who will win the heisman trophy?

By Seth Perlstein ‘27
Some amazing potential candidates are competing for the Heisman trophy this year - the most prestigious award in college football. 

Multiple NFL Hall of Famers like Barry Sanders, Bruce Smith, Charles Woodson, and Bo Jackson have been awarded this trophy. Current stars who have won it include Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Joe Burrow, and most recently, Jayden Daniels.    
There have been many record-breaking players this year, like running back Ashton Jeanty of Boise State, who already has 1,031 rushing yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10.9 yards per rush. Another player to consider is Travis Hunter, a two-way player for the Colorado Buffaloes. He only has six touchdowns, 561 receiving yards, and two interceptions but is playing over 100 snaps per game for the Buffalos. 
Miami quarterback Cam Ward is leading an undefeated team and just came back from being down 35-10 to win 39-38. Furthermore, Ward has favorable statistics: 2,219 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns. 
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe helped his team beat top ranked Georgia and has 1,274 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, and nine rushing touchdowns alongside a measly two interceptions.     
Or perhaps this year’s Heisman award may go to Ashton Jeanty since he already has 1000 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. He is also on pace to get two thousand rushing yards, which has only been done by four other players this decade. Outside of the one loss to undefeated Oregon, he has led Boise State to win after win, and in the past three weeks, they have won by at least 20 points. Jeanty has gone under 150 rushing yards only once and has gone under 200 yards two times.     
The 2024 college football season stepped off to a wild start. The reigning national champion Michigan lost in Week Two to Texas, Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois, and the fourth-ranked Alabama beat the second-ranked Georgia 41-34.    
In the Alabama-Georgia game, Georgia recovered from being down four possessions in the first half, only to lose by a wild 75-yard passing touchdown from Jalen Milroe to Ryan Williams.
 After Alabama won against Georgia, they lost to Vanderbilt, who had never beaten a top-five-ranked team. Finally, the third-ranked undefeated Oregon beat the second-ranked undefeated Ohio State by one point after moving to the Big Ten this year. 
In college football, a significant change is the move from a four-team playoff to a twelve-team tournament. In the past ten years, the top four ranked teams in college football would make the playoffs, and after, the semifinal and the final. With the new twelve-team playoff, the top team in the best four conferences, the Atlantic Coastal Conference, Big TEN, SEC, and Big 12, gets first-round byes.
Following that, the next seven best teams also make the playoffs but have to play in the first round. Then the next best team not in one of those four conferences also makes the playoffs. In the first round, the fifth seed plays at home against the twelfth seed, the sixth seed plays at home against the eleventh seed, the seventh seed plays at home against the tenth seed, and finally, the eighth seed plays at home against the ninth seed. 
Next, the top four teams have their playoff debut and play at neutral locations against the winners of the four games played in the first round. In the third round, the winners of those four games play again against a team still in the playoffs. The two best teams compete against each other to win the national championship.