Who will win the Heisman this year? Week 1 of the 2025 college football season served as a reminder that preseason Heisman Trophy odds aren’t worth putting a ton of stock into. Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning and Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith helped demonstrate that in the same game.
As the first week of the season draws to a close, we’ve updated our Heisman Trophy candidates rankings heading into Week 2. This season, our Heisman Watch will serve as a living archive for our Heisman Trophy ballot every week. We’ll update our rankings of the top eight Heisman Trophy candidates every Saturday.
Related: Week 2 College Football Rankings, Evaluating Top 25 Teams after Week 1
Let’s dive into our latest rankings as of Monday, September 1, with the Heisman odds via FanDuel.
Dropped from Heisman Trophy Rankings: Arch Manning, QB, Texas Longhorns (4); Sam Leavitt, QB, Arizona State Wildcats (8); Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (7)
8. John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma Sooners (Unranked)
In his Oklahoms Sooners debut, quarterback John Mateer was as-advertised. You could say that he had one added benefit that some transfer players didn’t: continuity with play-caller Ben Arbuckle, but the Sooners’ offensive line made up for that. Mateer had to use his legs a bit more than Sooner Nation wanted to see, especially against an opponent like Illinois State. The good news for Oklahoma, Mateer showed great rapport with Keontez Lewis (9 receptions, 199 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns) and Deion Burks (7 receptions, 88 yards and 1 touchdown). The Michigan Wolverines’ defense in Week 2 poses a real threat for Oklahoma’s offensive line, but that matchup also provides Mateer with an early shot at a signature win.
- Heisman Odds: +1600
- John Mateer stats (2025): 30-for-37, 81.1% completion rate, 392 passing yards, 10.6 yards per attempt, 3-1 TD-INT, 24 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 81.0 ESPN QBR
7. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State Buckeyes (5)
There’s always going to be an uphill climb for a wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy. Ohio State Buckeyes wideout Jeremiah Smith had a drop in Week 1, a ‘lowlight’ in a very quiet performance. The Buckeyes still beat the No.1-ranked Texas Longhorns, but the season-opening performance is going to put Smith behind the proverbial eight ball. Consider that when DeVonta Smith won the 2020 Heisman Trophy, he only had one performance under 60 receiving yards (22 vs Arkansas). Smith will need consecutive 100-yard or multi-touchdown performances in the next two weeks to climb his way back up our Heisman Trophy candidates rankings.
- Heisman Odds: +1600
- Jeremiah Smith stats (2025): 6 receptions, 43 receiving yards, 7.2 yards per reception
6. Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson Tigers (1)
It wasn’t a good showing for quarterback Cade Klubnik on Saturday night. We’ll acknowledge that the Clemson Tigers did him no favors by putting an ineffective run game on the field, which posted a yards-per-carry average under 1.8 on the night. Making the situation even worse, top wideout Antonio Williams (hamstring) exited in the first quarter and never returned. Even with that acknowledged, Klubnik threw an interception near midfield that eventually turned into a game-tying Tigers’ touchdown drive. With this offense resting entirely on him, Clemson’s Heisman candidate couldn’t deliver a scoring drive after a second-quarter touchdown. One game doesn’t totally wipe out Klubnik’s Heisman Trophy campaign, but it’ll be an uphill climb in the weeks to come.
- Heisman Odds: +1400
- Cade Klubnik stats (2025): 19-for-38, 50% completion rate, 230 passing yards, 6.1 yards per attempt, 0-1 TD-INT, 2 sacks taken
5. Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia Bulldogs (Unranked)
There’s the version of Gunner Stockton the Georgia Bulldogs were expecting. He wasn’t exactly the most efficient quarterback through the air in Week 1, completing fewer than 60 percent of his attempts, but he didn’t need to be since he led the team in rushing. Stockton’s dual-threat ability really stood out against Marshall, and if he carries it into the Week 2 matchup versus Austin Peay, putting up more gaudy stats, his Heisman odds will keep climbing.
- Heisman odds: +1200
- Gunner Stockton stats (2025): 14-for-24, 58.3% completion rate, 190 passing yards, 2-0 TD-INT, 7.9 yards per attempt, 73 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 99.1 ESPN QBR
4. Drew Allar, QB, Penn State Nittany Lions (Unranked)
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar makes his first appearance of the year in the rankings, snagging the top-five spot that once belonged to Arch Manning. Allar faced a much easier opponent in Week 1, Nevada, but he was hyper-efficient through the air and even added a little on the ground. He’s going to have even more of this offense on his shoulders than we thought, which should help the senior quarterback add to his counting stats. For the next two weeks, it will be the stats that matter for Allar’s Heisman Trophy resume.
- Heisman odds: +2000
- Drew Allar stats (2025): 22-for-26, 84.6% completion rate, 217 passing yards, 1-0 TD-INT, 8.35 yards per attempt, 20 rushing yards
3. LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina Gamecocks (2)
The good news for LaNorris Sellers and the South Carolina Gamecocks is that they got the season-opening win over Virginia Tech. It wasn’t a crisp offensive performance by any measure, considering the team went 4-for-12 on third downs and averaged only 3.7 yards per carry on the day. However, Sellers did come through with the game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter and we know this Gamecocks’ offense is capable of more. The Heisman-caliber stats should come against SC State’s defense.
- Heisman odds: +1000
- LaNorris Sellers stats (2025): 12-for-19, 63.2% completion rate, 209 passing yards, 1-0 TD-INT, 11.0 yards per attempt, 25 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 75.7 ESPN QBR
2. Carson Beck, QB, Miami Hurricanes (7)
Quite the Miami Hurricanes debut for Carson Beck. Facing one of the best defenses in college football on a national stage, Beck and the Hurricanes’ offense rolled out to a 21-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately, Miami’s coaching staff took its foot off the brake with some conservative play-calling that made it a game again. All that did was allow Beck to engineer a game-winning drive to set up a 47-yard field goal. It was a crisp performance from Beck that, given the competition, deservedly puts him second in our ranking of Heisman candidates.
- Heisman odds: +1100
- Carson Beck stats (2025): 20-for-31, 64.5% completion rate, 205 passing yards, 7.5 yards per attempt, 2-0 TD-INT, 84.9 ESPN QBR
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1. Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU Tigers (3)
LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier should’ve had another touchdown pass on Saturday night against Clemson. He made a phenomenal throw down the sideline, placing it perfectly for the would-be touchdown. Somehow, the replay crew determined that Barion Brown didn’t ‘complete the process of the catch’ despite him having control after his foot came down and he hit the pylon. But that’s beside the point. What pushes Nussmeier No. 1 among our Heisman Trophy candidates is his composure against No. 4 Clemson in the other version of “Death Valley”. A nice ‘signature’ win from Nussmeier to open the season.
- Heisman odds: +800
- Garrett Nussmeier stats (2025): 28-for-38, 73.7% completion rate, 230 passing yards, 6.1 yards per attempt, 1-0 TD-INT
Related: LSU Game Today, LSU Tigers football schedule
