Heisman Trophy Rankings, Week 2: Ewers beats down Michigan, Jeanty dominates Oregon

The second week of the college football season had everything fans could have hoped for. From the Texas Longhorns blowing out the defending CFP National champion Michigan Wolverines to the Northern Illinois Huskies pulling off a stunning upset over the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting irish, Week 2 had it all.

Even though it's the second week of the season, that doesn't mean we can't start looking towards the end-of-year awards. The most prestigious is undoubtedly the Heisman Trophy, which honors the best player in college football.

Let's take a look at how we rank the contenders for the award after the second week of the 2024 season.

2024 Heisman Trophy Rankings after Week 2

Just two years ago, USC had a Heisman Trophy winner in Caleb Williams, a dynamic quarterback who made life miserable for opposing defenses. But now, Williams is in the NFL and the starter for the Chicago Bears after being drafted first-overall in this year's NFL Draft. The belief was whoever would start at quarterback this season would have big shoes to fill.

Miller Moss won the job this offseason and has been everything the Trojans could have hoped for. Last week against LSU, Moss completed 27-of-36 pass attempts for 378 yards and a touchdown in a 27-20 victory.

This week, Moss took on the Utah State Aggies. Let's just say this one was a no-contest. Moss was pulled from the game in the third quarter after Quinten Joyner scored a two-yard rushing touchdown to put USC up 34-0.

Moss completed 21-of-30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown.

USC enters a bye week, but when they return, they take on the Michigan Wolverines.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers came to play in Week 2. In Nebraska's season debut, they defeated the UTEP Miners 40-7, behind a stellar performance by quarterback Dylan Raiola. Raiola threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns. Next up was a big matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes.

Let's just say that Raiola didn't falter in the spotlight.

Nebraska got off to a commanding 28-0 lead entering halftime after capitalizing on opportunities. Perhaps the most notable was a pick-six off Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Raiola played a role in the early score, notably an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rahmir Johnson.

Raiola finished the game completing 23-of-30 pass attempts for 185 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.

A solid game in a huge win for Raiola.

There is a name you need to keep an eye on throughout the season, and it's Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty. The junior running back started off the 2024 campaign by putting up video game numbers against Georgia Southern. Jeanty ran for 267 yards and touchdowns on 20 carries. Yes, you read that correctly.

Boise State and Jeanty faced a tough test in Week 2 in the No. 7 Oregon Ducks. The Broncos weren't scared of the Ducks, as they nearly pushed them to the brink.

Trailing 27-20 in the fourth quarter, Jeanty tied things up with an incredible 70-yard touchdown run. On the next drive, Jeanty ran for an eight-yard touchdown to give Boise State a 34-27 lead. Unfortunately for Boise State and Jeanty, they would lose 37-34 on a walk-off field goal by Oregon.

Jeanty finished the game running for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, while catching two passes for eight yards.

We'll see if Jeanty can continue putting up video game numbers on a per game basis. But so far, there's no denying how dynamic a threat he is for opponents of Boise State.

Nico Iamaleava got the start at quarterback for Tennesee this season after backing up Joe Milton III last year. In Week 1, Iamaleava recorded 314 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in a dominant 69-3 win over Chattanooga.

Iamaleava faced off against his first ranked opponent of the season in No. 24 North Carolina State. In his second drive of the game, Iamaleava threw an interception, resulting in field goal by NC State to cut their lead to 7-3. But after that? It wasn't even close.

In the third quarter, Iamaleava threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Miles Kitselman and took it to the house on a 31 yard run to give Tennessee a commanding 37-3 win. Midway through the fourth quarter, the freshman quarterback padded his stats a bit with an 18 yad touchdown pass to Holden Staes to clinch the 51-10 win.

Iamaleava threw for 211 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions while completing 16-of-23 pass attempts. Iamaleava also logged 65 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on eight carries.

So far, Iamaleava has been living up to the hype. We'll see if he can keep it up.

Last week, Jaxson Dart threw for 418 yards and five touchdowns in a dominant 76-0 victory by Ole Miss. The epectations are high for Ole Miss, as this is the year to make it into the College Football Playoff. So far, the Rebels and Dart and beating the teams they need to beat convincingly.

