No individual award in major American sports invokes more nostalgia than the Heisman Trophy. Beyond recognizing the best player in college football — OK, let’s be honest: the best skill-position player in college football – the Heisman captures the essence of a season.
Name a year in recent memory, and the story of the season is often reflected in the Heisman recipient: Johnny Manziel introducing the spread-offense revolution to the Southeastern Conference in 2012. Ricky Williams sending Texas on the road back to greatness in 1998. Cam Newton willing Auburn to a national championship in 2010.
Because the Heisman embodies a spirit as much as it does quantifiable performance, there’s no scientific formula for pinpointing a Heisman challenger.
But there are consistent rules that set the framework.
Skill-position players, and especially quarterbacks, have an advantage. Starring for nationally ranked teams helps, with Paul Hornung as a notable exception; bonus points for contending for the national championship.
In the modern era, representing a program in a power conference is a virtual must. Ashton Jeanty of Boise State finishing second in the 2024 Heisman reinforced this very point.
We’re stretching the typical field to include one player from every FBS conference who could meet enough of the criteria to enter the 2026 Heisman Trophy race.
–Power 4
Atlantic Coast Conference: QB Darian Mensah, Miami
Mensah is Miami’s third high-profile transfer at the quarterback position in three seasons, following in the footsteps of Heisman finalist Cam Ward and Carson Beck. Beck arrived from Georgia to guide Miami to the national championship game last season.
Mensah led the conference in passing yards with nearly 4,000 for Duke in 2025 and an ACC-best 34 touchdowns. More of the same for the Hurricanes should put Mensah firmly in the Heisman race.
Big 12: QB Noah Fifita, Arizona
Overshadowed in preseason hype by a player who won’t play a snap in the Big 12 this season — Brendan Sorsby – the Big 12 still features a class of quarterbacks capable of joining the national conversation. Utah’s Devon Dampier and BYU’s Bear Bachmeier are known to league followers. And if he leads a 180-degree turnaround at Oklahoma State, Drew Mestemaker can be that guy.
Fifita is part of that fraternity and the most experienced among them. Fifita enters his fourth year as Arizona’s starting QB after totaling more than 9,400 yards (passing and rushing) and 73 touchdowns passes in his career. He also has one rushing TD.
Big Ten: QB Julian Sayin, Ohio State
Ohio State quarterbacks have contended for the Heisman repeatedly in the last decade, but it’s been 20 years since a Buckeye (Troy Smith) hoisted the hardware. California native and Alabama transfer Julian Sayin could end the drought.
Sayin made a splash in his debut as a starter, going his first five Big Ten games without an interception. With a year of experience and perhaps the best WR corps in college football catching passes, Sayin should surpass his output from 2025. It won’t hurt that Ohio State opens the season ranked No. 1.
Independent: Notre Dame: CJ Carr, quarterback
Young Notre Dame quarterbacks are no strangers to expectations. Jimmy Clausen famously rolled up to the 2006 Fighting Irish spring game in a limo to announce his commitment before his career played out more like a rented Ford Taurus. The late, great Beano Cook was a terrific media personality, but will be remembered forever for declaring Ron Powlus would win two Heismans while at Notre Dame.
Carr heads into 2026 bearing the weight of expectations, but with a key differentiator: He already has validated the hype. Should he build on the 24 TD passes and 10-game winning streak he piloted as a first-year starter and return the Fighting Irish to the College Football Playoff, Carr is a shoo-in Heisman finalist.
SEC: QB Arch Manning, Texas
In 2025, Manning was a preseason Heisman betting favorite, labeled as a bust in at least one prominent national media outlet, then finished the season with a stretch of games that brought signs he could live up to his last name.
The chatter seemed to settle in the 2026 offseason. Manning’s anointment may prove to have been premature, not misguided, if Texas can handle the gauntlet that is the SEC schedule and a Week 2 matchup with Ohio State.
–Group of Six
Since the Group of Six conferences last produced a Heisman Trophy winner in 1990 — Ty Detmer at BYU — the following stars need the universe to align perfectly to even reach New York’s finalists ceremony.
American: RB Jahiem White, North Texas
At West Virginia, White twice flirted with a 1,000-yard season. Reunited with former Mountaineers coach Neal Brown, he’s the likely centerpiece of the North Texas offense.
CUSA: QB Nick Minicucci, Delaware
Delaware made the jump from FCS to FBS and Minicucci helped ease the transition with 3,683 passing yards, 23 TD passes and 10 rushing touchdowns. Operating in an explosive offense, the dual-threat Minicucci should be CUSA’s most electric offensive player.
MAC: QB Broc Lowry, Western Michigan
Imagine a world in which back-to-back Heisman winners played at Indiana. Unlikely as it is, Lowry, a former Hoosier, gives the MAC a puncher’s chance. MAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2025, Lowry could put up stellar numbers in a run-heavy scheme.
Mountain West: RB Myles Mitchell, North Dakota State
New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne is sidelined for all of 2026 after his strong 2025, and Hawai’i quarterback Micah Alejado is unlikely to join the list after a loss to Stanford in Week 0. FBS newcomer North Dakota State has produced household names before. The Bison’s always-stout offensive line will give Mitchell, a freshman, no shortage of rushing lanes and isn’t shy about huge workloads.
Pac-12: RB Lucky Sutton, San Diego State
Sure it’s a new Pac-12, but San Diego State has the familiar formula with its reliance on a standout running back. From Marshall Faulk — a Heisman finalist in 1992 — to Rashaad Penny (a deserving Heisman finalist snubbed in 2017), the Aztecs have produced plenty of sensational ballcarriers.
Sutton had almost 1,300 rushing yards in 2025 and is capable of more.
Sun Belt: QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, Marshall
Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich and Rakeem Cato made noise with the Thundering Herd, and Del Rio-Wilson is the latest Marshall quarterback capable of catching lighting in a bottle. A transfer from Syracuse, he passed for 17 TDs and scored six on the ground in his first season with Marshall in 2025.
Del Rio-Wilson has the potential to be a 3,000/1,000 quarterback, which translates to “award worthy” no matter the conference.