December 15th 2024.
On Saturday evening, the highly anticipated Heisman Trophy race came to an end with an unexpected winner. Travis Hunter, the two-way star from Colorado, took home the most prestigious individual award in college football, beating out Boise State's talented tailback, Ashton Jeanty, by a mere 214 votes. This was the closest race since 2009, when Mark Ingram of Alabama narrowly defeated Toby Gerhart of Stanford by 28 points.
In third place was Oregon's quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, followed by Miami's Cam Ward. However, it was Hunter's victory that stole the show. Not only was he the first defensive player to win the award since Charles Woodson in 1997, but he was also an exceptional receiver, making him the first player in history to win the Heisman while playing on both offense and defense.
Earlier in the week, Hunter made history by becoming the first college player to win both the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Biletnikoff Award. He now joins the late Rashaan Salaam as the only players from Colorado to have ever won the Heisman. This puts CU in an elite group of only 20 schools with multiple Heisman winners.
Aside from Hunter's victory, there were other noteworthy aspects of the 2024 Heisman race. For the first time since 2015, a quarterback did not finish in the top two, and this has only happened once this century. Another interesting fact is that the top two finishers both hail from schools in the Mountain Time Zone.
Jeanty, who led Boise State to the College Football Playoff, had an outstanding season, averaging a whopping 192.1 rushing yards per game and outpacing his closest competitor by 837 yards on the ground. It's no wonder he was a strong contender for the Heisman.
One surprising outcome of the Heisman voting was the absence of any players from the SEC in the top 10. This is a rarity for a conference known for producing top talent in college football. On December 9, I submitted my ballot with Hunter in first place, Jeanty in second, and Arizona State's Cam Skattebo in third.
Skattebo may not have received as much attention as Hunter or Jeanty, but his performance was equally impressive. Playing a crucial role in ASU's success as the Big 12 champions, Skattebo's production on the field was stellar.
In other news, there have been talks of the Pac-12 considering a football championship game in the near future. Also, following the settlement of the House v. NCAA lawsuit, schools like Arizona and ASU are expected to make cuts to their rosters in order to comply with the new regulations.
As always, I welcome any suggestions, comments, or tips at
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