The 2024 Heisman Trophy finalists were announced on Monday, and two frontrunners are officially in the mix. 

Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter and Boise State’s bruising running back Ashton Jeanty are considered the two favorites to win the award, while quarterback Dillon Gabriel of Oregon and Cam Ward of Miami round out the quartet.

This has been a thrilling college football season in the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff. But while his Buffaloes won’t be playing for a national title, Hunter’s efforts alongside the potential first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders, has led to a successful Colorado season. 

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Hunter is the heavy favorite to win the Heisman, as he’s simply doing something that no one in college football has: play on both sides of the ball. 

Hunter played full-time on offense and defense, and he finished in the top five in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and passes defended. Pro Football Focus also gave him the top coverage grade this season as well.

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On offense, Hunter had 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns over 12 games, averaging 96.0 yards through the air per game. And on defense, he defended 11 passes while collecting four interceptions and 32 combined tackles over the same set of games.

Despite Hunter being the overwhelming favorite, it’s simply been a blast to watch Jeanty lead the Broncos all the way to a Mountain West Conference title while earning a bye in the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed.

Jeanty led college football in rushing yards (2,497), rushing touchdowns (29), total touchdowns (30) and rush attempts (344) as the Broncos’ offense truly ran through the junior, who is also projected to be a first-rounder come April. 

His argument for winning the award over Hunter is the fact that he took a Group of Five school to a CFP bye in his historic season. If he breaks Barry Sanders’ all-time rushing record (2,628), who knows how the voting should shake out. 

But there’s only a single No. 1 seed this year in the CFP, and Gabriel’s Ducks are it as his sixth collegiate season has led to more elite production. 

Gabriel had 3,558 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns over his 297 attempts through the air to help the Ducks to an undefeated regular season at 13-0. 

The Hawaii native’s best game came against No. 2 Ohio State, where he had 341 yards passing and three total touchdowns, proving Oregon was the team to beat in the Big Ten in its inaugural season in the conference. Oregon went on to beat Penn State to win the Big Ten, and now they’re looking for an undefeated season with a national title attached to it. 

Ward, another potential first overall selection in 2025, is about as cool and collected as a quarterback can be in the pocket, which has led to numerous come-from-behind victories for the Hurricanes this season. 

He’s also a fantastic college football story, starting at Incarnate Word out of high school, his only offer, and ultimately leading college football with 36 passing touchdowns and finishing second with 4,123 passing yards this year.

Miami wasn’t able to make the CFP this year, but an argument can be made that Ward was the best quarterback in the game this season, which earned him a trip to New York.

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The College Football Playoff selection committee has left the Miami Hurricanes frazzled and looking for answers after the penultimate rankings put them on the outside looking in.

The chief complaint being Miami only having two losses compared to Alabama, who was ranked 11th, having three. The Crimson Tide’s losses include one against Oklahoma in which they only scored three points. The Hurricanes also blew a 21-point lead to Syracuse for their second defeat last week.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who was thought of as a Heisman Trophy contender, lashed out against the committee on Wednesday.

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"We’re playing better defenses, in my opinion, than the SEC," he said on the ACC Network, via On3 Sports. "So, it’s just hard. I did what I could. The team, we controlled what we can control.

"We controlled our own destiny for a lot of the season, and we didn’t end up getting the job done. So, we know it’s all in our hands, and it got taken away from us when we lost, so it’s nothing that we can do about it now but just sit there, be patient and just try to get an opportunity to play for another game."

Ward also doubted how much "tape" officials are watching before putting the rankings together.

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"I mean at the end of the day them boys who in that committee, I really doubt they watch tape or not. I mean you can’t, I mean, we’re a 10-2 team. Not saying Alabama’s not a good team, which they are, but let’s talk about them points. That’s probably the biggest factor, I believe."

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said before the rankings were released that the committee should "go to the facts."

Officials saw things differently.

"What it came down to is as we evaluated both teams and looked at how they rank, obviously we think highly of both teams," committee chair Warde Manuel said, via On3 Sports. "One’s at 11, one’s at 12. But what it really came down to is Alabama is 3-1 against current top 25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500 and Miami’s 4-2. Both have had some losses that weren’t what they wanted out of those games. But in the last three games, Miami has lost twice."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Miami Hurricanes’ College Football Playoff fate may have been sealed on Tuesday as they were not among the teams slotted in the penultimate bracket before conference championship weekend.

