Colorado do-it-all star Travis Hunter left quite an impression on Heisman Trophy voters in Friday’s 52-0 win against Oklahoma State. Hunter was all over the field for the Buffaloes, finishing their regular season finale with three touchdowns through the air and one interception on defense.
It solidified a special season for Hunter, who is the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman at -10000, per FanDuel. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Hunter’s strongest competition, is at +3000.
For context, Hunter entered the year at +6500. It’s hard to deny that he’s had one of the most special seasons we have seen from an individual player in this sport’s history. Hunter set the tone early against Oklahoma State by picking off a pass to bring the Cowboys’ first drive to an abrupt end.
Colorado turned that into a quick touchdown a couple of plays later. Hunter extended Colorado’s lead to 21-0 later in the first quarter with an 11-yard touchdown reception, delivered by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Hunter got his second touchdown of the day early in the third quarter. With that, he secured 13 receiving scores on the year, which set a new Colorado record for touchdown receptions in a single season.
Hunter saved his best for last. On his third touchdown reception of the afternoon, Hunter battled through heavy contact from an Oklahoma State defensive back and secured Sanders’ pass while falling into the end zone, displaying the spectacular ball skills that have helped him emerge as the nation’s most electric playmaker.
Hunter’s final statline is impressive: 10 catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns on offense with one tackle, one interception and two pass breakups on defense.
It was his seventh game this season with at least 100 yards through the air and fifth with multiple touchdowns receiving. It was also his third career game with 10-plus receptions and one interception, and his third career game with a receiving touchdown and one interception — the most since 2000. All this season.
Saturday’s performance means Hunter finishes the regular season with 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver and four interceptions with 11 pass breakups as a defensive back. Hunter is just the second player in FBS history, after Aqib Talib in 2007, with at least four touchdowns receiving and four interceptions in a single season. Even then, Talib had just 187 yards receiving and played there sparingly.
He’s also the first FBS player since 1996 with three-plus touchdowns receiving and one-plus interceptions in a single game. That hasn’t been accomplished in the NFL since 1942.
Hunter plays full-time both ways while averaging well over 100 snaps per game. Despite dealing with various injury issues and handling double the workload of the average college football player, Hunter still played in all 12 games this season.
Unless Colorado makes the Big 12 Championship Game, Saturday marks Hunter’s final game prior to Dec. 14’s Heisman Trophy Ceremony. Even so, he’s done enough as college football’s unicorn to take the hardware home.
Hunter’s accomplishments don’t diminish what Jeanty has done for Boise State this season, and he absolutely deserves a spot as a Heisman finalist — at the very least. In Boise State’s Week 14 win against Oregon State, Jeanty rushed for 226 yards and one touchdown on 37 carries.
That means he finished the year with at least 100 yards rushing in all 12 of Boise State’s games and at least 200 yards rushing in five contests. He’s the first FBS player with 200 yards rushing in five games since 2021.
His 2,288 yards rushing are fifth-most in FBS history and the most in a single regular season since Barry Sanders had a record 2,628 in 1988. That means Jeanty is just 341 yards away from breaking Sanders’ record with at least two games left to do it (Mountain West Championship Game and postseason).
Jeanty averages just over 190 yards per game. Jeanty’s 28 touchdowns rushing also tie a single-season Boise State record. By comparison, former Alabama star Derrick Henry — the last running back to win the Heisman Trophy — had 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground by the time 2015’s Heisman Trophy Ceremony rolled around.
In most normal years, Jeanty would be the unquestioned frontrunner for college football’s most coveted individual award. As it stands, he’s still a heavy favorite to take the Doak Walker Award — given annually to college football’s top running back — and most projections have him going off the board as an early first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
