Heisman Watch: Whose Stock Is Falling, and Who Burst Onto the Scene in Week 1

Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel threw seven touchdowns, Georgia running back Nate Frazier ripped off a string of long TD runs and more players to watch.

Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel tossed seven TDs against Miami (Ohio) in Week 1. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Heisman Trophies aren’t won in September … well, usually. There are some examples—Tim Brown’s two punt return touchdowns in Notre Dame’s second game of the 1987 season against Michigan State were enough to overcome the Fighting Irish’s 8–3 finish—but for the most part the wheat takes a few weeks to separate from the chaff. Few of the famous “Heisman moments” take place in Week 1.

That is especially informative this season because of a dearth of great Week 1 matchups on paper. If anything, we’re in a holding pattern because so many of the top names entering the season lived up to the billing in their season debuts. 

Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith? Nothing that transpired over Labor Day weekend did much to harm their Heisman stock. Other familiar names put together huge performances worthy of early Heisman buzz. 

Each week, Sports Illustrated will be taking a look at the state of the Heisman race, covering the players who are close to booking flights to New York, and those who are at risk of falling off of the map.

Stock down

Kewan Lacy, RB, Ole Miss (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Louisville, 41–38—17 carries, 61 yards, one TD; four receptions, 19 yards

It isn’t easy for a school to field two legitimate Heisman candidates; the players will naturally pull votes away from each other more than any other players in the field. And in today’s game, non-quarterbacks are always fighting an uphill battle. That is the case for Lacy when his teammate Trinidad Chambliss is the clear headliner of the Rebels offense, even if Lacy is arguably the best running back in the country. Throw in a pedestrian outing against the Cardinals, in which Chambliss went off (and was only one rushing yard short of Lacy’s numbers on the ground) and Lacy exited early with a leg injury, and the Ole Miss back has his work cut out for him.

Keep an eye on these players

Nate Frazier, RB, Georgia (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Tennessee State, 63–3—Four carries, 72 yards, three TDs

Frazier touched the ball four times in Week 1’s win over a very overmatched Tigers squad: a 48-yard touchdown, a 14-yard touchdown, a seven-yard rush for a first down and a three-yard touchdown. He won’t face a team as weak as the FCS program again, but he also probably won’t be limited to just four touches again, and the efficiency is hard to beat. This might be a tough offense to put up Heisman-worthy numbers in, but we’re keeping tabs on Frazier for a few weeks given the explosiveness he displayed in Week 1.

Georgia running back Nate Frazier had three long TD runs against Tennessee State. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mason Heintschel, QB, Pitt (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Miami (Ohio), 59–14—31 for 41 (75.6%), 453 yards, seven TDs; 23 rush yards

Hentschel entered the season with a fair amount of hype after a surprising freshman year in which he supplanted another promising young Panthers quarterback, Eli Holstein, but he was far outside of the Heisman conversation. A single game against a MAC squad doesn’t change that, but the remarkable way he went about it certainly has our attention: seven touchdowns to seven different receivers in a single game. And the RedHawks are no slouch on defense; ESPN’s final preseason SP+ efficiency rankings had Miami (Ohio) as the third-ranked team on that side of the ball in the Group of 6.

Josh Hoover, QB, Indiana (1–0)

Week 1: Beat North Texas, 59–16—13 for 16 (81.2%), 231 yards, four TDs

Replacing a Heisman winner, No. 1 NFL draft pick and national champion is never easy; doing it as a veteran transfer with immediate title expectations may be even more pressure-filled. Inasmuch as it was possible to do against a weak defense from the G6 ranks, Hoover earned the respect of his new teammates and fans against the Mean Green, playing through literal blood and sweat—maybe not so many tears—to light up the scoreboard. 

Jayden Maiava, QB, USC (2–0)

Week Zero/1: Beat San José State, 42–26; Beat Fresno State, 39–0—48 for 54 (88.9%), 635 yards, five TDs; one rush TD (totals)

Maiava is the only player on our watchlist with two games under his belt and both have been sensational. After dicing up a pretty weak Spartans unit in Week Zero, Maiava was even better against what should be one of the Pac-12’s best defenses in the Bulldogs, throwing for a gaudy 14 yards per attempt and three touchdowns, with just two incompletions on the day. It doesn’t get much better than a 248.9 QB rating.

Malachi Toney, WR, Miami (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Stanford, 45–6—12 receptions, 234 yards, three TDs

Ohio State’s Smith is the brightest star among the nation’s wide receivers, and for good reason, but Toney is the dynamic playmaker who helped carry his team to the national championship game as a freshman less than a year ago. Based on his season debut across the country against what should be an improved Cardinal team, Baby Jesus has leveled up for his sophomore year, a very scary notion for the rest of the ACC. In a Heisman contest, however, he’s swimming against the same currents as Smith—the challenge non-QBs have in winning the award, and playing alongside a quarterback who looks like he’ll be in the same race.

