Week 7 shook up the Heisman picture in a hurry, and the biggest reason is Julian Sayin’s injury. The Ohio State quarterback is expected to miss a while, possibly the rest of the season, which leaves the Buckeyes with Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair and changes the shape of the race around Jeremiah Smith.
Smith is still out front, but the gap has tightened. FanDuel’s odds have gotten much closer, with Darian Mensah and Trinidad Chambliss moving up behind him and Malachi Toney forcing his way back into the conversation after a huge day against FSU.
Sayin’s absence matters because he had at least been able to run Ohio State’s offense the way it needed to be run. That meant getting Smith the ball and keeping enough other pieces involved so Smith wasn’t always running into constant triple teams.
Whether Fahey and St. Clair can keep that balance is now one of the key questions in the race.
The latest odds reflect the chaos. Mensah moved all the way to +340 after opening last week at +1000, while Chambliss jumped from +1300 to +600. Toney made an even bigger leap, going from +6500 to +1600 after his performance against FSU.
That rise is why Toney feels more dangerous than the number suggests. He’s not just part of Miami’s offense; he’s driving it.
Mensah has been good, but he also had some rough stretches against FSU, and the gap between the two should not be as wide as the odds say. If anything, Toney should be ahead of him.
There’s also another name crashing into the mix: Jesse Legree. The true freshman leads the country in receiving, nearly 60 yards ahead of Smith, and he’s averaging 22.6 yards per catch with 14 touchdowns. Those numbers are loud enough to demand attention, and they’re already creating buzz around a possible transfer portal battle for his future.
Chad Johnson has already offered Legree $2 million to stay at Oregon State, where Johnson played under former Hurricanes coach Dennis Erickson. Even with that kind of offer, it feels like it could take more than $2 million to keep Legree in Corvallis, Oregon. At this point, an invitation to New York can’t be ruled out.
BYU’s Bear Bachmeier is the other fresh name on the list after leading the Cougars to a landmark win over Notre Dame last week. He’s only a true sophomore, but the hype around him is only going to grow, especially with comparisons to Josh Allen already circulating. It would not be surprising to see him enter the 2027 season as the Heisman favorite.
CJ Carr, meanwhile, remains a tougher sell. He’s a solid game manager for a very good, playoff-caliber team, but that’s where the case ends. He doesn’t look like a Heisman candidate, and he doesn’t look like someone worthy of a trip to New York.
Right now, the group most likely to get there is Smith, Toney, Chambliss and Mensah. Legree has the kind of production that could knock one of the quarterbacks out, though, and this race is suddenly a lot less settled than it was a week ago.
In Other News...
Miami Gets A New Injury Concern Before A Tough Pitt Test
Freshman wide receiver Milan Parris has popped up on Miamis injury report for the first time this season, adding another item for Mario Cristobal to monitor as the Hurricanes get ready for a difficult trip to Pitt. Miami has already been managing injury questions on the back end, and Cristobal recently indicated that star corners OJ Frederique and JaBoree Antoine are still expected back later in the season, a reminder that the roster is not yet at full strength.
The timing matters because Pitt brings its own health issues into the matchup, including several players sidelined and quarterback Mason Heintschel among them. Even with that in mind, Miami will still need to sort out its depth at receiver and keep an eye on how the injury list evolves through the week, especially with a conference test looming that could ask more of the Hurricanes than theyd prefer right now. [Read more 🡒]
Belichick's North Carolina Suddenly Has A Massive Chance Against No. 1 Miami
Miamis unbeaten start has put it in the familiar spot every contender wants and every opponent wants a shot at. The Hurricanes are 6-0 after a double-overtime win over Florida State, and they have Pitt coming up next before the calendar flips to Oct. 31, when they meet a North Carolina team that has quietly positioned itself as one of the more interesting challenges left on the schedule.
Bill Belichicks Tar Heels are 5-1 and have historically played Miami well, which gives the matchup a little extra edge beyond the rankings. For the Hurricanes, it is another chance to protect the No. 1 spot and keep momentum rolling, but it also arrives against a program that has already shown it can make this series uncomfortable for Miami. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Won Another Recruiting Battle That Should Excite Cristobal Fans
Miami kept its recruiting momentum rolling with another significant addition, landing four-star linebacker Alston Whiteside after he flipped his commitment from Texas A&M. The Burleson, Texas, prospect had been tied to the Aggies, but Miamis staff stayed after him and eventually won him over with the kind of pitch the Hurricanes have been building around under Mario Cristobal: relationships, culture and a clear path for development.
Whiteside arrives as a notable pickup in the 2027 class, where he is ranked as the No. 27 linebacker and becomes the 20th commitment overall. For Miami, the move is another sign that its recruiting effort is resonating far beyond South Florida, with the Hurricanes continuing to stack talent at a pace that keeps the class among the nations most watched. [Read more 🡒]