Who Can Challenge Jeremiah Smith for the Heisman?

Let’s get the obvious part out of the way: Jeremiah Smith is the favorite to win the Heisman, and he deserves to be. Ohio State’s star receiver has spent the season reminding everyone why defenses devote so much attention to him. Usually, it hasn’t helped.

Darian Mensah is keeping Miami unbeaten, Trinidad Chambliss has Ole Miss in contention, and CJ Carr still has opportunities to regain ground. Meanwhile, Jesse Legree is a huge reason why Oregon State has shot up in odds to win the Pac-12, and the freshman has worked his way into a Heisman conversation that looked pretty crowded before anyone knew his name.

Here’s how four challengers got to this point, and what they still need to do to catch Smith, if that’s possible.

Darian Mensah: From Transfer Expectations to a Leading Challenger

Mensah arrived at Miami with plenty to live up to after throwing for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns at Duke last season. He wasn’t an unknown hoping to sneak into the conversation. The question was whether that production would carry over to a new offense with national championship expectations.

He answered quickly. A five-touchdown performance against Stanford helped push him to the top of the early Heisman betting market. Since then, he has kept Miami unbeaten rather than becoming another September favorite who disappears by Halloween.

The Hurricanes are 6-0, and Mensah has shown he can lead both comfortable wins and games that require a late answer. His first interception at Miami didn’t come until the Florida State game. That kind of ball security matters when your team expects to play into January.

The remaining opportunity is straightforward: keep Miami winning and deliver against Notre Dame on November 7. An unbeaten quarterback with strong numbers will give voters something to think about, even with Smith putting on a weekly show.

Trinidad Chambliss: Keeping Himself in the SEC Conversation

Chambliss entered the season as an established candidate rather than a surprise. After turning down being drafted to the NFL for one more college season, he was already among the prominent alternatives to the preseason favorites, and a strong opening performance kept him there.

Now, with Ole Miss at 5-1, he has a chance to turn a good campaign into a much bigger one. The Rebels have scored 52 against Vanderbilt and 31 against Missouri in consecutive wins, with Chambliss throwing three touchdown passes in each game. He added a rushing score against Missouri, too.

His ability to contribute on the ground gives him another way to influence games when the passing offense isn’t sharp. But he also benefits from a productive running game, so the case can’t simply be that Ole Miss wins and he happens to play quarterback.

A trip to Texas offers an immediate opportunity. Chambliss needs the kind of performance people remember when filling out a ballot, preferably with the Rebels still fighting for something meaningful in November.

CJ Carr: The Preseason Favorite Who Needs Another Push

Carr started much closer to the front than most of this group. He was a preseason Heisman favorite, carrying the expectations that come with playing quarterback at Notre Dame. There wasn’t going to be much of a grace period.

He remains a contender, but the loss at BYU hurt. Carr completed 27 of 49 passes for 261 yards without a touchdown. It wasn’t a turnover-filled disaster, but it wasn’t the performance a leading candidate wants in a high-profile road game either.

His biggest advantage is that the schedule still gives him a way back. Miami’s visit on November 7 could put Carr and Mensah on the same field with major playoff implications attached.

Winning that matchup wouldn’t hand Carr the trophy. It would, however, make it much harder to leave him out of the discussion. His preseason reputation got him attention; the finish has to justify it.

Jesse Legree: From Freshman Afterthought to National Problem

Legree has taken the least predictable route. He entered the year as a freshman at a program coming off a 2-10 season. Now he has 1,040 receiving yards, 14 touchdown catches, and seven consecutive 100-yard games. Oregon State hasn’t found an opponent capable of keeping him quiet yet, including worthy opponents in Texas Tech and Houston.

The Beavers have won five straight after an 0-2 start, and the connection between Braden Atkinson and Legree has changed what this offense can threaten every Saturday.

The consistency is what makes his case interesting. This isn’t one enormous game propping up his totals. He has passed 100 yards every time he has taken the field, and he’s already two touchdown catches away from matching Brandin Cooks’ school single-season record. Pretty decent start to college.

The obstacle is visibility and competition. Smith gets bigger stages, and Legree needs Oregon State to remain relevant beyond an entertaining turnaround story. Keep producing through a conference title run, though, and dismissing him becomes much harder.

By Jake Koehler
Jake is a sports betting writer at SportsbooksOnline.com, covering the latest sportsbooks, odds news, promos, and betting features across the NFL and beyond. He regularly writes guest articles for Walterfootball, covering everything from predictions to sports betting insights.