Top 5 Heisman Trophy favorites through first two weeks, per Joel Klatt

College Football

Published Sep. 12, 2024 11:36 a.m. ET

It’s never too early to start talking about the Heisman Trophy.

One quarterback certainly etched himself as the early favorite to win college football‘s most prestigious individual honor following his performance in Week 2. But there have also been several other quality performances from players around the nation that had me thinking about what an early Heisman leaderboard would look like.

So, as we’re two weeks into the season, let me give out a soft list of the top five candidates for the Heisman.

5. Georgia QB Carson Beck

Stats through first two games: 520 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns (tied for third in FBS), zero interceptions, 9 yards per pass attempt

Even though Beck hasn’t had to be great and won’t need to be great for a while, Beck is worthy of a top-five spot. It’s been a nice and easy start for Beck. He’s averaging 9 yards per pass attempt. He has seven touchdowns to zero interceptions. He was on the list in the preseason and was one of the betting favorites entering the year. He’s done nothing so far to take himself off the list.

So, Beck is easily on the list here at No. 5. He hasn’t really had the moment or stage to be higher on this list, but I can’t wait for him and the Bulldogs to take on Texas in a few weeks.

4. USC QB Miller Moss

Stats through first two games: 607 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, 9.2 yards per pass attempt

You want to talk about someone who has made some big-time throws and, at times, can will your team down the field? That’s what Moss did against LSU. I thought he was so good in that game. He was terrific. He made a lot of the same throws for USC against Utah State. It just wasn’t the same pressure-packed environment that he dealt with a week earlier.

USC’s offense is going to be just fine. I predicted that in the preseason, and that’s been true so far. Moss is a large part of that. This dude can play. With his performance against LSU, how good USC’s offense is and knowing what I know about that offense, he’ll be in the Heisman mix. Lincoln Riley’s quarterbacks are always seemingly right there in the Heisman debate.

3. Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty

Stats through first two games: 459 rushing yards (No. 1 in FBS), 10.2 yards per carry, nine rushing touchdowns (No. 1 in FBS), five receptions, 12 yards

This dude has been awesome.

Jeanty was a preseason All-American, and he’s totally delivered to this point. One of his big games came against an Oregon team that I ranked fourth in the nation entering the year. He leads the nation in just about every rushing category. He’s averaging 229.5 rushing yards per game on 10.2 yards per carry, which is the most among any running back who has had at least 25 rushing attempts. Over 10 yards per carry!

Jeanty has nine rushing touchdowns this year as well. Granted, six of them came against Georgia Southern. But three of them came against a top-10 Oregon team on the road, where he also had 192 rushing yards. Three of his rushing touchdowns were over 70 yards.

This guy is a legit NFL running back. He’s got great vision and burst. He’s got tremendous balance. He’s one of the best running backs, if not the best running back, in all of college football.

2. Miami (Fla.) QB Cam Ward

Stats through first two games: 689 passing yards (tied for fifth in FBS), six passing touchdowns (tied for sixth in FBS), one interception, 11.3 yards per pass attempt (10th in FBS), 46 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown

Ward has been terrific in the first two games of the season. He’s been everything Miami could’ve hoped for to this point. This is what Miami paid for when it got him in the transfer portal. I know there were some things written and said about the way he went through the process to get to Miami, removing his name from draft consideration in the process. But, Miami fans, aren’t you happy that Ward ended up a Hurricane?

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Ward has played some phenomenal football. He’s averaging 344.5 passing yards per game so far to go with seven total touchdowns.

1. Texas QB Quinn Ewers

Stats through first two games: 506 passing yards, six passing touchdowns (tied for sixth in FBS), one interception, 8 yards per pass attempt

We just saw how well this guy played on Saturday. Ewers was in total command of the offense against Michigan. Texas’ plan on third-down plays was tremendous and Ewers executed it as well as you can possibly execute it. He was totally calm whenever he faced pressure.

What really stood out to me from Ewers’ performance in that game was his ability to escape in the pocket and use his feet. That was really, really impressive. There was one throw he made in the first quarter where he was able to escape the pressure in a collapsing pocket, step up and fire a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gunnar Helm. That was tremendous.

Another one of Ewers’ tremendous throws occurred right before halftime. He hit wide receiver Matthew Golden on a play I call a Venus route (where the outside receiver looks like he’s running a fade before hitting a mini out toward the front pylon). Ewers threw that ball on a sprint to his left, which is really tough. He made it look incredibly easy. That pass, along with Ewers’ third touchdown pass, was on a third-down play, where he was spectacular all day long.

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Ewers’ stat line was impressive, too. He’s averaging just over 250 passing yards per game in two blowout wins for Texas, tossing six touchdowns so far this season. That win against Michigan was also one of the bigger wins in the young season.

So, Ewers is my leading Heisman Trophy candidate through the first two weeks of the season.

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.

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