Strike the pose!

As college football enters Week 6, we are officially leaving the “small sample size” portion of the season and entering the period where legitimate Heisman candidates separate themselves from the rest of the field.

This year’s race promises to be a pretty fun one, in part because we don’t have the typical “four best quarterbacks from top teams” race that we’ve been dealing with for many years. Instead, we have two quarterbacks, a Mountain West running back and a two-way player who might be one of the best athletes of this generation. That’s nice! Currently, these four guys have left the rest of the field behind them.

Stats: 964 passing yards, 10 TD, 1 INT, 72.9% completion, 273 rushing yards, 8 TD

After finishing sixth in the Heisman voting last year, Milroe entered 2024 with a vengeance. A 491-yard masterpiece against Georgia last weekend cemented the Alabama QB as the Heisman frontrunner — he’s currently the betting favorite at +200 at BetMGM.

If Alabama wins and Milroe continues to be this productive, it could be difficult to dethrone him as the Heisman favorite. But with a gauntlet coming for the Crimson Tide (Tennessee, Missouri, LSU), a few Medicore games could knock Milroe out of the top spot here.

82 carries, 845 yards, 13 TD, 10.3 YPC, 211.3 yards per game

The crazy thing about Jeanty is that he has a Real running well last year (1,347 rushing yards) and somehow still improved tenfold into the destruction-seeking running machine he is today.

Jeanty winning the Heisman would be a pretty big deal. He would be the first player on a current Group of Five team to win the Heisman since Roger Staubach won it for Navy in 1963, and he would be the first running back to win the Heisman since Derrick Henry in 2015, when the former Alabama was in action. back ran for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns.

As crazy as it sounds, Jeanty might be able to take it easy and still win the prize. His 211.3 yards per game is probably not sustainable (although it would be cool), but if he can stay around the 175-185 yards per game average, he will remain in the conversation all year long.

Stats: 1782 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 70.2% completion, 11.1 yards per attempt, 146 rushing yards, 2 touchdownS

Cam Ward plays football like he’s auditioning to play the quarterback in a college football movie, and that’s a compliment. The Miami QB is as cool as they come, and the electricity he brings – plus leading the country in yards and touchdowns – has kept him at the top of the Heisman voting all season.

As Miami continues to rise in the CFB rankings, Ward finds himself right in the mix, heading into a matchup with Cal, a team that has given up a total of 51 points this season. If he can break down the Golden Bears’ defense more than anyone has yet, it will be another addition to his Heisman resume.

Stats: 46 receptions, 561 yards, 6 touchdowns, 112.2 yards per game, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 3 passes defended

Being able to play both sides of the ball sufficiently deserves praise. But Hunter doesn’t play both sides adequately – he plays both sides of one elite level. As a receiver, he leads the Big 12 in receptions and touchdowns. As a cornerback, he has elite ball skills and tracks the ball better than most other corners in the country. As a basketball player, he’s apparently mean too.

Travis Hunter is in the unique position where team success probably matters less since he’s not a quarterback. Still, Colorado’s winning streak certainly hasn’t hurt Hunter’s Heisman prospects, as his odds at Bet MGM have shot up to +450, second behind only Milroe.

There is precedent for two-way players winning the Heisman – well, more like it player. Charles Woodson took home the hardware in 1997, and no one since Woodson (or in a few decades before that) has played both sides of the ball. Regardless of the odds, winning the award seems like a bit of a gamble for Hunter, as he’ll likely have to post gaudy numbers on both offense and defense; something he is capable of, as we have seen, but something that is quite a task everyone for an entire season.