True Heisman candidates

CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Wisconsin, 41–13—19 for 29 (65.5%), 239 yards, two TDs

Of the preseason Heisman front-runners, Carr’s day against the Badgers was the most pedestrian, especially in a slow first half in which he threw for just 106 yards on 16 attempts, leading the Fighting Irish to a 13–10 halftime lead. Notre Dame put its foot on the gas after the break at Lambeau Field, and Carr threw for more than 10 yards per attempt. It was a solid performance and not one that will harm his Heisman chances in a major way, but given some of the explosive quarterback Week 1 games across the sport, there is some ground to make up here.

Arch Manning, QB, Texas (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Texas State, 59–7—20 for 27 (74%), 305 yards, four TDs, one INT

What a difference a year makes. Sure, a Week 1 game at home against the Bobcats is a bit easier than one in Columbus against Ohio State, but that showdown with the Buckeyes wasn’t the only game last September in which Manning looked out of sorts. Against Texas State, he more closely resembled the confident QB who thrived down the stretch last fall. Now, the real test returns in Week 2—another showdown with Sayin, Smith and the loaded Ohio State roster, which should have significant implications for just about every major national race in the sport this season: Heisman, CFP and otherwise.

Texas quarterback Arch Manning had four touchdowns against Texas State ahead of a Week 2 matchup with Ohio State. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sam Leavitt, QB, LSU (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Clemson, 51–10—16 for 28 (57.1%), 230 yards, one TD, one INT; 12 carries, 113 yards, two TDs

There was no more important offseason recruitment for the “transfer king” Lane Kiffin than Leavitt, who led Arizona State to a surprise College Football Playoff run two years ago. Injuries derailed his 2025 with the Sun Devils, but on Saturday he looked every bit like the exciting dual-threat gunslinger who thrived under Kenny Dillingham. Leavitt plays with reckless abandon, and Kiffin will probably advise him to be a bit more cautious as a runner, in hopes of keeping him healthy for 16 games that he envisions the Tigers playing this fall. If he does, Leavitt should put up some gaudy numbers.

Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Ball State, 56–3—21 for 25 (84%), 320 yards, three TDs; one rush TD

A solid day at the office for the Buckeyes’ signal-caller: 320 yards and four total scores, including his first career rushing touchdown, in fewer than three full quarters of work. As with Heintschel above, we should note that this came against MAC competition, though the Ohio State fans reading would probably like to make a note of Saturday night’s Michigan game. Reminder: We here at SI now have Forums for this exact thing, Buckeyes.

Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Ball State, 56–3—Eight receptions, 151 yards, two TDs

Sayin or Smith. That is the debate that will go a long way toward determining this race, assuming the No. 1 Buckeyes have the kind of season that is expected of them this fall. The Cardinals had little hope of containing the nation’s most talented player. Other programs may be a little more equipped to slow him down, and Smith doesn’t have a surefire first-round pick lined up across the formation from him like former wide receiver running mates Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate (though freshman Chris Henry Jr., who caught a touchdown in his debut, has the pedigree). So far, however, no one has proven they can do it in two-plus seasons.

Darian Mensah, QB, Miami (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Stanford, 45–6—27 for 30 (90%), 401 yards, five TDs

The Hurricanes played for a national championship in January, and while they were ultimately beaten by a historically dominant Indiana team, they were among the most competitive teams that the Hoosiers would face all season. While some would argue that success came in spite of Carson Beck, last season’s big-name Miami quarterback transfer, he played well down the stretch. Even so, Mensah looked like an upgrade on paper entering the season, and certainly does after his explosive Canes debut in the Bay Area. Miami will have tougher competition this season than Stanford, but the schedule in the ACC is very favorable, and Mensah should absolutely feast. He and the aforementioned Toney have played one game together but look like they’ve been tossing around the pigskin for their entire careers.

Miami quarterback Darian Mensah had an explosive Canes debut with five TDs against Stanford. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Louisville, 41–38—21 for 36 (58.3%), 336 yards, three TDs, one INT; nine carries, 60 yards, one TD

At this time last year, we had little idea of what Chambliss—a Division II transfer who was backing up the talented Austin Simmons—was capable of. He began his first (and final) full season as Rebels starter making the same clutch plays that turned him into a sensation last fall. In the fourth quarter, as the Rebels defense started to hemorrhage points to the Cardinals, Chambliss played the hero, throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another, before driving Ole Miss down the field in 88 seconds to set up Lucas Carneiro’s game-winning field goal. He was 8 for 13 for 117 yards in the final frame, with more passes going for at least 11 yards (six) than incompletions (five). 

Dante Moore, WR, Oregon (1–0)

Week 1: Beat Boise State, 34–27—28 for 37 (75.7%), 378 yards, three TDs

The Ducks got a real test from Boise State, pulling out a 34–27 win after trailing by double digits largely thanks to Moore’s impressive outing. The QB utilized his many talented teammates, finding receivers each for at least 57 yards led by Jeremiah McClellan’s 150, throwing for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Few players on the list played in as high-pressure a game as Moore in Week 1, and he answered the call over and over.

---

PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.