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Heisman Watch, Week 4: Miami’s maestro has a healthy lead

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

Heisman voters, take note. Miami quarterback Cam Ward has been the best player in the country through the first four weeks of the college football season. And it’s not particularly close.

Ward has the Hurricanes off to a 4-0 start and sitting comfortably inside the AP Top 10. He just led a comprehensive dismantling of South Florida’s defense on the road in a 50-15 win.

Ward is second nationally in total passing through the first 4 weeks of the season. He ranks fourth in yards per pass attempt, 11th in completion percentage, fifth in passer rating, and leads everyone with 14 passing touchdowns. His total QBR of 94.4 ranks second. His 39.1 EPA ranks first. No quarterback has more 10-yard completions. No quarterback has more 20-yard completions.

Ward has produced more touchdowns through his first 4 games than Texas A&M’s entire offense has.

Sure, he hasn’t played a defense like Notre Dame, but Ward also has yet to see a defense he felt deserved to share the same field. He told South Florida where a play was going before the ball was snapped and then Miami scored on that play.

While whipping the Bulls, he taunted them.

Repeatedly.

Ward has taken his backyard shenanigans to another level with Miami. He’s just playing pitch-and-catch, confident his collection of playmakers can beat the dudes on the other side. And he’s athletic enough to know he can escape just about any situation, which leads to moments like this…

This man had a play on third-and-15 in the second quarter that broke brains and it didn’t even count.

Maybe the Miami quarterback is just on a heater to open the season. Maybe this will die down when conference play arrives. But Miami doesn’t face Clemson in the regular season. Florida State looks like it might get dog-walked by this Miami team. A road game at Louisville or another all-time Mario Cristobal blunder seems to be all that could stand between Miami and a spot in the ACC title game. Ward can ball. If he keeps doing it, Miami is going to be a painfully tough out.

When you’ve got a quarterback making throws like this…

… anything is possible.

We saw a guy with similar arm talent take his team to the National Championship game and finish as a Heisman finalist last season. We’ve got a lot of season left to play, but if the Heisman Trophy could be won in Week 4, it would be going to Ward.

And that’s what we’re here for. Below is the updated Heisman Trophy race entering Week 5. (You can find last week’s picture here.)

Editor’s note: This week marks the first time subjective rankings take over. Before, the “rank” represented the order of average odds to win the award. Going forward, the rank you see will reflect how a vote for the Heisman would look at that exact moment in time. 

1. Cam Ward, Miami QB

Week 4 results: 50-15 win at South Florida

Week 4 stats: 24-for-34, 404 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 43 rushing yards

Season stats: 72.4% completion, 1,439 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 89 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown

One big number: nation-leading 28 completions of 20-plus yards

Current odds: +350 (via FanDuel)

Up next: vs. Virginia Tech

Fourteen of Ward’s 24 completions were of the explosive variety in the win over South Florida. That performance came on the heels of 13 explosive pass plays in 19 completions against Ball State, 9 in 20 completions against Florida A&M, and 11 in 26 completions against Florida. With Ward throwing the ball, Miami is operating with a 38.2% explosive pass play rate through the first 4 weeks. Let’s just take a moment to let that sink in. Sure, it’s entirely unsustainable, but it serves as the perfect illustration of just how effective Ward has been in this system. Miami has gotten exactly what it hoped for.

2. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss QB

Week 4 results: 52-13 win over Georgia Southern

Week 4 stats: 22-for-31, 382 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 36 rushing yards

Season stats: 79.8% completion, 1,554 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 90 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns

One big number: nation-leading 93.7 passer grade, per PFF

Current odds: +500 (via FanDuel)

Up next: vs. Kentucky

Dart leads the nation in passing yardage thus far, but he’s also No. 1 in yards per pass attempt (13.1). Only Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, who has played 3 games to Dart’s 4, has a better completion percentage and only 3 guys have more touchdown passes.

3. Travis Hunter, Colorado WR/DB

Week 4 results: 38-31 (OT) win over Baylor

Week 4 stats: 7 receptions, 130 receiving yards, 3 tackles

Season stats: 37 receptions, 472 receiving yards, 5 receiving touchdowns, 14 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 pass breakups, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble

One big number: on the field for 524 of 568 total snaps in 4 games (92.3%)

Current odds: +1700 (via FanDuel)

Up next: at Central Florida

Talk about an Iron Man. The conversation around Hunter has been dominated by what he should or should not do in the NFL, but that distracts from what he is doing right now at the college level. He has been on the field for 92% of his team’s snaps through 4 games. He leads his team in receiving and leads the Big 12 in receiving touchdowns. And he’s the third-highest-graded cover corner in the Big 12, per PFF. Hunter has been targeted 14 times on defense and has yet to give up a touchdown or anything longer than 19 yards.

