Florida’s win over No. 4 Ole Miss didn’t just shake up the SEC race. It sent Jadan Baugh rocketing into the Heisman conversation.
The Florida running back jumped into the top five of the latest odds board after the Gators pounded the Rebels, with his price moving from +6000 last week to +1200 at DraftKings. Baugh is now the lone running back among the top 10, and he’s doing it with the kind of production that forces oddsmakers to pay attention: 600 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns through the season’s first stretch.
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, though, is the new name sitting at the top. After a monster showing against Illinois, Smith moved to +245 and took over as the Heisman favorite. He opened Week 4 at +1050, then went off for four touchdown catches in a game that turned into a showcase.
Smith tied an Ohio State record with those four touchdown receptions and became the sixth Buckeyes receiver to go over 200 yards in a game. He had eight catches for 150 yards and three touchdowns by halftime, then sealed the milestone with a 26-yard score in the fourth quarter that pushed him past 200.
The four-touchdown night gives him 34 career touchdown catches. He opened the season at +1400 and is now the only player on the board with odds shorter than +400.
The quarterback field still has plenty of traction, and Darian Mensah remains right there near the top at +400. The Miami quarterback’s number dipped from +370 a week ago, but the case for him is straightforward: Heisman voters have leaned quarterback before, and Mensah has been extremely efficient. He’s completing 88.7% of his passes this season, down slightly from 89.9% entering Week 4.
Mensah threw all four of his touchdowns against Central Michigan in the second quarter, connecting with Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate and Daylyn Upshaw. A week earlier, he set two ACC records for consecutive completions against Wake Forest.
“He spread the ball around pretty good, he extended plays, great pocket presence, protected pretty well,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said.
Miami is 4-0 for the fourth straight season, and Clemson is 3-1 with both teams unbeaten in ACC play.
Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor has also surged into the spotlight. He sits third at +480 after being +1100 entering Week 4 and +2500 the week before that. Taylor’s rise keeps accelerating, and the latest jump came after another clutch performance.
Trajen Greco picked him off in the second quarter, and Missouri had a 24-17 lead in the third. Taylor answered with a 14-play, 73-yard drive that ended in Fluff Bothwell’s 4-yard touchdown run to tie it. After a Missouri punt, Taylor found Magee for the winning score.
Bothwell finished with 122 rushing yards and a touchdown catch, while Anthony Evans III added eight receptions for 114 yards. Mississippi State is 4-0 and 2-0 in SEC play, and Alabama is bringing another quarterback from this list to Starkville.
Ole Miss quarterback Chambliss took the hardest hit of anyone near the top. After climbing to the front of the board at +310 entering Week 4, he dropped to fourth at +1150 after the Rebels’ loss to Florida. His odds had held at +1300 for four straight weeks before the LSU win pushed him to the top, but that momentum vanished fast.
Florida had already jumped ahead 10-0 before Chambliss threw a pass. He injured his left thigh on Ole Miss’ second series after taking a hit on an 11-yard scramble, then came back on the next drive. The Rebels also played without star running back Kewan Lacy, who has a shoulder injury.
“That was an old-fashioned butt-whupping,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said.
Baugh’s day against Ole Miss was the kind that changes the shape of a race. Florida ran for 302 yards and six touchdowns, with sophomore Duke Clark adding 126 rushing yards. The Gators are 4-0 for the first time since 2019, and they snapped a 12-game losing streak against top-five teams.
“We have more grit and resilience than anybody in the country, and I feel nobody can mess with us,” Baugh said.
Baugh ran for 1,170 yards last season and stayed in Gainesville through the coaching change from Billy Napier to Jon Sumrall.
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