Miami’s upset loss to the Syracuse Orange had a lot to do with that. The Hurricanes blew a 21-0 lead to eventually lose, 42-38. It was Miami’s second loss in three games, with the other coming against Georgia Tech.

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The selection committee listed Miami as the first team on the outside looking in. The three-loss Alabama Crimson Tide was placed in the 11th spot of the bracket. Alabama lost to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma this season.

The ACC may only see one team in the playoffs when all is said and done. SMU was ranked No. 3 in the bracket but may fall out if they lose the conference title game against Clemson. Conference commissioner Jim Phillips said it was disappointing to see Miami go from No. 6 to No. 12.

"Miami has more wins and fewer losses than the team director ahead of them and a dominant victory over an SEC team whose late-season surge includes a win over No. 13 Ole Miss," Phillips said in a statement. "Moreover, with two losses by a combined nine points – to a ranked Syracuse team and a Georgia Tech team that just took No. 5 Georgia to eight overtimes – Miami absolutely deserves better from the Committee.

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"As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the Committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field. We will continue to look forward to this weekend, when Clemson and SMU have an opportunity to earn an ACC championship and represent the conference n the CFP."

Warde Manuel, the CFP selection committee chair, explained on ESPN why Alabama got the edge over Miami.

"What it came down to is as we evaluated both teams and looked at how they rank, obviously we think highly of both teams," he said, via On3 Sports. "One’s at 11, one’s at 12. But what it really came down to is Alabama is 3-1 against current top 25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500 and Miami’s 4-2. Both have had some losses that weren’t what they wanted out of those games. But in the last three games, Miami has lost twice."

However, Manuel said things could still change depending on how the conference championships play out.

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It was a tough weekend for Miami fans, and apparently an even tougher one for their mascot. 

CNY Central anchor and reporter Ashley Wenskoski was at "The Dome" on Saturday covering Syracuse’s game against Miami when she called out the Hurricanes’ mascot, Sebastian, for hitting on her on the sidelines. 

"Sebastian the Ibis (Miami’s mascot) just kneeled down and asked for my number mid-drive," she wrote in a post on X. 

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"Feels like he has bigger things to worry about with his team on the ropes in the 4th quarter at the Dome…but who am I to say."

Syracuse knocked Miami out of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 42-38 win on Saturday for the program’s first top-10 win since 2017. Quarterback Kyle McCord completed 26 of 36 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns to help the Orange rally from a 21-point deficit.

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With their playoff hopes in the hands of the CFP selection committee, it’s no wonder Sebastian couldn’t focus on the game. Wenskoski seemingly agreed. 

"And more importantly, Syracuse football won its biggest game in years & my team and I worked tirelessly to provide the best possible sports coverage," she wrote in a post on X in response to an article about the incident.

"[Head coach] Fran Brown has re-energized a program in a fantastic sports town. I guess Miami's mascot simply couldn't watch that 4th quarter. Can't blame him."

But the mascot did respond to being called out on social media.

"They do anything for clout," a comment from Sebastian the Ibis’ Instagram read on a post about the incident. 

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Controlling their own destiny for the College Football Playoff entering Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes can now do nothing but pray.

The Canes missed out on a spot in next week's ACC championship after getting upset by Syracuse, 42-38. 

Now, Miami's chances of making the 12-team playoff are very much up in the air.

Miami's loss gave an ACC championship game bid to Clemson. Now, the winner of SMU-Clemson in the ACC title game will receive an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff.

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The Hurricanes scored early and often, getting out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. But the Orange chipped away and tied the game on their first drive of the second half.

Late in the third, though, with the game tied at 28, Devin Grant of Syracuse picked up a fumble and returned it 56 yards to the house to give Syracuse the lead. Miami responded with a touchdown, but the Orange answered with another one.

On 4th and goal at the 15-yard line late in the game, the Hurricanes made the curious decision to kick a field goal to cut their deficit to four. Granted, scoring would have required a 15-yard play, but Miami also risked not touching the ball the rest of the game while still needing a touchdown. 

That's exactly what happened. Syracuse got three first downs to end the game.

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Saturday marked the fourth time this season Miami had entered the fourth quarter trailing. This time, though, it didn't work out in its favor.

In what could be his last game with Miami, Cam Ward completed 25 of his 36 passes for 349 yards. Kyle McCord went 26-for-36 for 380 yards in the win.

The loss also very much opens the door for Alabama, which entered Saturday ranked 13th in the country. The Crimson Tide took care of their business by winning the Iron Bowl against Auburn.

All the Canes can do now is wait.

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