Arch Manning’s comeback win over Ohio State gave Texas a No. 1 ranking and gave his Heisman case a much-needed spotlight. But after two weeks, the race still runs through Miami quarterback Darian Mensah.
Mensah remains the favorite at +550 on both FanDuel and DraftKings, and his stock actually moved up after Miami rolled past Florida A&M 77-7 on Thursday. The junior was nearly perfect in that game, going 14-for-15 for 252 yards and three touchdowns. The opponent wasn’t much of a test, but the odds movement made the point anyway: even against an FCS team, Mensah tightened his grip on the top spot.
Manning is in the mix, just not at the front. He sits at +850 on FanDuel and +1000 on DraftKings, and he’s not even the highest-rated player from that Texas-Ohio State matchup. That distinction belongs to Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith, who is right behind Mensah at +700 on both books.
Manning’s performance against Ohio State was enough to fuel the conversation, not enough to settle it. He finished 23-for-37 for 195 yards with one touchdown and a comically unlucky interception. Texas got the win, and Manning got his defining moment, but the numbers left some room for skepticism about what comes next.
Smith, for his part, did his job in defeat. He caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, once again showing why he’s viewed as the best receiver in the country.
The obstacle is the one that has always been there: the Heisman usually belongs to quarterbacks. Twenty-one of the last 26 winners have played the position, and that makes Smith’s path steep.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin also took a hit in the odds after a rough outing. He’s now seventh on both FanDuel (+1400) and DraftKings (+1500) after going 17-for-32 for 278 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
A few names are sitting above him now, including Notre Dame’s CJ Carr (+1000 on FanDuel, +1050 on DraftKings), Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney (+1200 FanDuel, +1300 DraftKings) and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (+1200 FanDuel, +1300 DraftKings).
Two quarterbacks who entered Week 2 with real Heisman buzz saw their chances stretch out sharply: Oregon’s Dante Moore and Oklahoma’s John Mateer. Moore opened the season third in the odds, but Oregon’s loss at Oklahoma State pushed him all the way to +4000 on FanDuel and +6000 on DraftKings. Mateer’s number is even longer after Oklahoma managed only 10 points at Michigan.
Then there’s Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor, who is suddenly climbing into the conversation. The sophomore posted 313 total yards, including 227 passing and 86 rushing, with three touchdowns in a 38-13 win at Minnesota.
Mississippi State has already scored 100 points, and Taylor is moving up not just the Heisman board but the 2028 NFL Draft board too. He’s now +2200 on FanDuel and +2500 on DraftKings, which puts him inside the top 10.
This week’s biggest Heisman stage belongs to LSU at Ole Miss. Chambliss is sixth in the odds, while LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt is farther down the list, but both have a chance to make a statement in a game that will draw extra attention with Lane Kiffin returning to Ole Miss.
In Other News...
Georgia Is Suddenly Part Of A Crowded SEC Quarterback Race
CBS Sports latest weekly quarterback power ranking underscored just how much SEC traffic there is at the top of the position right now, with five league passers landing in the top 10. Trinidad Chambliss checked in at No. 2 overall and first among SEC quarterbacks, while Arch Manning followed at No. 3, a reminder that the conferences best teams are getting production from more than one established name.
The rest of the list only deepened the league-wide logjam, with Gunner Stockton, Kamario Taylor and Austin Simmons also earning top-10 spots. For Mississippi State, Simmons place in that group is the part worth watching, because it keeps the Bulldogs quarterback situation tied to a broader SEC conversation that seems to get more crowded every week. [Read more 🡒]
Kamario Taylor Has Mississippi State Fans Dreaming About The SEC Opener
Mississippi State gets its SEC season started in Week 3 against South Carolina, and the early buzz around that matchup has a lot to do with Kamario Taylor. Through the first two games, the Bulldogs quarterback has looked poised and efficient, completing 67.9% of his passes for 581 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception while also adding a rushing score, the kind of production that can change how a September game feels before it even kicks off.
For a team trying to make noise in conference play, that kind of start gives fans a real reason to believe an upset is in play. The Bulldogs have been solid on both sides of the ball so far, and if Taylor keeps playing at this level, Mississippi State can head into its SEC opener feeling a lot less like an underdog and a lot more like a team ready to challenge the Gamecocks right away. [Read more 🡒]