New Heisman favorite emerges as Travis Hunter’s odds grow again

The Heisman Trophy race shifted dramatically over the crazy college football weekend with a new favorite emerging and odds doubling for Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who was on a bye.

On the back of a 186-yard, three-touchdown rushing performance against Utah State, reigning Moutain West Offensive Player of the Year Ashton Jeanty has firmly grabbed the nation’s hearts. The Boise State junior has 95 carries this season, gaining an NCAA-best 1,031 yards already with an NCAA-best 16 touchdowns. Jeanty’s stats in just five games rival his production from all of last season and that’s because this fall the runner is gaining a ludicrous 10.9 yards per rushing attempt. The 21st-ranked Broncos have used their star back to get off to a 4-1 start with the only loss coming at the buzzer to No. 7 Oregon.

Because of both Jeanty and Hunter, it’s looking more and more like the award for the top football player in the country will go to a non-quarterback, which is rare. But to be fair, Hunter and Jeanty are having unprecedented starts to their season. Only four players that weren’t QBs have won the award since 2000, meaning the gunslingers will be in this race until the very end—though only one true candidate seems to be left.

Miami’s Cam Ward is the only player outside of Jeanty and Hunter with odds lower than +1,000. The quarterback led an incredible multi-score comeback against the GameDay hosting Cal over the weekend. But it was the second time in two weeks that the Hurricanes needed the full clock to knock off a lesser foe. Perhaps this is holding possible voters back on Ward, who leads the country in both yards through the air (2,219) and passing touchdowns (20) while playing for the still-unbeaten ‘Canes.

While Colorado didn’t even play this weekend, the chaos of Alabama losing to Vanderbilt helped Hunter’s odds greatly. According to the bookies, Hunter’s chances doubled this week without taking the field.

The last time we saw Hunter play, he won a lot of folks over with his Heisman-pose-hitting performance where he caught nine passes for 89 yards with one touchdown while adding a pick on defense. Hunter now ranks in the top five nationally in receptions (46) and touchdown catches (6) while he’s within the top ten for receiving yards at 561. Hunter also made another interception earlier this season and a game-clinching forced fumble a few weeks back.

The bookies have moved Hunter from around 10th in the odds coming into Week 5 to second less than two weeks later with the odds growing exponentially from +2,000 to right there. All that stands ahead of Hunter right now is Jeanty.

Post-Week 6 Heisman Odds

Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, RB (+225)
Travis Hunter, Colorado WR/CB (+300)
Cam Ward, Miami, QB (+1,100)
Jalen Milroe, Alabama, QB (+400)
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, QB (+1,500)

There hasn’t been somebody who has seriously played both sides of the ball at this high of a level since Champ Bailey in 1998 and even then it wasn’t as full-time as Hunter. But you can go back just one more year to 1997 for something else—the last and only time in modern college football history that a defender won the award, Charles Woodson. Hunter would be the first full-time defender since Woodson to win it—though Woodson did play a limited amount on offense. Should Hunter take the award home, there hasn’t been a true two-way player score the honor since the legendary Ernie Davis in 1961, who was forced to play both sides due to college football’s archaic limited substitution rule at the time.