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The last time a Heisman Trophy winner belonged to the Big Ten, the BCS still determined who played for the national title, and Nick Saban hadn’t even begun his reign of glory at Alabama.
It was almost 2 full decades ago, in 2006, and it was Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith who did the deed, capturing the Heisman with a scintillating stat line. Smith completed over 65% of his passes, threw for 2,542 yards, and tossed 30 touchdown passes with just 6 interceptions. He also rushed for 204 yards, which was a low total compared to his previous 2 seasons.
Smith was incredibly dynamic. He won a lot of games, led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten title and nearly won a national title in that iconic 2006 season. He brought a ton of excitement to Columbus, a boatload of flair and, of course, that Heisman Trophy that’s been so elusive for B1G players ever since.
It’s not that there haven’t been Heisman-worthy players coming through the league since 2006. There have been plenty, and that elite talent has helped the Big Ten win 3 national titles during its Heisman drought, including the past 2 with Michigan and Ohio State. The league has just fallen short every December when the most prestigious award in college football is announced.
It is the SEC that has dominated the award over the past 2 decades, just like it has dominated on the field. The SEC has snagged 9 Heismans alone since the Big Ten’s drought began in 2007. And Heisman Trophies won by Marcus Mariota and Caleb Williams in 2014 and 2022, respectively, don’t count because Oregon and USC weren’t in the Big Ten yet.
Right now, Big Ten football is riding high with those back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024, Heismans or no Heismans. The titles have arrived in the Big Ten, but the Heismans have been slow to catch up. It’s a curious drought that’s probably partly coincidental and, like everything else in this world, it will eventually come to an end.
The Big Ten will win another Heisman, and then others will follow. They could come in bunches for the proud football conference and, just maybe, it’ll happen this fall. There are plenty of stars populating the Big Ten right now who could be the one that finally brings home that elusive Heisman.
We’re going to gaze into the 2025 college football crystal ball and pick out the 5 likeliest Big Ten talents to finally put an end to that whole 2006 thing. Note — the order of this list has nothing to do with who has the best chance to capture the Heisman:
Drew Allar, QB, Penn State (+1600 via FanDuel)
Allar deciding to return to Happy Valley for 1 more season was the first big win of 2025 for Penn State, months before the first game of the 2025 season was even played. The Nittany Lions were a play or 2 away from playing in the national championship game, and Allar’s crushing interception against Notre Dame was a big reason why that didn’t happen.
Allar had a huge year in 2024, throwing for 3,327 yards with 24 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions. It was that 8th interception, though, that prevented Allar from playing for a national title last season.
Yes, he had already committed to coming back for another season before the College Football Playoff even began. Allar could’ve changed his mind after the semifinal loss, figuring that it was a really nice run in State College, and that it was time to head to the NFL. That didn’t happen, and now Penn State will be getting its star signal-caller back with the ultimate motivation to do a little better in 2025.
“I’ll try to learn from it, do everything in my power to get better and just grow from it,” Allar told reporters after the Playoff loss in Miami.
Allar’s final season in Happy Valley will be one of the most fascinating storylines to watch in college football this fall, for many reasons. Can he make it all worth it, learn from his huge mistake and lead Penn State to its first national title since 1986?
Allar should put up some big numbers, assuming he stays healthy, and he should have the Nittany Lions in the Playoff hunt again. If all of that happens, there’s no reason Allar shouldn’t be right in the middle of the Heisman conversation.
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (+1400 via DraftKings)
Not a lot of wide receivers win the Heisman. Not a lot of wide receivers are Jeremiah Smith, though, and a wide receiver just won it last year when Colorado 2-way star Travis Hunter took home the honor.
Smith exploded onto the college football scene with a vengeance in 2024, leaving a lasting impression while helping lead the Buckeyes to a national championship. His 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns broke all kinds of freshman and conference records, and he’s back to terrorize secondaries in 2025.
Could Smith’s production this fall suffer a bit with a new and inexperienced quarterback coming in? Sure.
