Actual Heisman Trophy voting ended Monday afternoon in advance of Saturday’s announcement, and if the final straw poll of writers and editors at The Athletic is any indication, Ashton Jeanty made a late move on Travis Hunter.
Enough of a move? Hunter, the Colorado star who is one of the best receivers and cornerbacks in the game, still doubled Jeanty’s first-place votes, 18-9. But those nine voters all changed their minds from Hunter to Jeanty in a week. It was 27-0 Hunter before Jeanty had an opportunity to state his case on national TV, which he did with football eloquence — 209 yards and a touchdown rushing in a 21-7 win over UNLV to land Boise State in the College Football Playoff.
That left Jeanty at 2,497 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns on the season, which wins him the Heisman in a lot of seasons. Not a quarterback, not a power conference school, not a problem most seasons with those numbers. He is 132 yards from breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record, which he can do when No. 3 seed Boise State plays No. 6 seed Penn State or No. 11 seed SMU in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Fiesta Bowl.
(It should be noted that Sanders’ 222-yard bowl game isn’t part of that record because bowl games did not count toward single-season records in 1988. If they did, the record would be 2,850 yards, along with a tidy 42 touchdowns, which Sanders did in 12 games.)
Jeanty’s 75-yard touchdown run against UNLV showed off the absurd balance, power and speed that makes him a projected first-round pick, and his production despite the defensive attention he attracts is extraordinary. It also helps the rest of the Boise State offense, which has helped this team get to 12-1 — its lone loss in a 37-34 thriller at Oregon.
And how did Jeanty do against the CFP’s No. 1 seed and the only unbeaten team in the field? Try 192 yards and three touchdowns rushing.
He’s got a case, and it was amplified as Hunter and the 9-3 Buffaloes sat and waited to hear of their bowl assignment — the Alamo against fellow Big 12 team BYU.
Still, Hunter and his excellence on both sides of the ball, for a team in a Power 4 league with a Power 4 TV deal, put him in a gradually stronger position as the season progressed, and he remains the clear favorite. The other nine voters placed him second, giving him a total of 72 points compared with Jeanty’s 63 points.
It was 81-50 Hunter a week ago.
The Athletic follows the same voting protocol as that of the Heisman: three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote, one point for a third-place vote.
| Player | Team | Pos | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Travis Hunter
|
 Colorado |
WR/CB
|
18
|
9
|
0
|
72
|
|
Ashton Jeanty
|
 Boise State |
RB
|
9
|
18
|
0
|
63
|
|
Cam Skattebo
|
 Arizona State |
RB
|
0
|
0
|
18
|
18
|
|
Dillon Gabriel
|
 Oregon |
QB
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
|
Cam Ward
|
 Miami |
QB
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
Kaleb Johnson
|
 Iowa |
RB
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
The other big mover in the final poll was Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo after he had more than 200 yards of offense and three touchdowns in the Sun Devils’ rout of Iowa State in the Big 12 title game. Skattebo leaped from five third-place votes a week ago to 18 this week, putting him in sole possession of third place. Penn State tight end Tyler Warren went from eight third-place votes to none.
The voting at-large did not reflect the straw poll in that way. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel and Miami quarterback Cam Ward are the other two finalists who will join Hunter and Jeanty in New York for Saturday’s ceremony, which means those are the top four vote-getters. In the final straw poll, Gabriel was fourth with seven third-place votes and Ward got one third-place vote.
(Photo: Marco Garcia / Imagn Images)
