Week 1 didn’t waste any time sorting out the early Heisman field, and the biggest takeaway was simple: the quarterbacks and elite receivers attached to contender-level offenses are already separating themselves.
At the top of the board, Darian Mensah has taken over as the new odds leader at +650 after torching Stanford in Miami’s blowout win. He finished 27-of-30 for a career-high 401 yards and five touchdowns, and he also set program-best marks for passing yards and touchdowns in a debut.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal was glowing afterward, saying, "His skill set really fits what we do," Mario Cristobal said. "His ability to read the field and his ability to digest concepts and to continue to evolve is really, really impressive.
Sky's the limit."
Mensah was far from the only quarterback making noise. Arch Manning at Texas (+1100), Ole Miss star Trinidad Chambliss (+1100) and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin (+1300) all delivered huge opening-week performances. Three of the four were working with a new playcaller for the first time, with Ohio State bringing in Arthur Smith from the NFL, Miami adding Mensah as a transfer from and Ole Miss landing ECU’s John David Baker after Charlie Weis Jr. left for LSU.
Chambliss had the toughest assignment of the group, and he handled it with poise. He was the only one of those quarterbacks facing a ranked opponent, and Ole Miss needed every bit of his playmaking in a 41-38 win over Louisville. Chambliss finished the job by leading the game-winning drive in the waning seconds.
Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith also made a loud opening statement, piling up eight catches for 151 yards and multiple touchdowns in the first half alone. Ryan Day said that was intentional, noting he kept Smith on the sideline after halftime in preparation for Texas in Week 2.
The receiver who may have made the loudest leap, though, is Miami’s Malachi Toney. After his 12-catch, 234-yard, three-touchdown eruption against Stanford on Friday night, his odds jumped from +4000 in the preseason to +1300, good for sixth overall. Michael Irvin, who is certainly not shy about his Miami roots, called Toney "the greatest receiver" he’s ever seen after Toney broke Eddie Brown’s single-game school record of 220 receiving yards, a mark that had stood since 1984.
Toney already had a reputation coming in after last season’s record-setting freshman campaign, and his latest outing only sharpened it. He now has 109 career catches, more than anyone else in the FBS ranks last season, and Stanford still had no answer for him.
The preseason favorite, Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr, has settled into the middle of the pack at +1300.
He threw two touchdown passes in the Irish’s 41-13 win over Wisconsin, finishing 19-of-29 for 239 yards. Carr didn’t really get rolling until the second half, when Notre Dame leaned on its rushing attack to keep things moving.
His late scoring throw went to running back Nolan James on a 28-yard pass with 1:51 left.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is also in the mix after a strong day in a 34-27 win over Boise State. The Ducks’ new offense stumbled early, but Moore still posted a career-best 378 passing yards and three touchdowns. Oregon dropped a couple of spots in the AP Poll after entering the game as a 24.5-point favorite, and Moore is now sitting at +1400.
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt made one of the most complete statements of the weekend against Clemson. He threw an interception on LSU’s second offensive snap, then settled in and barely missed a beat after that.
Leavitt ran for 112 yards and scored twice on the ground, both rushing touchdowns coming in the second quarter, and he added a 32-yard touchdown pass to Winston Watkins to open the second half and stretch the lead to 35 points. His odds moved to +1600 after the performance.
That puts Leavitt ahead of several other SEC quarterbacks in the current race: John Mateer at +3000, Keelon Russell at +3000, Marcel Reed at +3500 and LaNorris Sellers at +4000. Leavitt is coming off the injury that kept him out for much of the 2025 season at Arizona State, and he looks to be operating at full strength for LSU.
All of that sets up a massive Week 2 stage in Columbus and Austin. Ohio State at Texas is the kind of September game that can shake up the Heisman race in a hurry.
If Manning comes through with the biggest win of his career, he’ll rocket toward the front of the pack. The same is true for Smith and Sayin, both of whom have had muted moments against Texas before.
Smith was held to one catch for three yards in the 2024 CFP semifinals and was kept out of the end zone in last year’s 14-7 opener.