Smith arrived in Columbus in 2024 at the perfect time, with a veteran quarterback in Will Howard transferring in from Kansas State. Howard’s presence no doubt accentuated Smith’s freshman breakout last fall, and Howard won’t be around this fall for an encore with Smith. But whoever wins the quarterback job at Ohio State in 2025, whether it’s Julian Sayin or Lincoln Kienholz, will be throwing to the best wideout in the country, who should firmly be in the Heisman discussion.
Just imagine Smith standing at that podium in New York City in December to accept the award. It would be fitting if an Ohio State player is the one who vanquishes the Big Ten’s Heisman drought, and another Ohio State player with the last name “Smith,” just like the Buckeyes QB who won it 19 years earlier. It would also be Ohio State’s 8th Heisman winner, which would tie the Buckeyes with USC for the most by any program.
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Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State (+20000 via DraftKings)
Caleb Downs defying Heisman history and winning the Heisman as a safety could happen. He’s that good and that battle-tested.
Downs helped lead Alabama to the College Football Playoff as a freshman and then backboned the Buckeyes’ national championship run as a sophomore. He has a combined 188 total tackles and a whopping 118 solo tackles in his first 2 years of college football.
Those numbers are off the charts, but Downs’s value to Ohio State goes way beyond that. He’s a proven winner, and his leadership role on the team is growing by the day. Downs was a second-team All-American as a freshman at Alabama and was a unanimous All-American last season at Ohio State. If you’re even being mentioned as a Heisman candidate as a defensive player, much less a safety, it means you’re a special breed.
Downs is just that. Yes, the odds are still stacked against him to actually win the Heisman.
A few memorable, big plays on defense in some big games this fall, combined with a few dazzling punt returns, could thrust Downs into the Heisman mix. After what he’s accomplished in just 2 seasons of college football, it would be unwise to bet against him.
Nico Iamaleava, QB, UCLA (+8000 via FanDuel)
He was the talk of spring football, and not for the best of reasons. The Nico Iamaleava saga was all over the place, from Knoxville to Pasadena, which is where he’s landed for the 2025 season.
Iamaleava, for all of his baggage, and there is a whole lot, is a part of UCLA and the Big Ten now. He would’ve been a Heisman candidate had he stayed at Tennessee, and even though he heads west to join what’s a less talented roster, Iamaleava can still play his way into the Heisman mix.
Iamaleava will have to play some catch-up during fall camp at UCLA after missing all of the spring. It won’t be easy, and the Los Angeles and national media blitz that’s surely awaiting him also will be a lot to deal with.
Once he gets settled in, though, Iamaleava should be OK, and he’ll have all the motivation in the world to shut the legion of naysayers up. We’ll learn a lot about Iamaleava’s mental toughness this fall, and if he’s tough enough, the Heisman could be in reach.
This was a guy who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff as a redshirt freshman while throwing for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions. He also ran for 358 yards.
This was all in his first season as the starter, against SEC defenses. Iamaleava has a real shot to quiet the haters buzzing around him. He’ll be trying to turn UCLA back into a winner, and if that happens, then the Heisman chatter will follow.
Dylan Raiola, QB, Nebraska (+6000 via FanDuel)
We saved another wild card for last. A lot would have to go right for Raiola to be in New York City in December. But a lot went right for Raiola last fall in Lincoln.
He set Nebraska freshman records for passing yards with 2,819 and completion percentage at 67.1%. Yes, Raiola also threw 11 interceptions, but he led the Cornhuskers to a winning season and a victory over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Raiola would have to take a big leap in 2025 to achieve Heisman status, but he should be in line for much better numbers this fall. He’ll have a season of college football under his belt, and in 2025, he’ll have a full season with dynamic offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.
Raiola should also have an improved wide receivers room this fall, with Nebraska adding Kentucky transfer Dane Key and Cal transfer Nyziah Hunter. Jacory Barney Jr. also returns after setting the program record for catches by a true freshman with 55.
All the stars are aligned for Raiola’s ascent as a quarterback to continue. It’s just a matter of how steep that ascent will be. If things really break right in Lincoln this fall, yes, there could be some Heisman whispers heading Raiola’s way.
The Big Ten is chock-full of young quarterbacks primed to take off in 2025, with Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Michigan’s Bryce Underwood possibly creating their own Heisman hype machine.
But look out for Raiola. If you’re getting compared to Patrick Mahomes, would a Heisman push really be all that shocking?