterback in contention for the award. I think Smith is honestly in the race from the preseason hype. He hasn’t really been that explosive player he was a year ago. He hasn’t really had a bad season, just not that big play player he was last season. He has 505 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. There’s a chance he can have a late-season surge and strengthen his case, but for now, it’s fair he has the sixth best odds.
5. Julian Sayin, Ohio State Buckeyes
Odds: +1800
Julian Sayin has had a strong freshman season taking over for Will Howard at Ohio State. This year, he has nearly 1,500 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. I am skeptical how good he is just because Ohio State hasn’t played an elite defense outside of Texas and in that game, Sayin had just 126 passing yards with a touchdown pass. I need to see more from him before I’m ready to give him the Heisman, so fifth is respectable.
4. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M Aggies
Odds: +1800
I said it last time he was in the power rankings and I’ll say it again: Marcel Reed is my dark horse Heisman favorite. He’s not doing a lot, but he’s doing enough. The Aggies are the No. 4 team in the country and have one of the strongest resumes of any of the top ranked teams. Reed has been on point this year with 1,490 yards with 12 passing touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has 186 rushing yards with three rushing touchdowns. If the Aggies are going to get into the College Football Playoff, it’s going to be because Reed continues to play at an elite level.
3. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Hoosiers
Odds: +430
Fernando Mendoza with the third best odds is wild to me. He’s been one of the best quarterbacks this year and he’s not just doing it against the teams he should, but he’s beating the good teams too. He led Indiana to wins over Illinois and Oregon. The thing is he’s consistent and that’s what Heisman candidates are. He won’t be this low for long if he keeps winning.
2. Ty Simpson, Alabama Crimson Tide
Odds: +320
Ty Simpson has been playing well as of late which is why he has the second best odds, but I don’t know if I’m ready to say he’s the second best quarterback in college football or even the second best player as a whole in college football. That said, he’s thrown for 1,678 yards and 16 touchdown passes with just one interception. He’s been one of the best quarterback stats wise and after a season-opening loss, hasn’t lost since. He could very well be the first Alabama quarterback to win the award since Bryce Young.
1. Carson Beck, Miami Hurricanes
Odds: +300
Carson Beck has more than made up for his mid 2024 season last year at Georgia. I have to give him credit as to looking better than he did as the Bulldogs’ starter. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s going against lesser defenses or if he’s actually improving. But I’ll give credit where it’s due and he deserves to be in the Heisman race. I don’t think he’s the best quarterback in college football, but he certainly deserves to be a finalist up to this point.