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With Week 8 of college football now in the rearview, our Heisman Trophy Power Rankings are becoming clearer. As teams enter the toughest parts of their schedules, Heisman hopefuls are also facing stronger competition—giving them the opportunity to either separate themselves from the pack or play themselves out of the race altogether.
For players like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, he hasn’t been the same quarterback since his standout performance against Georgia weeks ago. Milroe struggled mightily in Week 8 against Tennessee, having one of his worst games of the season. On the other hand, Miami’s Cam Ward has been one of the most consistent performers week in and week out, keeping the Hurricanes undefeated in 2024.
And that's where we begin this week's Heisman Trophy power rankings, with the Miami Hurricanes quarterback.
1. Cam Ward, QB: Miami Hurricanes
Cam Ward comes in back at No. 1 in the Heisman Trophy power rankings after Week 8. Ward is everything to Miami—this team goes as far as he does. He has completely transformed the outlook for the program this season, and possibly beyond, with his style of play.
For the seventh straight game, Ward threw for over 300 yards. continuing his historic season. He went 21-for-32 for 319 yards, and more importantly, had no turnovers against Louisville. He leads the nation in passing yards and touchdowns. And as we've mentioned many times this season, beyond the impressive stats, Ward continues to create Heisman moments with his unorthodox, electrifying style of quarterback play.
2. Ashton Jeanty, RB: Boise State Broncos
Boise State and Ashton Jeanty were off during Week 8, so the Broncos' running back couldn't pad his already impressive season stat line. Jeanty remains ahead in most rushing categories this season, including rushing yards with 1,248, which is over 200 yards more than Iowa's Kaleb Johnson, who has played one more game than Jeanty. Army's Bryson Daily did take over as the nation's rushing leader in Week 8 with 19 touchdowns on the season. Knowing Jeanty, who has 17 touchdowns, he could easily make up for that just in the first half against UNLV this Friday.
As long as Jeanty keeps up his impressive pace to break Barry Sanders rushing record, he'll stay a favorite in the Heisman Trophy race, despite what Travis Hunter says.
3. Dillon Gabriel, QB: Oregon Ducks
Dillon Gabriel reminded everyone what he’s capable of when he led the Ducks to a win over Ohio State two weeks ago. The matchup got a little easier for Oregon in Week 8, even though they had to travel to face Purdue. Gabriel continued his impressive passing game, completing 21 of 25 attempts, which put him back as the country's leader in completion percentage (77%). He threw for 290 yards but had one interception in the Ducks' 35-0 win — their first shutout road victory in over 30 years, according to ESPN.
4. Cade Klubnik, QB: Clemson Tigers
Cade Klubnik has been on the Heisman Trophy power rankings radar for weeks. He finally makes his debut after Week 8, helping lead Clemson to their sixth straight win, making them one of the top teams in the ACC. Klubnik has now throw for over 200 yards with at least two touchdowns in each of those six games, completing 88.9% of his passes. He was 23-for-35 with 308 yards, three touchdowns and one interception against Virginia in Week 8.
5. Travis Hunter, WR/CB: Colorado Buffaloes
Travis Hunter is barely hanging on in our Heisman Trophy power rankings. Hunter hasn’t been himself since suffering a shoulder injury against Kansas State two weeks ago. That injury still seemed to linger for the Colorado star in the game against Arizona. He missed the second half and had just two receptions for 17 yards on offense and one tackle on defense.
Fortunately, Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes didn’t need him after jumping out to a 28-7 halftime lead. As Hunter has said, no one can do what he can do on the field, but if he doesn’t get healthy and start playing more, he could find himself completely out of the Heisman Trophy race.
