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Kirk Herbstreit reveals his Heisman Trophy favorite entering Week 5

Alex Weber|
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit | Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Oregon Ducks

On Saturday morning's Week 5 edition of ESPN's College GameDay live from Penn State ahead of the Nittany Lions' game against Oregon, the crew were dressed like a K-Pop boy band in crisp all-white suits as they stared at a jumbo tron that posed various college football questions to them. Such as...

Who is the Heisman Trophy front-runner now that Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has suffered an injury setback?

In front of screen full of the other Heisman contenders, Kirk Herbstreit used his pointing wand to bravely select Oregon's Dante Moore as his new Heisman favorite. Take a look just below:

Oregon and elite quarterback play are becoming rather synonymous under head coach Dan Lanning and wunderkind offensive coordinator Will Stein. The duo found exceptional success by turning Bo Nix around after he left Auburn, helping him become the No. 12 overall NFL Draft pick in 2024. Then, they fit Dillon Gabriel in like a glove as his experience helped lead the Ducks to an undefeated regular season. Plus, he also got drafted.

Questions existed around Dante Moore after he struggled early in his career as the UCLA starter. He was likely thrust into a power conference starting role to quickly, but the young man responded by transferring to a very QB-friendly system at Oregon and was willing to sacrifice a season and sit on the bench behind Gabriel to learn so he could hit the ground running once he did become a starter again.

Through four games, Moore is runnin' amuck. He's thrown for 962 yards and 11 touchdowns vs. just one interception heading into the Penn State matchup. Herbstreit is still buying low here, too, because if Moore continues to dazzle en route to an Oregon road victory over this Penn State squad, he could rocket straight to the top of the Heisman betting board.

How funny is this? Indiana's quarterback is currently the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, per FanDuel, and his name is Fernando Mendoza. Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith is second but Moore is already up to third in the race at +1100 to win the award.

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Alex Weber
ALEX WEBER

Born and raised in the state of Kentucky, Alex Weber has published articles for many of the largest college sports media brands in the country, including On3, Athlon Sports, FanSided, SB Nation, and others. Since 2022, he has also contributed for Kentucky Sports Radio, one of the largest team-specific college sports websites in the nation. In addition to his work in sports journalism, Alex manages content for a local magazine named ‘Goshen Living’ and coaches cross country and track.

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