Danny Kanell reveals top five Heisman Trophy candidates after Week 7

The college football season has officially reached its halfway point of the regular season with seven weeks downs and seven more to go. Following several big performances this week in premier games, CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell updated his list of the top five Heisman Trophy candidates.

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel played his way to the top spot by leading the Ducks to a last-second victory against No. 2 Ohio State. He led the team downfield for the go-ahead field goal with less than two minutes remaining to put them in the driver’s seat of the Big Ten.

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Travis Hunter is one notable name missing from Kanell’s list. The two-way Colorado star was in the No. 1 spot just two weeks ago but left early with a shoulder injury this week in a 31-28 loss to Kansas State. Hunter finished with just three catches for 26 yards as well as one tackle on defense.

You can see the full list of Danny Kanell’s top five Heisman Trophy candidates below.

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1. QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Gabriel surpassed the 300-yard mark for just the second time this season as Oregon outlasted Ohio State by a score of 32-31 on Saturday. He finished with 341 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns, as well as breaking free for a 27-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

The QB’s overall numbers for the season aren’t as eye-popping as some of the other candidates on this list. He has thrown for 1,790 yards and 13 touchdowns to three interceptions this season. However, his clutch play in what is now the biggest win of the year for any team propels him to the top in Kanell’s mind.

2. QB Cam Ward, Miami

Ward has better stats than Gabriel through this point in the season but lacks a win of the magnitude of the one the Ducks got this past week. Still, he is tied for the most passing touchdowns in the FBS with 20 in addition to an ACC-leading 2,219 yards.

Miami is off to a 6-0 start for just the third time in the past 20 years as it looks to make the ACC Championship for the first time since 2017. The Hurricanes had a bye this past week but Ward will look to continue his impressive season when they return to action against Louisville on Saturday.

3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

There’s a real argument for Jeanty as the top Heisman Trophy candidate as he is on pace for a historic season. The Boise State running back leads the FBS with 1,248 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns through only six games.

This past week in a 28-7 win against Hawaii, Jeanty topped the 200-yard mark for the third time this season to finish with 217 yards and one touchdown. The single-season rushing record is 2,628 yards set by Barry Sanders in 1988, and Jeanty will have a shot at catching that.

4. QB Cade Klubnik, Clemson

It’s hard to believe Klubnik is on a Heisman list after his performance Week 1, but the Clemson QB has been on a roll ever since. After failing to throw a touchdown in the season opener against Georgia, he now has 17 over the past five games to only one interception.

There’s an argument to be made about the quality of opponents he has faced in that span, but those numbers stand out regardless of who a team plays. The junior has the fifth-best quarterback rating in the country according to ESPN and could find himself a finalist for college football’s most coveted award if he keeps it up.

5. QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

Pavia rounds out Danny Kanell’s list of the top five Heisman candidates. He put the Commodores on the map with an upset of Alabama in Week 6 and followed it up this past week with another win against Kentucky. He had not thrown an interception all season prior to that game but still finished 15-of-18 passing for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The transfer from New Mexico State has 10 touchdowns to the one interception on the year and has also rushed for 388 yards and two scores. Pavia doesn’t have nearly the stats of some of the players above him, but he has a Vanderbilt team that was winless in conference play last year off to a 2-1 start in the SEC.