The Heisman race is getting crowded in all the right places, and the last weekend of September made that plain. This isn’t just a quarterback showcase anymore. A pass rusher, a running back and a pair of wideouts all forced their way into the conversation with performances that popped off the page.
Start with Colin Simmons, because what he did against Tennessee was the kind of game that changes the way people talk about a defender. The Texas EDGE racked up five sacks, forced a fumble and recovered one, helping him move into a tie for the national lead with seven sacks. He also stretched his sack streak to three straight games and set a career high with eight tackles in the win.
At quarterback, Keelon Russell may have delivered his sharpest outing yet. The Alabama sophomore put up career bests with five total touchdowns, four of them through the air, and 365 passing yards in a blowout over South Carolina. He now carries an 89.0 QBR, which ranks seventh nationally, into a matchup with fellow Heisman contender Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State.
C.J. Carr is starting to build some real momentum for Notre Dame in his second full season as the starter.
Against Purdue, the grandson of Lloyd Carr accounted for four scores - three passing and one rushing - while throwing for 237 yards in a lopsided win. The schedule has been fairly soft so far, but tougher tests are coming, starting with a home date against Bill Belichick and North Carolina.
Trinidad Chambliss took a loss at Florida, but the Ole Miss quarterback was hardly the problem in a game where the Rebels gave up 52 points. He still managed 342 total yards, including 298 through the air and 44 on the ground, plus three total touchdowns with one passing and two rushing. If he keeps carrying the load without Kewan Lacy, there’s still a path back into the race if Ole Miss gets back in the win column.
Malachi Toney keeps showing up every week for Miami, FL. He finished with six catches for 120 yards and a touchdown in the Hurricanes’ win over Central Michigan, and he has scored in all four games this season. Even so, he’s still not playing above the level of one of his Miami teammates.
That brings us to the other Miami standout, Darian Mensah, who has been making this look almost too easy since arriving from Duke. In Week 4, the junior quarterback carved up the Chippewas to help the Hurricanes improve to 4-0.
He completed 23 of 27 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 14 on the year - tied with Taylor and Maiava for the national lead. He also sits first in the country in QBR at 93.9 and passer rating at 228.0.
Mensah’s numbers have been absurd, but the level of competition is about to rise. Miami hosts Clemson this Saturday, and that should tell us plenty about whether his accuracy keeps holding up.
Ohio State wide receiver Smith keeps making the case that he belongs in the top tier of this race. Against Illinois, the junior posted a career-high 12 receptions for 217 yards and matched a Buckeyes record with four receiving touchdowns.
He now leads the nation in receiving yards with 617 and is tied for the lead in touchdown catches with seven. The one blemish is the Week 2 loss to Texas, but if he keeps producing and Ohio State runs the table, he’ll be right in the thick of it in December.
Then there’s Kamario Taylor, who looks like the most electric freshman in the country. “Super Kamario” picked up his first career win in a ranked game against Missouri, and the arm talent keeps matching the hype.
He threw three touchdown passes and set a career high with 363 passing yards in the win. His 14 touchdowns are tied with Mensah and Maiava for the most in the nation, and he’s thrown only two interceptions.
Next up is a trip to Alabama, where the spotlight will only get brighter.
Florida’s offense is getting a huge boost from Jadan Baugh, and the junior running back has been a wrecking ball for defenses. He powered the Gators past the Rebels with 142 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Baugh now leads the nation with 11 rushing scores, has three games with three rushing touchdowns, and is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and 150 rushing yards per game through the season’s first month. Florida hasn’t looked like this in a long time, and Baugh is a big reason why.
And finally, there’s the man at the center of all this quarterback traffic, with the numbers that keep piling up. Maiava came off a tough loss to Oregon, but he wasn’t the reason USC fell short.
The junior scored three times, with two passing touchdowns and one rushing, and posted his second 300-yard game of 2026. He remains tied for the national lead in touchdown passes with 14 and leads the country with 1,499 passing yards.
He has played more games than anyone else, but the production is still the production. USC gets its next chance to build on that resume when it hosts Washington next week.
In Other News...
Mississippi State Has Earned A Ranking Debate Fans Wont Ignore
Mississippi States fast start has turned what looked like a solid opening month into a real ranking conversation. The Bulldogs are 4-0 and already 2-0 in SEC play, with a win over No. 25 Missouri helping push them up to No. 16 in the AP Poll, and sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor has been one of the biggest reasons for the surge. Taylor has thrown for 1,192 yards and 14 touchdowns, tying for the national lead in passing scores and giving Mississippi State the kind of offensive punch that can make voters take notice.
The debate now is whether the Bulldogs have done enough to climb higher despite the company they still have to keep in the schedule. Teams ahead of them have stumbled, which only sharpens the argument around Mississippi States place in the poll, but the next stretch will say plenty about how serious this start really is. No. 7 Alabama is looming, and LSU is not far behind, leaving the Bulldogs with a chance to turn an early ranking into something much more difficult to dismiss. [Read more 🡒]
Trinidad Chambliss Gives Ole Miss Hope Despite One Ugly Warning Sign
Ole Miss left the loss to Florida with a sharp reminder of how quickly a game can get away from it when the defense cannot slow the run. The Gators piled up more than 300 rushing yards, turning the afternoon into a long one for the Rebels and exposing a problem that will need fixing if this team wants to hold up in SEC play.
Trinidad Chambliss still gave Ole Miss a reason to keep looking forward, though, because the quarterback handled a heavy load and produced one of the better individual outings of the day. He completed 25 of 34 passes for 298 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and added 44 rushing yards with two scores, giving the Rebels a clear offensive centerpiece even in a loss that raised more questions than answers. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Turned Its Bye Week Into A Defensive Reckoning
Ole Miss heads into its bye week with plenty to sort through after the lopsided loss to Florida, a game that stood in sharp contrast to the Rebels earlier win over LSU. Trinidad Chambliss did his part on offense, but the bigger story from Gainesville was how often the defense gave ground, especially when it came to stopping the run and finishing tackles.
Pete Golding is the one in charge of the defensive play-calling, which puts the spotlight squarely on that side of the ball as the Rebels get a chance to reset. The bye week now looks less like a pause and more like a needed review, with tackling at the top of the list if Ole Miss wants to avoid another showing like this one. [Read more 🡒]