The 2025 college football season is four weeks in and the original Heisman Trophy candidates are struggling early on.
Garrett Nussmeier: The Bayou’s Best
Heading into the season, Nussmeier was looking like the Heisman front runner, but as the weeks have gone by he has slowly been slipping out of that top spot. After an amazing junior season last year as LSU’s starter, Nussmeier was expected to take the next step to greatness.
Even though the LSU Tigers have started off 4-0, the success is widely credited to their defense, not Nussmeier’s elite passing skills. Throughout the first four weeks, Nusmeier has passed for just 962 yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs, and a Quarterback rating of 75.2 (33rd amongst NCAA DI quarterbacks). Heading into a tough matchup in week five against fellow SEC member Ole Miss, Nussmeier is gonna have to show out in order to win and bring hope back to his Heisman dreams.
Arch Manning: The Prodigy
Even if you don’t watch football, you have probably heard about the Manning family. Arch’s pressure and spotlight comes from his grandfather, Archie Manning, and Uncles Peyton & Eli Manning, who are all NFL legends with Eli and Peyton each winning two super bowls each and being in the NFL Hall of Fame. With this much history and honor behind his last name, Arch was expected to be the next great Manning ever since he was in high school. After sitting behind QB Quin Ewers last year, Arch was named the Texas starter for the 2025 season, but four games into the season he hasn’t lived up to the name just yet.
After struggling the first week against Ohio State, Arch started to show some improvement in the following weeks as he has thrown for 888 yards, 9 TDs, 3 INTs, and has a Quarterback rating of only 54.3 (75th amongst NCAA DI quarterbacks) so far this season. If he doesn’t have a breakout game next week against Florida, his Heisman dreams may come crashing down.
Jeremiah Smith: The Freshman Freak
After Jeremiah Smith’s breakout freshman season last year, he was expected to become the best player in college football. Last year as a true freshman for Ohio State, Smith finished 4th in receiving yards, 2nd in touchdowns, and 25th in receptions. With his skill and leadership, he was able to help his team win the National Championship 34-23 over Notre Dame. His season was so impressive it landed him on the cover of EA’s College Football 26 video game.
However, he hasn’t even cracked the top 25 in TDs, receptions, or yards. This leads many to believe that Smith isn’t as great as he seems to be and that his hype came from the fact that he was the WR one on a championship winning team as a freshman last year. If Smith continues to perform how he has so far this season, he will have virtually no chance at winning the Heisman trophy.
Cade Klubnik: The Tiger King
With a breakout season last year, Cade Klubnik of the Clemson Tigers was expected to have a monstrous season. After a loss to LSU in week one, Kluubnik looked like a shell of his past. Last season Klubnik finished top 10 in both passing yards and TDs.
This season he has fallen out of the top 20 in both stats and is not even in the top 100 for completion percentage. With his team being 1-3 so far this season, it is hard to find any hope for Klubnik and the Tigers.
Their early-season struggles serve as a powerful reminder that the Heisman is not a preseason award—it’s a week-to-week battle for the spotlight, demanding not just talent, but also consistent production and team success. While all four still possess the talent to turn their seasons around, they must do so immediately. With key matchups looming for Nussmeier and Manning, and the need for a statistical explosion for Smith, the window is rapidly closing.
The door has been thrown wide open for a new contender to emerge. As these stars falter, the Heisman race now officially belongs to the player who can string together elite, high-impact performances over the next two months. The question now isn’t whether the preseason favorites can recapture their glory, but rather, who will step up and seize the moment?
