Heisman Watch: Is it already Jeremiah Smith's award to lose after just 6 weeks?

Given the way that quarterbacks have dominated the Heisman Trophy in recent seasons, it was going to take an incredibly special season for someone who didn’t play quarterback — or on both sides of the ball — to win the award.

And so far, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is trying to make the 2026 Heisman debate very one-sided.

Through six weeks, Smith’s odds to win the Heisman at BetMGM are -220. That means you’d win just $4.55 on a $10 bet. No other player currently has odds better than 10-1 to win.

Smith’s stats are cartoonish so far. He has 48 catches for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns. Only Wake Forest’s Carlos Hernandez has more receptions (49) and Oregon State freshman sensation Jesse Legree is the only player with more yards (932) and touchdowns (12).

And while Legree is one of the coolest stories in college football this season, he’s unfortunately not going to get much Heisman love because Oregon State is in the Pac-12.

In Ohio State’s Week 6 win over Maryland, Smith had one of his “worst” games of the season. Please note the quotation marks. His four catches were the fewest he’s had in a game so far and his 93 yards were his second-fewest of the season. He did catch two touchdowns and made this absurd one-handed grab too.

HOW JEREMIAH SMITH?! pic.twitter.com/eF3qGIFC2a

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 10, 2026

Smith has been dominant since he played his first college football game and it’s why he’s now Ohio State’s career leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns despite playing just two-and-a-half seasons. He’s caught at least one touchdown pass in 26 of the 35 games he’s played in, and has also had at least 70 receiving yards in all but nine games in his career.

There’s a reason why he’s a surefire top-five or even top-three pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Smith hardly needs to convince anyone else of his greatness. And another big game on Saturday against Indiana will only make him an even bigger favorite for the Heisman.

The defending national champions enter on a 22-game win streak and are the only team to play Smith in multiple games and prevent him from scoring a touchdown in either game. Can the Hoosiers keep him out of the end zone for a third straight game? We have our doubts.

Here are four other Heisman candidates worth keeping an eye on in Week 7.

Notre Dame QB CJ Carr (10-1): Carr is the No. 2 favorite as No. 2 Notre Dame travels to face No. 8 BYU. The Cougars have one of the best pass defenses in the country so far this season. Opponents are averaging just 174 yards per game through the air and have thrown five touchdowns in five games. However, without BYU RB LJ Martin available, Notre Dame is a double-digit favorite.

Miami QB Darian Mensah (11-1): After going 18-of-27 passing in Miami’s Week 5 win over Clemson, Mensah’s completion percentage is down to 84.2% ahead of the Hurricanes’ game against Florida State. Seriously. He’s over six points ahead of the FBS completion percentage record through Miami’s first five games of the season and if he continues to stay ahead of that mark — even if it’s by fractions of a point — Mensah will assuredly be a Heisman finalist.

Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss (15-1): Chambliss threw for three touchdowns in Ole Miss’ blowout win over Vanderbilt in Week 6. If you overlooked that game with everything else that went on in the SEC last weekend, we understand. Chambliss is completing just over 70% of his passes heading into the No. 9 Rebels’ game against No. 13 Missouri, but he’s also thrown more interceptions than he did all of last season. Ole Miss may need to get to the SEC title game to get Chambliss to New York.

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p style=”text-align:left”>Indiana QB Josh Hoover (50-1): Don’t be surprised if Hoover starts to become a Heisman favorite, especially if Indiana keeps winning. He’s thrown for 17 TDs and no interceptions through the Hoosiers’ first six games, though a 13.2% touchdown percentage is very likely unsustainable. A big game in a 23rd consecutive win for Indiana will shrink Hoover’s odds considerably.