Heisman Buzz On The Heisman Hopefuls Headed Into Week 6
Heisman winners are honored in myriad ways by their schools and communities, but only one winner has a stadium named after him.
Texas features Campbell/Williams Field named after Earl Campbell (1977) and Ricky Williams (1998) at the Longhorns’ Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. Syracuse has Ernie Davis (1961) Legends Field at JMA Wireless Dome while Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium boasts Steve Spurrier (1966) Florida Field.
The Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium honors Joe Bellino (1960) and Roger Staubach (1963) with their respective Nos. 27 and 12 jersey numbers painted on the field.
But the only stadium named after one of our 90 Heisman winners is Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, named after 1939 winner Nile Kinnick.
That was site on Saturday when Iowa rival Ohio State visited and promptly beat the upstart Buckeyes, 31-14.
And it was in Kinnick Stadium where a leading Heisman hopeful, Buckeye wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, had a signature game with 11 receptions for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
To be fair, Smith has had many signature games. But following his second score Saturday, off of a 57-yard TD pass from 2025 Heisman finalist and teammate Julian Sayin in the third quarter, Smith struck a Heisman pose in the Kinnick Stadium north end zone.
Sixth in Heisman voting in 2025, Smith has had a fantastic first five games of 2026 and is among a pack of Heisman hopefuls capturing trophy buzz.
In-game Heisman poses were once rare. Desmon Howard famously struck one late in the 1991 season. But that was the exception rather than the rule.
Smith certainly had reason to celebrate. He became Ohio State’s all-time leader in career receptions (207) and receiving TDs (36) and extended his school reception yards record to 3,381.
His play is not going unnoticed by the media at-large. The Athletic’s new staff Heisman poll saw Smith collect all 25 first-place votes.
Smith leads the nation with 44 receptions for 823 yards and his nine TDs are tied for first with another OSU receiver, freshman Jesse Legree from Oregon State.
Said The Athletic about Smith: “Smith, at 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, continues to overwhelm defensive backs with his size and speed. He’s an NFL-caliber WR1 playing against outmanned defenders. His low-output game of this season came against Kent State, when he caught five balls for 85 yards and did not play in the second half.”
The folks at Bleacher Report said: “In a 31-14 win at Iowa, Smith reeled in 11 passes for 206 yards and two scores. He became OSU’s leader in both career receptions and touchdowns—two weeks after surpassing the program’s all-time yardage mark. Those accomplishments are nice, but they do not influence his Heisman standing. On the other hand, Smith currently leads the FBS leaderboard with 44 catches, 823 yards and nine touchdowns. That certainly does the job.”
• • • As a weekly reminder, college football fans can now vote on a daily basis at hopefuls.heisman.com and have their vote count at the end of the season. The fan vote uses a season-long weighted model, developed in partnership with the Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center, that gives greater weight to votes cast later in the year as the body of work grows and conference races intensify. • • •
Three QBs followed Smith in The Athletic’s rankings, led by Miami’s second-place Darian Mensah with Alabama’s Keelon Russell third and Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss fourth. The aforementioned Legree was fifth.
Mensah led No. 4 Miami to a 41-13 dispatching of Clemson, modestly throwing for 227 yards and a score while rushing for a 34-yard TD. He leads the nation in QB rating and owns an enviable 15-0 touchdown to interception ratio while completing 84.2% of his passes for 1,438 yards.
Said The Big Lead on Mensah’s play: “He’s led Miami to a 5-0 start and looks like one of the top contenders … He’s everything Miami could’ve asked for and more.”
Russell passed for 285 yards and three TDs and also rushed for a score in leading No. 7 Alabama to a 56-23 win over No. 23 Mississippi State. He is sixth nationally in QB rating while leading the Crimson Tide to a 5-0 start. He is completing 71.0% of his passes with 11 TDs and two interceptions.
Chambliss and Ole Miss had a bye as they regrouped after its big loss to Florida last week. Still, Chambliss remains one of the top passers in the nation.
Quickly, let’s take a look at Legree and his QB partner in dimes, Braden Atkinson. Legree, a true freshman, is second nationally in receiving yards per game (148.2), third in yards per reception (26.46) and tied nationally with nine TDs on 28 catches.
Atkinson, meanwhile, leads the nation in passing yards (1,848) and has thrown 16 TDs with two interceptions, completing 69.5% of his passes. The Beavers’ schedule features two ranked opponents to open the year and their last two wins came on the road by a combined 56 points.
There’s nothing quite about Notre Dame except maybe that talk around quarterback CJ Carr, who has led the No. 3 Fighting Irish to a 5-0 start. Carr threw four TD passes and ran for another in Notre Dame’s tight-at-times 37-26 win against North Carolina.
His numbers are not as gaudy as others, but he has thrown for 1,197 yards with 13 TDs and just one pick while running for three scores.
Despite Mississippi State’s big loss to Alabama, QB Kamario Taylor’s resume so far this season remains impressive. He is fifth nationally in total offense per game (321.8) and has 19 total TDs, including one receiving.
Seventh-place 2025 Heisman finisher Gunner Stockton has been under the radar while leading Georgia to a 5-0 start. He squares off against Russell and Alabama Saturday, which could give his profile a jolt.
There are four QBs remaining with double digit TD tosses and zero interceptions. Mensah is one. Missouri’s Austin Simmons (13) and Boise State’s Maddux Madsen (11) are two others. The last is Indiana’s Josh Hoover.
Hoover, the TCU transfer who replaced 2025 Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, has thrown 15 TDs without a pick for 1,101 yards, helping to extend Indiana’s win streak to 21 games.
The Hoosiers schedule picks up with a game against unbeaten Nebraska Saturday followed by dates with Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota and USC, leaving Hoover with ample time to for a Mendoza impression.
