Travis Hunter is good enough to beat the odds and win the Heisman Trophy.
Heisman winners usually play quarterback, typically for a College Football Playoff contenders.
Colorado’s two-way star splits his time between wide receiver and cornerback, and while Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes have already matched last season’s victory total, it might be a stretch to call them a serious threat to win the Big 12 — or maybe not.
The ceiling for Hunter and CU might need to be re-assesed after they went to new conference rivalry UCF and turned the Bounce House into the Buffs’ House on Saturday.
“This is one of the first times that offensively, defensively as well as special teams, we came togther all at the same time,” Sanders said.
Hunter put up a stat line like only he can, with nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown and interception that prompted a Heisman pose.
Hunter has routinely logged more than 100 snaps in games as a lockdown cornerback on an improved Colorado defense and quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ favorite target on offense.
Many a Heisman hopeful in September has become a footnote to the season by November, but a healthy Hunter could change the usual dynamics of the race.
Since 2000, 20 Heisman winners have been quarterbacks and most of them have played for teams that have entered the postseason with a chance to win a national title.
The big question about LSU’s Jayden Daniels Heisman campaign last year was whether he could overcome a 9-3 record. The last Heisman winner to be on a team to lose that many regular-season games was Lamar Jackson for Louisville in 2016.
Hunter will be an unusual Heisman contender, but he is a unique talent. Charles Woodson won the Heisman in 1997 as brilliant cornerback, a part-time receiver and occasional special teams weapon.
Woodson wasn’t playing this much nor at this level on both sides of the ball. Hunter will have NFL teams pondering whether to use him on offense or defense when he becomes a first-round draft pick in April.
Hunter is currently on pace for more than 100 catches and 1,000 yards receiving. Hunter’s Heisman hopes are as much about how well Colorado (4-1) holds up as he does. It’s early, but the Buffs go into their off week tied for first place in the Big 12.
No. 23 Kansas State comes to Boulder on Oct. 12 for a game that will no doubt get a prime television window. Coach Prime’s team is still a TV ratings machine.
That should help Hunter, too. His brilliance should continue to get a big stage as long as Colorado doesn’t nosedive the way it did last season.
It’s funny how things go.
Last season, CU stormed out to a 3-0 start and spent several weeks as a ranked team. It was all a mirage. The Buffs finished 4-8 and Hunter missed a chunk of the season with injuries.
The buzz about the Buffs is building more organically this season, which could give both Colorado and Hunter staying power.
UNLV’s wild week
UNLV was the epicenter of college football for much of this week, both in conference realignment and then when its starting quarterback left the team over an NIL dispute.
With Matthew Sluka out, UNLV turned to another FCS transfer, Hajj-Malik Williams in a key Mountain West conference game against Fresno State.
“Many have expressed very strong opinions of the events of last week without full knowledge of the facts. Without full knowledge of the events of last week,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said after the game, adding the program complied with applicable rules in dealing with Sluka.
Williams, who transferred from Campbell, looked like an upgrade. He went 13 for 16 for 182 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 119 yards in a score as UNLV routed the Bulldogs — scoring one for the schools staying in the Mountain West over those departing for the relaunched Pac-12.
The Rebels are 4-0 for the first time since moving to Division I in 1978.
Upset Rebels
Lane Kiffin and Mississippi were among the winners of the offseason in college football, with an NIL-powered, all-star transfer portal class that helped the Rebels their best preseason ranking since Archie Manning was a Heisman Trophy candidate.
No. 6 Ole Miss spent four weeks bullying a weak nonconference schedule and then wilted at home against a rugged Kentucky team that benefitted from a little luck and generally conservative coach loosening up.
To Kiffin’s credit, he tried to downplay the Rebels’ 4-0 star, by an average score of 55-5.
“We didn’t make the plays. We didn’t close them out,” Kiffin told reporters after getting Stoopsed.
Kentucky played the low-possession, keepaway game that put the Wildcats in position to upset Georgia two weeks ago. This time though, coach Mark Stoops worked in a fourth-down go that changed the game.
There is a long way to go in a 12-team playoff, but losing to unranked teams at home in a loaded SEC is no way for Ole Miss to validate its preseason hype and truly establish itself as a national title contender.
Around the country
The last time Indiana was 5-0 John Pont was the coach, Harry Gonso was the quarterback and the Hoosiers played in the Rose Bowl for the first and only time in program history. Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers improved to 5-0 behind Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke, who threw three TD pass to pull away from Maryland. Next up, for Indiana is at Northwestern. … Indiana and Rutgers are a combined 9-0. … Count Navy among the early surprises, too. The Midshipmen seem to have another star quarterback in Blake Horvath, who is the first major college quarterback since Lamar Jackson to have at least seven TD passes and seven TD runs in the first four games. Navy and Army are a combined 8-0.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
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