Heisman Trophy Watch: On3 expert analysis after Week 10

Week 10 of the college football season is in the books. With that, the Heisman Trophy race is continuing to take shape as the front-runners are jockeying for position at the top.

Throughout the season, experts at On3 have and will continue to provide analysis and discussion on the race for the Heisman Trophy. There is still plenty of time for players to make their moves and compete for the Heisman. So, for the time being, it’s a relatively open field for the Heisman Trophy.

Here’s a look at what players the experts from On3 have at the top of the rankings for the Heisman Trophy race, with their top three listed as well as analysis from each below.

Andy Staples

1. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
3. QB Cam Ward, Miami

Travis Hunter: Hunter had the week off, but he’s going to need to have a great game this week at Texas Tech. A win puts the Buffaloes in a great spot in the Big 12 race.

Ashton Jeanty: Jeanty’s numbers are less superhuman lately, but that’s because defenses are devoting absurd resources to stop him. And he still ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns against San Diego State.

Cam Ward: Miami’s defense being slightly leaky at times forces Ward to put up video game numbers, which he did again against Duke with 400 passing yards and five touchdowns.

Ari Wasserman

1. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
3. QB Cam Ward, Miami

Travis Hunter: Hunter is the best overall player in college football and now he’s on a team that has a real chance of playing for a Big 12 championship and potentially a Playoff spot. Hunter is going to be playing in high-profile games down the stretch of the season, which will be a nice opportunity to remind the world of just how remarkable his play is.

Ashton Jeanty: Boise State has the inside track for being the Group of 5 representative in the Playoff. The Broncos wouldn’t be in this position if it didn’t have one of the five best running backs of the Playoff era on its roster right now. Jeanty leads the nation in rushing with 1,525 yards (8.03 yards per carry) and the second-closest rusher is almost 400 yards behind. He’s having a remarkable season.

Cam Ward: Miami is undefeated. It wouldn’t be if Ward wasn’t on the team. Week after week Ward continues to put up video game numbers while putting the Hurricanes on his back. Miami seems like a virtual lock to make the ACC Championship Game, which makes for a great story on top of Ward’s insane stats.

Jesse Simonton

1. QB Cam Ward, Miami
2. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
3. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado

Cam Ward: Ward is the Earth, Wind and Fire for Miami’s high-octane offense, throwing for another 400 yards with five touchdowns in a shootout win against Duke. Sure, he had another galling, ‘what are you thinking?’ interception, but he immediately responded with a 66-yard score to salt the game away. Ward is not just some pretender September Heisman Trophy contender.

Ashton Jeanty: Boise State fans flooded my mentions this weekend over a tweet about Jeanty’s Heisman’s candidacy, but perhaps I did a poor job explaining the point: Jeanty is the Steph Curry for the Broncos’ offense with the gravity he pulls for the rest of the offense, but so many casual Heisman Trophy voters aren’t going to take that into context, so another 150-yard, two score game (which is FANTASTIC for every other back in the country) might not be otherworldly enough for a G5 contender on a one-loss team.

Travis Hunter: It’s too late in the season to dock anyone for a bye week. Travis Hunter was named the Big 12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week last week: When’s the last time that ever happened? Or has it? His Heisman campaign is in full swing, too, as he was featured on-set at ESPN’s College GameDay at Penn State on Saturday. Hunter will have plenty of opportunities to play his way atop my ballot.

Charles Power

1. QB Cam Ward, Miami
2. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
3. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado

Cam Ward: No matter the situation, Cam Ward feels like an inevitability. The nation’s leader in passing touchdowns led Miami to another come from behind victory this week. Ward is at the dials of the nation’s top offense and has Miami on the path to a CFP berth.

Ashton Jeanty: When running for 149 yards and two touchdowns is considered “coming down to Earth,” you know it’s a ridiculous season. Jeanty leads the nation in yards from scrimmage at 200 per game as Boise State continues to roll up wins.

Travis Hunter: He and Colorado are coming off of a bye week and head to Lubbock for a key Big 12 matchup with Texas Tech. Hunter is the most unique player in college football and will have another opportunity to make a big statement in the Heisman Trophy race.

JD PicKell

1. CB/WR Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
3. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Travis Hunter: If you don’t think Travis Hunter is currently the best player in college football, that is very OK but you’re wrong. If Colorado can, at least, make the Big 12 title game, that should be all the spotlight Hunter needs to win the award.

Dillon Gabriel: It feels a lot like Gabriel is going to play his best football at the right time to have a chance to win this award. He looks totally comfortable now in Will Stein’s offense and had another highly productive day through the air with 294 passing yards at Michigan. Things get interesting in the Gabriel vs. Hunter conversation if Oregon can win the Big Ten with an undefeated record.

Ashton Jeanty: It continues to amaze me that teams know Boise State is going to pound the rock and Jeanty still goes over 100 yards. I don’t think Jeanty will get the proper stages to win the Heisman Trophy but he absolutely deserves to be a finalist.