Did Cam Ward cost himself the Heisman?

Last Thursday, the first round of the College Football Playoff was revealed. From then on, teams had a better overview of their ranking and could see how they could improve. Well, there were a lot of bracket-changing results in Week 11 on Saturday.

The Miami Hurricanes suffered their first loss of the season with a 28-23 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Ole Miss Rebels kept their playoff hopes alive after a surprising 28-10 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. The Alabama Crimson Tide won a playoff elimination game against the LSU Tigers in convincing fashion. These are just a few results from this weekend.

With the games becoming more important each week, some of the top players can make a case for winning the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Some of the favorites for the prize can be seen in the playoff picture.

So what do the Heisman rankings look like after Week 11? Is Travis Hunter still the favorite? Did Miami’s loss hurt Cam Ward’s chances? Let’s take a look.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a big win against Penn State last week. This weekend they took on the Purdue Boilermakers, who only managed one win, and it went exactly as you expected. Ohio State earned a decisive 45-0 victory over Purdue.

Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith led all Buckeyes receivers on Saturday after recording six receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. This was Smith’s ninth touchdown of the season, which is now the single-season record for a freshman at Ohio State. The previous record was held by Cris Carter.

Bryson Daily was sidelined during Army’s game against Air Force last week. In that game, Army earned a 20-3 victory with substitute Dewayne Coleman getting the starting kick. This weekend, Daily returned and started against the North Texas Mean Green. To the surprise of no one, it was a great outing for the quarterback, running all over the Mean Green.

In the 14-3 win, Daily ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. Army improves to 9-0 this season and remains a contender for a place in the College Football Playoff as the winner of the Group of Five.

Last week, the Clemson Tigers were soundly defeated by the Louisville Cardinals. Quarterback Cade Klubnik didn’t help the team much as he had a poor performance in this game. After seemingly dashed, their College Football Playoff hopes came back to life in Week 11.

Clemson defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 24-14 to improve to 7-2 on the season and 6-1 in the ACC. Combine that with a loss to Miami, and Clemson’s playoff hopes are still alive. Klubnik was responsible for all three of Clemson’s touchdowns as he threw for 211 yards while completing 16 of 34 pass attempts.

Next up for Klubnik is a big game against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Jaxson Dart helped Ole Miss do something no team outside of Alabama has done since 2020 – beat Georgia. The Rebels were in a situation where they couldn’t afford to lose another game since they were 7-2 on the season. Another loss would effectively eliminate them from playoff contention.

Dart suffered an injury scare on the first drive when he hobbled off the field with an ankle injury. Although backup Austin Simmons led them on a touchdown drive, Dart returned to the game and helped Ole Miss to a surprising 28-10 win over Georgia.

Dart threw for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception while completing 13 of 22 pass attempts. Dart also ran for 50 yards on eight carries. Score 28 points against Georgia’s stout defense? That’s pretty good. The fact that Dart overcame an ankle injury to defeat one of the top two seeds? That was huge.

Jalen Milroe has had a worrisome pace since playing against Georgia earlier this season. He looked like a different quarterback in the losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee and the narrow win over South Carolina. Milroe had a respectable performance against Missouri last week. But his next real test would come in Week 11 against the LSU Tigers.

Well, the old Jalen Milroe showed up as he completely turned LSU’s defense on its head and led Alabama to a huge 42-13 win. Milroe didn’t do much in the passing game, throwing 12 completions for 108 yards on 18 attempts, but made up for it in the running game. Milroe ran for an incredible 185 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries. That’s right, almost 200 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

This is the Milroe Alabama has been missing – the quarterback who makes life difficult for opposing defenses with his ability to make deep passes and extend plays with his legs. With this win, Alabama’s playoff hopes are still alive.

And the Colorado Buffaloes already have a clear path to the College Football Playoff. When Shedeur Sanders returned from the bye week, his goal was not only to improve his NFL Draft stock, which is already sky-high, but also to make a case for winning the Heisman Trophy.

On Saturday, Colorado earned a convincing 41-27 victory over Texas Tech. Sanders had a big performance for the Buffaloes as he helped them overcome a 13-0 deficit and turn the game around. Sanders completed 30 of 43 throws for 291 yards and three touchdowns, while he had 16 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Another big game for Sanders. With the Big 12 field getting thinner, Colorado is positioned to compete in the conference championship game if they win.

Just last week, Cam Ward finished second in our Heisman power rankings. Ward played the role of superhero this season as he had to lead the Hurricanes to wins even though the defense couldn’t keep up. But for Ward, the magic came to an end for Miami.

Miami and Ward suffered their first loss of the season in a 28-23 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Don’t get us wrong, Ward did his best to get Miami back in the game, evidenced by scoring two touchdowns after trailing 21-10 in the second half. However, Ward panicked in the closing stages of the fourth quarter as he tried to avoid defensive pressure, securing the win for the Yellow Jackets.

Ward threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns while completing 25 of 39 pass attempts. With this loss, Ward slips slightly in our power rankings.

The Boise State Broncos have been a good football team this season and were rewarded with a spot in the first official college football playoff round. But one of the main reasons Boise State is getting so much attention is star running back Ashton Jeanty, who made plays earlier this season. There have been a few “normal” appearances from Jeanty, but he is a human highlight in the truest sense of the word.

On Saturday, Boise State earned a 28-21 victory over the Nevada Wolfpack, improving to 8-1 on the year and increasing its chances of retaining a playoff spot. Jeanty had some incredible numbers as he recorded 209 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 34 carries. That’s 6.4 yards per carry.

With this game in the books, Jeanty has now rushed for 1,734 yards and 23 touchdowns on 224 carries (7.7 yards per carry). Jeanty is unlikely to break Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing yards record with three games remaining in the regular season. What hurts Jeanty’s Heisman chances is the level of competition he faces in the Mountain West Conference. That doesn’t take away from what Jeanty accomplished this season, but he might not be able to win the Heisman.

The Oregon Ducks are at the top of the college football world. The Ducks are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the first round of the College Football Playoff. They are one of the most complete teams in the country and quarterback Dillon Gabriel has contributed to their success this season.

On Saturday, Oregon picked up its 10th win of the season with a 39-18 win over the Maryland Terrapins. In that game, Gabriel made history by breaking the all-time leader in total touchdowns, surpassing Case Keenum, who scored 178 touchdowns. Gabriel threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns while completing 23 of 34 throws and ran for 28 yards on four carries.

As we’ve seen in the past, being the quarterback of the top team in the country earns you an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony (see Stetson Bennett in 2022). But Gabriel is putting up great numbers this year and deserves to be a finalist for the award.

Travis Hunter remains the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this season after Week 11. We haven’t seen a player dominate in both attack and defense for quite some time. Hunter, coming off a bye week, showed exactly what he can do.

In Colorado’s 41-27 win over Texas Tech, Hunter helped extend its lead to 31-20 with a 24-yard touchdown reception. On offense, Hunter recorded nine receptions for 99 yards. Defensively, Hunter didn’t put up stats, and that’s not a bad thing.

Hunter is a top-notch wide receiver and defensive back, which is why he could very well be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Because he’s a difference maker on both sides of the line, he’s still the favorite to win the Heisman. With the Buffaloes competing for the Big 12 Championship, Hunter has a chance to further his case and take home college football’s most prestigious individual award.