This Saturday, Dart and the Rebels beat the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders 52-3. The game, as expected, was all Ole Miss.

Dart didn't put up five touchdowns (just one to be specific), but did complete 25-of-27 pass attempts for 377 yards.

Dart has been impressive so far, but we'd like to see how he fares against a top team.

It was yet another year in which Alabama was put on upset alert against the South Florida Bulls. The thing is, Jalen Milroe didn't start that game. Certainly, the Crimson Tide would cruise to victory this year, right?

Well, Alabama and South Florida were neck and neck for the majority of the game. But it was Milroe who played hero in the fourth quarter. Only up 14-12, Milroe threw a 16-yard touchdown to Kobe Prentice and a 43-yard score to Ryan Williams. Alabama picked up the 42-16 victory.

Milroe completed 15-of-25 pass attempts for 184 yards and two touchdowns, while running for a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries.

This wasn't the ideal game for Alabama, but they got the job done, thanks in part to Milroe.

The Georgia Bulldogs had the best start of the ssaon they could have imagined. At Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Bulldogs destroyed the Clemson Tigers 34-3. Beck was named the Co-Offensive Player of the Week by the SEC for his 278 passing yards and two passing touchdowns against Clemson.

This week, Georgia didn't face much of a challenge, as they took on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Georgia picked up a 48-3 victory.

Beck completed 18-of-25 pass attempts for 242 yards and five touchdowns, all in a little over two quarters. Beck was pulled from the game early in the third quarter with the Bulldogs up 31-0.

While it was an incredible game for Beck, beating Tennessee Tech doesn't necessarily move the needle.

The Oregon Ducks were among the favorites to win the CFP National Championship this year. One of the reasons was the team bringing in transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel from Oklahoma. Gabriel in a quarterback-friendly offense? Look at the wonders it did for Bo Nix the previous two years. But Oregon hasn't had it easy to start the 2024 season.

Last week, Gabriel completed 41-of-49 throws for 380 yards and two touchdowns against Idaho. But, Oregon would only win by the score of 24-14. This week, they faced off against Boise State. Oregon was on upset alert throughout the entirety of the game.

With Oregon up 27-20 in the second half, they fumbled the football on back-to-back possessions. One of those was by Gabriel, who took a hard hit after the center snapped the football early. Gabriel's fumble resulted in Boise State taking a 34-27 lead.

However, Gabriel helped lead Oregon 61 yards downfield to set up the game-winning field goal.

Gabriel recorded 18 completions for 243 yards and two touchowns on 21 attempts. Gabriel also picked up a rushing touchdown in the win.

While Gabriel has been good to start the year, both of his victories this season were too close for comfort.

If there is one quarterback that is making a name for himself early on this season, it's Cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes. After spending the previous two seasons at Washington State, Ward transferred over to Miami, a team that was ranked heading into the 2024 season and held expectations to win the ACC.

In Week 1, Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant 41-17 win over the in-state rival Florida Gators.

This weekend, Miami faced off against the Florida A&M Rattlers in a winnable game on paper. Let's just say Miami didn't get into upset alert like Alabama, Penn State, and Notre Dame on Saturday. Instead, the Hurricanes picked up a 56-9 win.

Ward was pulled from the game in the third quarter after taking a 46-9 lead after he scored a touchdown on an eight-yard run. Ward's day ended with 304 passing yards and three passing touchdowns while completing 20-of-26 throws.

Through two games, Ward has proven to be a top contender for the Heisman based on his numbers alone.

There's just something about Quinn Ewers and huge Week 2 games. Last year, Ewers' had a huge performance against the Alabama Crimson Tide. This year, Ewers and the Longhorns faced the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

Texas took a commanding 24-3 lead behind two touchdown passes from Ewers, including one to Matthew Golden with 10 seconds remaining in the first half. The game wasn't even close, with Michigan's offense sputtering out of control with Davis Warren under center. With that, Ewers and the Longhorns picked up the 31-12 victory.

Ewers completed 24-of-36 pass attempts for 246 yards and three touchdowns.

Leading Texas to a blowout victory over the 10th ranked team in the nation, in "The Big House?" That's a Heisman caliber performance and win for Ewers, and he earns the No. 1 spot in the rankings.