Has Travis Hunter locked up the Heisman Trophy? Chances are Colorado star can rest on historic season

Colorado do-it-all star Travis Hunter left a strong impression on Heisman Trophy voters in Friday’s 52-0 win over Oklahoma State. Hunter was all over the field for the Buffaloes, finishing their regular season finale with three touchdowns through the air and an interception on defense.

This solidified a special season for Hunter, who is the heavy favorite to win the Heisman at -10,000, according to FanDuel. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Hunter’s strongest competition, is at +3000.

As a reminder, Hunter entered the year at +6500. It’s hard to deny that he had one of the most special seasons we’ve seen from an individual player in franchise history. this sport. Hunter set the tone early against Oklahoma State by picking off a pass to abruptly end the Cowboys’ first drive.

Colorado turned that into a quick touchdown a few plays later. Hunter extended Colorado’s lead to 21–0 later in the first quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run, delivered by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Hunter got his second touchdown of the day early in the third quarter. With that, he had 13 receiving scores this year, which set a new Colorado record for touchdown receptions in a single season.

Hunter saved the best for last. On his third touchdown reception of the afternoon, Hunter fought off heavy contact from an Oklahoma State defensive back and secured Sanders’ pass while falling into the end zone, demonstrating the skills spectacular performances with the ball that helped him become the most electric playmaker in the country.

Hunter’s final stat is impressive: 10 catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns on offense with one tackle, one interception and two assists on defense.

It was his seventh game this season with at least 100 yards through the air and his fifth with multiple receiving touchdowns. It was also his third career game with 10-plus receptions and an interception, and his third career game with a receiving touchdown and an interception – the most since 2000. All that this season.

Saturday’s performance means Hunter finishes the regular season with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver and four interceptions with 11 assists as a defensive back. Hunter is only the second player in FBS history, after Aqib Talib in 2007, with at least four receiving touchdowns and four interceptions in a single season. Even then, Talib only had 187 receiving yards and played it sparingly.

He is also the first FBS player since 1996 with more than three receiving touchdowns and more than one interception in a single game. This hasn’t been accomplished in the NFL since 1942.

Hunter plays both ways full time averaging over 100 snaps per game. Despite dealing with various injury issues and handling double the workload of an average college football player, Hunter still played in all 12 games this season.

Unless Colorado plays in the Big 12 championship game, Saturday marks Hunter’s final game before the Dec. 14 Heisman Trophy ceremony. Still, he did enough as a college football unicorn to bring home the hardware.

Hunter’s accomplishments don’t diminish what Jeanty has done for Boise State this season, and he absolutely deserves a spot as a Heisman finalist — at the very least. In Boise State’s Week 14 win over Oregon State, Jeanty totaled 226 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries.

That means he finished the year with at least 100 rushing yards in all 12 of Boise State’s games and at least 200 rushing yards in five games. He is the first FBS player with 200 rushing yards in five games since 2021.

His 2,288 rushing yards are the fifth most in FBS history and the most in a single regular season since Barry Sanders had a record 2,628 in 1988. That means Jeanty is just 341 meters from Sanders’ record with at least two games remaining (Mountain West championship game and playoffs).

Jeanty averages just over 190 yards per game. Jeanty’s 28 touchdowns also tie a Boise State single-season record. For comparison, former Alabama star Derrick Henry – the last running back to win the Heisman Trophy – had totaled 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground by the time the 2015 Heisman Trophy ceremony rolled around. is unrolled.

In most normal years, Jeanty would be the clear favorite for college football’s most coveted individual award. As it stands, he’s still one of the heavy favorites to win the Doak Walker Award — given annually to college football’s best running back — and most projections have him falling off the board as first first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.