4. Jalen Milroe, Alabama QB

Week 4 results: BYE

Week 4 stats: N/A

Season stats:67.3% completion, 590 passing yards, 8 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 156 rushing yards, 6 rushing touchdowns

One big number: 5 scrambles in 3 games

Current odds: +750 (via FanDuel)

Up next: vs. No. 2 Georgia

Milroe will get an early shot at a “Heisman Moment” in Week 5 when the Crimson Tide host Georgia. Because of how infrequently these teams meet in the regular season, this will be a massive game. If Milroe balls out and Alabama wins, this Heisman conversation will have its first inflection point of the season.

5. Quinn Ewers, Texas QB

Week 4 results: 51-3 win over UL Monroe

Week 4 stats: DNP

Season stats: 73.4% completion, 691 passing yards, 8 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 1 rushing yard, 0 rushing touchdowns

One big number: on the field for 48.2% of team’s offensive snaps in 4 games (144/299)

Current odds: +1400 (via FanDuel)

Up next: vs. Mississippi State

Ewers has authored the best win of the season so far, going into Ann Arbor and blasting Michigan. But he also missed his team’s last game and has a history of missing time because of injuries. If Ewers misses a couple more games, there will be a major hole in his argument for the Heisman.

6. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee QB

Week 4 results: 25-15 win at No. 15 Oklahoma

Week 4 stats: 13-for-21, 194 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 0 interceptions, 15 rushing yards

Season stats: 69.3% completion, 892 passing yards, 7 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 117 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown

One big number: 53rd among qualified FBS passers in EPA

Current odds: +1000 (via FanDuel)

Up next: BYE

Tennessee might be the hottest team in the country after bulldozing its first 3 opponents and then downing Oklahoma in Norman on ABC Saturday night. It has been a total team effort, and even though Iamaleava has been superb in key moments, he’s not exactly putting up huge numbers. That’ll be something to watch going forward. If Iamaleava is the best player on the best team (which might be a thing), but his numbers pale in comparison to a guy like Ward, which way do voters lean?

7. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon QB

Week 4 results: BYE

Week 4 stats: N/A

Season stats: 84.0% completion, 914 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 2 rushing touchdowns

One big number: nation-leading 89.2% adjusted completion rate, per PFF

Current odds: +1200 (via FanDuel)

Up next: at UCLA

Gabriel was the favorite in the preseason, but he has been completely drowned out over the first few weeks of the regular season. He’ll still have plenty of opportunities to make statements, but he’s on the periphery of this discussion right now.

8. Carson Beck, Georgia QB

Week 4 results: BYE

Week 4 stats: N/A

Season stats: 68.3% completion, 680 passing yards, 7 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 55 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns

One big number: not top-10 in any QB-specific statistic

Current odds: +1500 (via FanDuel)

Up next: at No. 4 Alabama

If you look at per-play quarterback stats, Beck pops up in the 20s, 30s, or worse. He’s 28th in completion percentage. He’s 46th in yards per pass attempt. He only has 7 touchdown passes in 3 games — 5 of which came against an FCS opponent. At this point, Beck’s Heisman candidacy rests entirely on the claim that he’s the leader of one of the best teams and a future NFL guy. But, like Gabriel, he’ll have several moments to capture the nation’s attention. Starting in Week 5.

9. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State RB

Week 4 results: 56-14 win over Portland State

Week 4 stats: 11 carries, 127 rushing yards, 0 touchdowns

Season stats: 56 carries, 586 rushing yards, 10.5 yards per attempt, 9 rushing touchdowns, 5 receptions, 12 receiving yards

One big number: 3 rushing attempts of at least 70 yards in 3 games

Current odds: +3300 (via FanDuel)

Up next: vs. Washington State

Jeanty had a 77-yard run and a 75-yard run in Boise State’s opener against Georgia Southern. He then had a 70-yard touchdown run against Oregon in Week 2. Those 3 runs have produced more yards on the ground than UCLA’s entire offense has in 3 games. There were only 4 teams all last season that had at least 3 runs that gained 70 yards. There were only 5 teams that hit that number in all of 2022. Jeanty is the best running back in the country, and No. 25 Boise State looks like it might have a straight shot to the College Football Playoff.

10. Cade Klubnik, Clemson QB

Week 4 results: 59-35 win over NC State

Week 4 stats: 16-for-24, 209 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 70 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown

Season stats: 73.4% completion, 729 passing yards, 8 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 58 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns

One big number: 11 total touchdowns, 0 turnovers in last 2 games

Current odds: +2200 (via FanDuel)

Up next: vs. Stanford

It was fair to wonder whether Clemson’s 66-20 win over App State in Week 2 was real or not. The Tigers looked so bad the week prior against Georgia, we had 2 extreme showings and then Clemson went into a bye week. On the other side of that bye, Clemson did nearly the same thing to NC State that it did to App State. The Tigers were up 28-0 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 55-yard touchdown run and a 31-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to ignite the home crowd. The big plays are back. And if they’re here to stay, Klubnik is going to be in this conversation.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.

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