The Week 5 Heisman board got a real jolt on Saturday, and the biggest move belonged to a wide receiver.
Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith is no longer just part of the conversation. He’s the name sitting at the top of it.
After the latest round of games, the AP No. 5 Buckeyes star became the program’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
He’s also piling up numbers at a pace that has him well ahead of the last wide receiver to win the Heisman, DeVonta Smith.
Through five games, Jeremiah Smith has 823 receiving yards. DeVonta Smith had 556 at the same point before finishing his 2020 run with 955 yards and 13 touchdowns over his next six games on the way to the award.
Jeremiah Smith’s start has been even more eye-catching because of where he’s doing the damage. He’s produced his best work against power conference opponents, including back-to-back 200-yard games to open Big Ten play and a 164-yard outing at AP No.
1 Texas.
With more than half a season still to go, the Heisman race may already be tilting his way. If he keeps this up, the voters might not have much suspense left.
The quarterback group behind him is still loaded, starting with Miami’s Darian Mensah. The junior has been the best transfer-portal addition of the offseason and has kept Miami from slipping after last year’s national runner-up finish.
He has thrown for 1,438 yards, averaged 10.8 yards per attempt and tossed 15 touchdowns. His 84.2 percent completion rate through five games is the highest by a quarterback with at least 125 pass attempts since at least 1995, according to Stathead.
That kind of efficiency usually gets Heisman attention, and the historical company backs it up. Of the four previous qualifying players to complete at least 80 percent of their passes through five games, three - Robert Griffin III, Bo Nix and Julian Sayin - earned Heisman invitations, with Griffin winning it in 2011.
Alabama’s Keelon Russell is building momentum too, and he’s about to get the kind of stage that can reshape the race. The Crimson Tide quarterback heads into a Week 6 matchup with No.
2 Georgia after settling in as a passer over his last three games. Since Sept.
19, Russell has gone 60-of-79 for 970 yards and 13 total touchdowns, including 10 passing scores and three more on the ground. He has also added 107 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss remains in the mix as well, even after a setback for the Rebels. A Week 4 loss at Florida hurt his candidacy, and Florida’s own resume took another hit when the Gators, ranked No. 8 at the time, fell 45-17 at No.
25 Missouri on Saturday. Still, Chambliss did his part in that Florida game, completing 73.5 percent of his passes and throwing for 298 yards.
One team loss like that shouldn’t knock him off the invite list with the second half of the regular season approaching.
And then there’s the dark horse: Indiana running back Turbo Richard.
Indiana has opened the year against a soft schedule, with its first five opponents combining for a .435 winning percentage, or 10-13. That changes quickly now.
The Hoosiers head to undefeated Nebraska in Week 6, and the next six opponents on the schedule - which also include Ohio State and No. 18 USC - closed Week 5 with a combined 24-7 record.
That stretch gives Indiana’s stars a real chance to force their way into the Heisman discussion, and Richard just put himself on the map in a big way. The Boston College transfer shredded Rutgers in Saturday’s 47-15 win, carrying 13 times for 204 yards and a touchdown. Through five games, he has 587 rushing yards on 63 carries, a 9.3-yard average, and five touchdowns.
The comparison that jumps out is Derrick Henry. The last Heisman-winning running back had 570 rushing yards through five games in 2015, then sealed the award by taking over Alabama’s biggest games late. Richard may be on a similar path.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Delivered The Kind Of Road Win Fans Needed
Ohio State went into Kinnick Stadium and delivered the sort of response win its fans had been waiting for, beating Iowa 31-14 and handing the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season. The Buckeyes controlled the game on both sides of the ball, piling up 484 total yards while keeping Iowa to 238 and a paltry 39 rushing yards, which made this feel less like a tense road test and more like a statement about the gap between the two teams.
Jeremiah Smith was at the center of it, turning the trip into one of those performances that travels well beyond the box score. He finished with 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, giving Ohio State a dynamic edge whenever it needed one and helping offset a couple of turnovers forced by the defense. For a team that needed a clean, convincing road result, this was exactly the kind of night it was looking for. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Just Put Ohio State Fans On Notice Again
Jeremiah Smith kept the Buckeyes moving in Iowa City, turning a road test against the Hawkeyes into another showcase for Ohio States passing game. The freshman wideout tied the Ohio State touchdown record while finishing with 11 catches for 206 yards and two scores, a performance that helped push the Buckeyes to a 4-1 start and add another layer to what has already become a must-watch season in Columbus.
Smiths latest breakout only raises the stakes for what comes next, because Ohio State now heads back home to face Maryland with its young star drawing even more attention. For a team that has spent the early part of the season trying to establish its identity, his ability to create production anywhere on the field has become one of the biggest reasons the Buckeyes keep looking like a contender. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Earned The Big Ten Spot Fans Wanted Most
Week 5 brought a clearer picture of the Big Ten race, and Ohio State came out of it looking like the conference team fans expected to see at the top. The Buckeyes handled Iowa in a game that carried more weight than a typical early-season road test, adding a quality win to a rsum that is starting to separate from the pack as the league standings and the national picture begin to take shape.
The rankings around them still have plenty of movement left, with Indiana continuing to push forward, Oregon and UCLA drawing attention for different reasons, and Michigan still trying to sort out its own path. But Ohio States recent momentum is the kind that can hold up as October approaches, especially if the Buckeyes keep matching style points with results in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]