Jeremiah Smith didn’t just move into the Heisman conversation this week - he took over the top line of it.
The Ohio State wide receiver is now the odds-on favorite at -220 heading into Week 7 after another explosive outing, while Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell tumbled all the way to fifth following his first loss as a starter against Georgia. Smith is the only player on the board shorter than +1000, and the gap between him and everyone else is wide.
Smith’s rise came after two first-half touchdowns against Maryland, moving him from +115 last week to -220. That line gives him an implied probability of about 69%. Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr and Miami quarterback Darian Mensah are tied for second at +1000, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss sits fourth at +1500, and Russell is next at +1600.
Smith wasted no time making his case against Maryland. He scored on his first two touches, first breaking a tackle on a short catch and turning it into a 33-yard touchdown, then adding a 40-yarder after the Terrapins had trimmed the lead to 14-10.
His four receptions were a season low, but the second touchdown was his 11th in three weeks. He also delivered a one-handed catch that helped set up Julian Sayin’s touchdown pass to Mason Williams with 24 seconds left in the first half.
The numbers are piling up fast for the Opa-locka, Florida, native. Smith has 48 catches for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, and his 38 career receiving touchdowns leave him one behind the Big Ten record. Before kickoff, Nick Saban called him “the best player in the country” on College GameDay, and LeBron James said during the game that Smith should win the Heisman.
Ohio State is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play, though Ryan Day wasn’t exactly celebrating the sloppiness. The Buckeyes committed two turnovers and eight penalties, and Day made his feelings clear: “Eight penalties, that’s not the sign of a good team,” Day said.
Ohio State goes to Indiana next - the same Indiana team that beat the Buckeyes 13-10 in last year’s Big Ten title game - before road trips to USC on Oct. 31 and a home game against Oregon on Nov. 7.
Carr’s stock slid even in a blowout.
Notre Dame crushed Stanford by 51 points, yet Carr drifted from +800 to +1000 because the Fighting Irish barely needed him. He attempted just 20 passes as Notre Dame ran for more than 300 yards, and Jonaz Walton stole plenty of the spotlight by setting a program record for a true freshman with 181 rushing yards on 13 carries, including a 97-yard touchdown.
Carr still got his work done efficiently, throwing three touchdowns: a 3-yard slant to Jaden Greathouse, a 70-yard catch-and-run by Aneyas Williams, and a 30-yard strike to Elijah Burress for the first touchdown catch of Burress’s career. Notre Dame was ahead 37-0 at halftime.
“We know he’s gifted,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said of Walton.
The 6-0 Irish have won 16 straight, and now they head to unbeaten BYU for Notre Dame’s first game in Provo since a 20-17 loss in 2004. It also gives the Saline, Michigan, product his biggest stage yet in what should be his toughest test of the season. Provo will host College GameDay this week, the show’s first trip there in 17 years.
Mensah’s numbers are still loud, even if his odds dipped.
The Miami quarterback moved from +460 to +1000 without even playing in Week 6, as the Hurricanes used their bye to deal with injuries in the secondary and on the offensive line. Through five games, the Duke transfer has completed 112 of 133 passes, good for 84.2%, with 1,438 yards, 15 touchdowns and no interceptions. The FBS single-season completion percentage record is 77.4%, set by Alabama’s Mac Jones in 2020 and matched by Oregon’s Bo Nix in 2023.
“I’m really just trying to go 1-0 every week. It’s cool to be 90%, but nobody gives you a trophy for being 90%,” Mensah said.
His coach liked what he saw after Miami’s win over Clemson. “He was upset with himself, and I think that’s a great sign of a quarterback that’s a real competitor,” Mario Cristobal said.
Miami is 5-0 and 3-0 in ACC play, and the next stretch is loaded: Florida State, then Pitt at home on Oct. 24, then Notre Dame on Nov. 7.
Chambliss, meanwhile, kept Ole Miss moving back in the right direction.
After the Rebels’ loss at Florida, Chambliss improved slightly from +1600 to +1500. He scored the go-ahead touchdown himself on a 10-yard run and threw touchdown passes of 2 yards to Jamarious Brown, 39 yards to Deuce Alexander and 4 yards to Michael Smith in Ole Miss’ bounce-back win over Vanderbilt.
The Rebels put 42 points on the board in the first half, their most in a half of an SEC game in the last 30 seasons, and snapped Vanderbilt’s 10-game home winning streak. Kewan Lacy also returned from a left shoulder injury and ran seven times for 39 yards.
“I feel like this team has a lot more potential and a lot more that they could do in a whole game,” Chambliss said. “We could probably play a better complete game, honestly, and it’s still early in the season.”
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding praised the response. “I just loved how the kids responded,” Golding said. “They bought in.”
The Rebels are 4-1 and 2-1 in SEC play. Missouri and former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons come to Oxford next, and Ole Miss goes to Texas on Oct. 24.
Russell’s slide was the sharpest of the week.
Alabama’s quarterback dropped from +750 to +1600 after Georgia handed the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton climbed from +2900 to +1750 after going 18-of-22 for 249 yards and accounting for both Bulldogs touchdowns.
Russell lost a fumble on a strip-sack on Alabama’s opening drive and was taken down four times. He did respond with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Pritchett, then led a 12-play, 80-yard march that ended with EJ Crowell’s touchdown run as time expired in the first half, giving Alabama a 14-10 lead.
After halftime, the Crimson Tide managed only one field goal. With 3:28 left, Russell fired deep for Rico Scott, but the pass fell incomplete with no flag on Georgia safety KJ Bolden. Bolden then helped bring him down on the next play, knocking Alabama out of field-goal range.
“I got to execute at a higher level,” Russell said. “I did not play my best game tonight.
Countless throws that I missed. I just got to be better.”
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer still liked parts of what he saw. “Think he continues to make pretty dang good decisions,” DeBoer said.
Alabama is 5-1 and 3-1 in SEC play after Georgia’s first regular-season win over the Crimson Tide since 2007. Kirby Smart entered 2-7 against Alabama, a record Paul Finebaum cited when he picked the Crimson Tide this week.
Beyond the top five, the board includes Georgia’s Gunner Stockton at No. 6 at +1750, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin at No. 7 at +3400, Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor and Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker tied at No. 8 at +4000, and Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover at No. 9 at +4500.
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