After 11 weeks of college football, the Heisman picture has drifted back to where it started for the most part: Jeremiah Smith is again the betting favorite at +200.
The Ohio State wide receiver sits just ahead of Darian Mensah at +270 and CJ Carr at +290, a notable change from the immediate aftermath of Miami’s loss to Notre Dame. At that point, Carr had shot to the top of the board at +190, with Mensah and Smith both sitting at +320. Since then, Smith has moved back into the lead, which has been the familiar spot for him across much of the season.
Carr’s case, though, still looks more solid than spectacular. He turned in a strong performance against Miami with 319 yards and three touchdowns, but that yardage total was his season high by a wide margin and only the third time he has topped 250 yards this year.
Mensah, by contrast, has already posted four games with more than 325 passing yards and has gone under 250 only twice. In the Heisman race, production like that carries real weight.
Smith’s return to the top makes sense when you look at what he’s done while Ohio State has struggled around him. The Buckeyes’ issues haven’t been on him.
In the two games since Julian Sayin’s injury, Smith has piled up 17 catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns. The production has stayed right where it needs to be.
Malachi Toney’s situation is different, but his name still belongs in the conversation. He is off the board because of injury and will miss his second game this week, with the hope that he can return for the ACC Championship Game at the earliest. That absence has understandably taken him out of the betting mix.
Even so, Toney’s body of work still looks good enough to send him to New York as a finalist. Over his previous five games, he put together 45 catches for 581 yards and eight touchdowns. That kind of stretch is the sort of run that can define a Heisman campaign, and for a lot of wide receivers, it would qualify as a full season.
No one can say what Toney would have done against Notre Dame or in the final three games of the year. But based on the eight games he has played, the case is there. He did enough to deserve finalist consideration, and the people around Miami who built his Heisman push should keep making that argument.
In Other News...
Miami Defense Suddenly Has A New Secondary Concern Before Duke
Miamis defense may have to make a late adjustment in the secondary this week, with safety Zechariah Poyser listed as questionable for the home game against Duke after picking up an upper-body injury last week. Head coach Mario Cristobal said Poyser is doing well, but the Hurricanes still have to treat his availability as uncertain as they get closer to kickoff.
If Poyser cant go, Miami does have backup options lined up to handle the safety spot, which at least gives the staff some flexibility. Still, any uncertainty in the back end is worth watching closely against a Duke offense that will test communication and depth, making Poysers status one of the more important items on the pregame checklist. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Gets An Early Test Of How Real This Start Is
No. 17 Miami gets a chance to keep building early momentum Friday when North Alabama comes to town for a 5 p.m. ET matchup at home. Both teams enter at 2-1, which gives this one a little more substance than the usual November tune-up, especially for a Hurricanes group coming off a win over North Florida and looking to show its start is more than just a fast opening stretch.
North Alabama arrives after a loss to Oklahoma, so the Lions will have their own motivation to steady things against a ranked opponent on the road. The game will air on ACC Network with Mike Corey and Tom Crean on the call, giving Miami another early-season stage to answer the first real question of the year: how much of this start can hold up once the schedule starts to ask more of it? [Read more 🡒]
Jai Lucas Is Still Pushing Miami To Fix Two Things Fast
Miamis 89-51 win over North Florida gave Jai Lucas plenty to like, especially the way his team controlled the glass and dictated the game inside. The Hurricanes were able to lean on their rebounding and paint presence to separate early, but Lucas still came away focused on two areas he wants cleaned up quickly: a tighter rotation and better spacing.
Lewis, the sophomore Lucas has leaned on as a floor general, was part of that conversation even with only two points in the box score. Miami now turns to North Alabama for the first meeting between the programs, and the next step for the Hurricanes will be showing that the same physical edge can come with a sharper, more connected offense. [Read more 🡒]