Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images. Pictured: Bryce Young
As expected with the season still in its infant stages, the Heisman conversation is going to be quite fluid. In fact for the first couple of weeks of the season, the Heisman race is mostly just a guessing game based on preseason priors.
However, that has never stopped anyone who religiously watches college football from talking about the award and who is standing out early in the year.
With that said, it is time to unveil the post-Week 2 power rankings for the Heisman Trophy, which is full of longshots to keep an eye on.
| Player | Team | Odds (WynnBET) |
|---|---|---|
| Bryce Young | Alabama | +230 |
| Matt Corral | Ole Miss | +600 |
| Spencer Rattler | Oklahoma | +600 |
| Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | +2000 |
| DJ Uiagalelei | Clemson | +2500 |
| JT Daniels | Georgia | +3000 |
| Bijan Robinson | Texas | +4000 |
| CJ Stroud | Ohio State | +4000 |
| Dorian Thompson-Robinson | UCLA | +4000 |
| Emory Jones | Florida | +4000 |
| Brian Robinson Jr | Alabama | +5000 |
| Jayden Daniels | Arizona State | +5000 |
| Tank Bigsby | Auburn | +5000 |
| Cade McNamara | Michigan | +6000 |
| Bo Nix | Auburn | +8000 |
| D’Eriq King | Miami | +8000 |
| Isaiah Spiller | Texas A&M | +8000 |
| Jack Coan | Notre Dame | +8000 |
| John Metchie III | Alabama | +8000 |
| Sam Howell | North Carolina | +8000 |
| Sean Clifford | Penn State | +8000 |
1.
Alabama QB Bryce Young (+230)
For the second consecutive week, the Alabama gunslinger remains in the top spot for the power rankings.
Alabama cruised to an easy 46–14 victory over Mercer on Saturday, and while the numbers may not have jumped off the page for Young, he accomplished what needed to be done without any blemishes.
Young threw for only 227 yards on the afternoon, but he completed over 70% of his passes and found the end zone three times. On the season, Young has initiated the fight song seven times while not committing a single turnover in the Tide’s first two games of the season.
Point to Alabama’s playmakers all you want, but for now, Young is making the most of his opportunity. While he owns the shortest odds on the board, they’re only going to get cut even more if he keeps it up.
2.
Ole Miss QB Matt Corral (+600)
Consider me a big fan of Corral’s upside in Lane Kiffin’s offense this year at Ole Miss.
Corral debuted in the opening Heisman power ranking at No. 4 and moved up two spots this week after a blowout victory over powerhouse Austin Peay.
While the opponent is not exactly top-notch quality, Corral did exactly what you would expect from a Heisman contender and dominated from the get-go. With 281 yards through the air and five touchdown passes, Corral’s season numbers are pretty remarkable through two weeks.
The junior out of California even added 35 yards on the ground and has the Rebel offense averaging 46.5 points per game through the season’s first two weeks.
Ole Miss will be met with a bit of a test next week as Tulane heads to Oxford. If you remember correctly, Tulane had a chance late in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma to take the lead and also picked off Rattler twice.
It may be worth holding off on Corral until next week, as his odds could fall if the Green Wave put up a similar performance as to what they did against Rattler and the Sooners.
3.
SMU QB Tanner Mordecai
How about this one as a surprise?
Could Mordecai become the first SMU player to win the Heisman trophy since Doak Walker in 1948? Obviously, we are going to have to wait and see, but Mordecai is turning heads two weeks into the season.
Through two games, Mordecai leads the country with 11 passing touchdowns and has eclipsed 300 yards passing in each of his first two contests. Mordecai did stumble a bit against North Texas this week with two interceptions thrown to the Mean Green, but overall, it’s been a really strong showing from the Waco native.
Louisiana Tech is next on the schedule for Mordecai with TCU set to follow. Should SMU win both games, the conversation could start to get real interesting through a third of the season.
Mordecai isn’t on the board at WynnBET, but if he finds his way up there, he’ll be worth keeping an eye on.
4.
Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III
Down one spot from the Week 1 ranking, Walker’s numbers through the first two weeks of the season are still quite remarkable.
The talented running back is just a smidge under 10.0 yards per carry with 329 yards coming on 33 carries. He has found the end zone five times this season, and so far, he has the prettiest box score of any running back in the country for my money.
Walker III had a bit of a down week despite Sparty’s 42-14 blowout victory over Youngstown State. With just 57 yards on seven carries, the YPC numbers look good, but the overall production and volume simply won’t help his case moving forward.
The junior back has yet to become a weapon in the passing game, and with Miami on the schedule for this upcoming week, it will take a strong performance to remain in the rankings moving forward.
A running back hasn’t won the Heisman since Derrick Henry did so in 2015, so it makes sense that Walker isn’t listed. But if he puts up numbers like he did in Week 1, he’ll continue to move up.
5.
Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler (+600)
The preseason favorite for the coveted award was not named in my ranking following Week 1.
However, Rattler bounced back with a strong and expected performance against Western Carolina. The former five-star recruit completed 76.9% of his passes for 243 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Rattler’s numbers could have looked even better, as two of his passes were dropped in Oklahoma’s 76–0 win on Saturday.
On the season, Rattler now has 547 passing yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. I expect Rattler’s name to remain on the power ranking moving forward.
