Heisman Watch, Week 2: Quinn Ewers seizes the moment for Texas
What a week for Quinn Ewers. After leading a road onslaught in the Big House, the Texas quarterback is now the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
We still have a long way to go. A long way to go. But Ewers authored the first real “moment” of the young college football season. The yardage didn’t jump off the page, but Ewers was surgical in a massive win over Michigan.
Elsewhere, Miami’s Cam Ward put up another big weekend in a blowout win and Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart continued to fire nothing but darts.
Below is the updated Heisman Trophy race entering Week 3. (You can find last week’s picture here.)
Each week throughout the season, we’ll take a look at the field, at who is doing what, at who is moving up the ladder, and at who is inching closer to the most coveted player-of-the-year honor in sports.
Editor’s note: The “ranking” you’ll see next to each player’s name is not a subjective ranking. Yet. For now, it is a direct representation of the average odds each player has to win the Heisman. When we have a clearer picture of who is doing what, subjective rankings will take over.
1. Quinn Ewers, Texas QB
Week 2 results: 31-12 win over No. 10 Michigan
Week 2 stats: 24-for-36, 246 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Season stats: 69.8% completion, 506 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns, 1 interception
One big number: 8 consecutive wins in true road games
Current odds: +500 (via FanDuel)
Up next: vs. UTSA
According to UT’s communications director, Ewers has won 8 straight true road games dating back to 2022, the longest streak by a Texas quarterback since Vince Young won 13 consecutive true road games from 2003-05. In those 8 games, Ewers has 15 touchdown passes with just 1 interception. Three of the games have been against top-15 opponents, and Ewers has 8 touchdowns without a pick against those teams.
2. Cameron Ward, Miami QB
Week 2 results: 56-9 win over Florida A&M
Week 2 stats: 20-for-26, 304 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
Season stats: 75.4% completion, 689 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 1 rushing touchdown
One big number: 94.9 QBR through 2 games
Current odds: +750 (via FanDuel)
Up next: vs. Ball State
After dazzling against Florida, Ward was remarkably efficient against the Rattlers. Miami had a 25-6 lead at halftime and then scored 21 points in the third quarter. Ward scored through the air and on the ground, then got an early curtain call.
Through 2 weeks, Ward’s 94.9 Total QBR ranks second among qualified FBS quarterbacks. His 18.4 EPA ranks fourth.
3. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss QB
Week 2 results: 52-3 win over Middle Tennessee
Week 2 stats: 25-for-27, 377 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 0 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
Season stats: 87.0% completion, 795 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 2 rushing touchdowns
One big number: 7 incompletions and 8 touchdowns in 2 games
Current odds: +950 (via FanDuel)
Up next: at Wake Forest
Among teams that have played multiple games so far this season, no one has a higher completion percentage than Dart, who has connected on 47 of his 54 passes thus far. Not only does Dart not have a turnover yet, but he hasn’t even put a ball in danger. Pro Football Focus lists 0 turnover-worthy plays through his first 2 games.
Dart started 24-for-24 with 359 yards against the Blue Raiders, setting a single-game SEC record. The competition will get better, but Dart hasn’t missed yet.
4. Carson Beck, Georgia QB
Week 2 results: 48-3 win over Tennessee Tech
Week 2 stats: 18-for-25, 242 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Season stats: 70.7% completion, 520 passing yards, 7 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions
One big number: 9 quarterback pressures in 2 games
Current odds: +850 (via FanDuel)
Up next: at Kentucky
Beck has been blitzed, but he has seldom been pressured this season. Per PFF, he has only faced pressure on 9 of his 64 total dropbacks through 2 games. The Georgia quarterback is averaging 9.6 yards per pass attempt with a 74% completion rate when kept clean so far this season.
5. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee QB
Week 2 results: 51-10 win over No. 24 NC State
Week 2 stats: 16-for-23, 211 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 65 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Season stats: 74.5% completion, 525 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
One big number: 15 of Iamaleava’s 21 real possessions have ended in points
Current odds: +1200 (via FanDuel)
Up next: vs. Kent State
With Iamaleava at the controls (9 first-half possessions vs. UTC, 12 possessions vs. NC State), the Volunteers are averaging 4.6 points per possession. He had 2 picks in the NC State game which can be somewhat forgiven. Tennessee went 3-and-out on a drive late in the first half in Week 1. Beyond that, no one has prevented Iamaleava from moving the football. In his 3 career starts, Tennessee has scored 155 points.
6. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon QB
Week 2 results: 37-34 win over Boise State
Week 2 stats: 18-for-21, 243 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
Season stats: 84.3% completion, 623 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
One big number: 5.8 air yards per pass
Current odds: +1200 (via FanDuel)
Up next: at Oregon State
There are 141 FBS quarterbacks who have had at least 20 dropbacks through the first 2 weeks of the season. Gabriel’s 5.8-yard average depth of target is the ninth-shortest of any of them. Something worth pointing out: Quinn Ewers is right next to Gabriel with an average of 6.2 air yards per pass. A short-passing game isn’t inherently an issue on its own. But Oregon’s attack isn’t predicated on dinking and dunking down the field. Bo Nix threw at least 10 yards downfield on 30.4% of his passes last year. Through 2 games, only 19.8% of Gabriel’s attempts have been at least 10 yards downfield. He’s not getting the time to get to those throws in most instances. And Against Boise State on Saturday, he flat missed on 2 downfield attempts in the fourth quarter. Oregon is out of sync right now.
7. Jalen Milroe, Alabama QB
Week 2 results: 42-16 win over South Florida
Week 2 stats: 16-for-26, 194 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 2 rushing touchdowns, 1 fumble
Season stats: 65.7% completion, 394 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 4 rushing touchdowns
One big number: 38.9% success rate on rushing attempts
Current odds: +1000 (via FanDuel)
Up next: at Wisconsin
Remove the sacks (Milroe took 3 against South Florida) and the Alabama quarterback has 18 rushing attempts through his first 2 games working with Kalen DeBoer. Only 7 of those attempts have resulted in a successful play for the offense. Milroe has run 3 times on third down and converted only 1 of those. Alabama’s offensive line has been in a state of flux through the first 2 games, and one would think that some consistency there would help Milroe get going a little more on the ground. His mobility is a weapon, and DeBoer clearly wants to utilize that. The results have just been mixed to this point.
Makin’ Moves Milroe @JalenMilroe
: ESPN pic.twitter.com/gSVIYDTAYd
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 7, 2024
8. Will Howard, Ohio State QB
Week 2 results: 56-0 win over Western Michigan
Week 2 stats: 18-for-26, 292 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 0 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
Season stats: 64.8% completion, 520 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 1 rushing touchdown
One big number: 13-for-20 on throws of at least 10 yards
Current odds: +2000 (via FanDuel)
Up next: BYE
Howard hit his first 10 passes against Western Michigan and half of them produced explosive plays. It was a nice contrast to his Week 1 showing when he opened 0-for-4 and was 6-for-16 at one point. In the win over WMU, 35% of Howard’s pass attempts went for at least 15 yards. And so far this season, his best throws have been on attempts of at least 10 yards. He’s 13-for-20 on passes at least 10 yards downfield, with 3 of his 4 touchdowns on those attempts and 0 turnover-worthy plays.
9. Miller Moss, USC QB
Week 2 results: 48-0 win over Utah State
Week 2 stats: 21-for-30, 229 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 0 interceptions
Season stats: 72.7% completion, 607 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions
One big number: 2.21-second average time to throw
Current odds: +1800 (via FanDuel)
Up next: BYE
Moss has been excellent since assuming the starting role in Lincoln Riley’s offense. In Week 1, USC asked Moss to go out and win the game with his arm and he delivered. In a Week 2 beatdown of Utah State, USC asked far less of him. But even beyond that, USC is helping Moss and simplifying the picture. His average time-to-throw is the fourth-shortest of any quarterback in the FBS so far this season.
10. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU QB
Week 2 results: 44-21 win over Nicholls
Week 2 stats: 27-for-37, 302 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Season stats: 75% completion, 610 passing yards, 8 passing touchdowns, 1 interception
One big number: 21.6 EPA
Current odds: +4000 (via FanDuel)
Up next: at South Carolina
Nussmeier joined Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels as the only LSU quarterbacks to throw 6 or more touchdown passes in a single game. Tiger fans seemed frustrated with the offense in the aftermath of the Nicholls game, but Nussmeier hasn’t really been a problem so far this year. He played well in Week 1, and after 2 starts, he leads all FBS passers in EPA.