B/R’s 2024 Heisman Trophy Rankings: Here Come the Quarterbacks in Week 9

The latest week of college football provided a bunch of notable movement in the 2024 Heisman Trophy race.

The short version is that two quarterbacks are catching Ashton Jeanty.

Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel kept inching closer to the award’s current favorite, and Miami’s Cam Ward trimmed what was already a small gap. Those signal-callers, as of Week 9, have the best opportunity to further the trend of Heisman winners being a power-conference QB.

Meanwhile, though, the back end of the discussion is narrowing. Underwhelming individual stats and team losses are starting to bump several players to the edge of the radar—or even completely off.

The tiers are a personal view but consider a player’s production, team success and more historical Heisman trends.

Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama: Just a bad month for Milroe and the Crimson Tide, who have sandwiched losses at Vanderbilt and Tennessee with an ugly win over South Carolina. Milroe had multiple turnovers in each game. Alabama closes October with 21st-ranked Missouri.

Bryson Daily, QB, Army: Back in 2015, Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds finished fifth in Heisman voting. That kind of upside is possible for Daily, the catalyst of Army’s 7-0 start this season. He currently leads the country with 19 rushing touchdowns and is third at 909 yards on the ground, in addition to his 629 yards and seven scores through the air.

Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado: The reality is Sanders only lands as a contender if star teammate Travis Hunter isn’t one. However, an injury has slowed Hunter in recent weeks. Sanders has thrown for 2,268 yards with 21 total touchdowns to six interceptions for the 5-2 Buffs.

Will Howard, QB, Ohio State: The second idle weekend now complete, the Buckeyes play every weekend down the stretch. That six-game run begins at home against Nebraska this Saturday with Penn State looming in Week 10. So far, Howard has totaled 1,651 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse: McCord’s six-game streak of 300-plus passing yards will be tested Thursday night at unbeaten Pitt. If the Orange lose, McCord won’t be part of the Heisman fringe any longer.

Kurtis Rourke, QB, Indiana: From a numbers perspective, Rourke is sitting in a decent spot. He’s passed for 1,941 yards with a sizzling 10.7 per throw, the second-highest rate nationally. If he only misses one game because of a thumb injury, his resume will be defined by Indiana’s trip to Ohio State in late November. Miss multiple, and he’ll fade out of contention.

Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State: Speaking of the Buckeyes, Smith has been a steady target for the receiving corps with a touchdown in all six games to date. Smith has a great opportunity to extend that streak opposite a Nebraska defense that 280 passing yards and three scores in last weekend’s 56-7 loss to Rourke and the Hoosiers.

Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss: Dart had an extra week to prepare for Oklahoma. Although the Sooners are a disaster offensively, they’ve at least had a respectable defense this season. Dart would benefit from a nice statistical game after totaling two touchdowns in Ole Miss’ last three games.

Drew Allar, QB, Penn State: The ever-dangerous look-ahead game arrives for Allar in Week 9; Penn State travels to Wisconsin—which is ninth nationally in yards allowed per pass attempt—before hosting Ohio State the following Saturday.

Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson: Klubnik threw for 308 yards, rushed for 29 yards and scored three times in Saturday’s win over Virginia. Clemson enters its final idle weekend at 6-1 overall. More importantly, though, the Tigers are 5-0 in the ACC with Louisville, Virginia Tech and Pitt left on the docket in conference games.

Travis Hunter, WR/DB, Colorado: Hunter’s shoulder injury is not-so-quietly impacting his Heisman potential. He just missed the second half of CU’s win against Arizona. Colorado hosts Cincinnati this Saturday prior to a timely idle weekend for Hunter.

Carson Beck, QB, Georgia: Beck certainly didn’t have a “Heisman moment” in the victory at Texas, considering he posted 4.3 yards per attempt with zero scores and three interceptions. However, he doesn’t a drop a tier because of future opportunities; UGA is 6-1 and still has Ole Miss and Tennessee on the regular-season schedule.

Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU: Two weekends after Arkansas upset Tennessee, LSU took care of business in Fayetteville. Nussmeier had a quieter day, throwing for 233 yards with no touchdowns, but he helped LSU improve to 6-1 and set up a showdown at Texas A&M.

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State: After an idle weekend, Boise State returns to the field with a massive Mountain West clash. UNLV, which is 26th in the country at 3.4 yards allowed per carry, is probably Jeanty’s strongest test so far outside of playing at Oregon.

Cam Ward, QB, Miami: Ward’s electric season continued with 338 total yards and four touchdowns in a high-scoring win at Louisville. He’s propelled the ‘Canes to a 7-0 record despite the shaky defense in Coral Gables. Miami is home against rival Florida State this weekend.

Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon: Gabriel and Co. avoided a post-Ohio State hangover at Purdue, roaring out to a quick 21-point lead and ultimately winning 35-0. He threw for 290 yards and two scores with an unlucky interception on a well-thrown ball. Oregon is set to host 20th-ranked Illinois for what could be a resume-boosting win.