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The Heisman Hype

Why, statistically, Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Miami, or LSU will have the next Heisman winner

The Ohio State Buckeyes are one of the likeliest programs to have College Football's Heisman Trophy winner for the 2026 season.

First and foremost, because there hasn't been a non-WR/QB winner in over a decade, Julian Sayin is coming off a Heisman finalist season, and Jeremiah Smith is the most hyped-up player in the sport.

CBS Sports' Brad Crawford noted that every winner since Bryce Young was also a transfer, which particularly bodes well for Sayin. He also put the Oregon Ducks, with former UCLA transfer QB Dante Moore, the Indiana Hoosiers, with TCU Horned Frogs transfer QB Josh Hoover, the Miami Hurricanes, with Duke Blue Devils transfer QB Darian Mensah, and the LSU Tigers, with Arizona State Sun Devils transfer QB Sam Leavitt, in the same category that sees the state of the game as "good news."

"The last four Heisman winners have been transfers. Sign of the times, right? Fernando Mendoza (Indiana, 2025), Travis Hunter (Colorado, 2024), Jayden Daniels (LSU, 2023) and Caleb Williams (USC, 2022) all struck gold at different programs from where they originally signed, which is great news for the quarterbacks at Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Miami and LSU, should history repeat itself. Three of those elites added new signal callers this offseason, while returning starters Julian Sayin and Dante Moore for the Buckeyes and Ducks, respectively, were once transfers themselves," Crawford wrote.

Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith have obvious Heisman narratives in 2026

2026 is set up to be a major one for Sayin and/or Smith's Heisman narrative. For one, the Buckeyes face perhaps the most daunting schedule in the entire country, with perhaps the toughest non-conference game against the Texas Longhorns in Austin. Meanwhile, their showdowns against the Iowa Hawkeyes, USC Trojans, Oregon, Indiana, and TTUN represent the most projected preseason top-25 opponents on the schedule any team will face this fall.

Beyond that, Arthur Smith's system could be built for Smith to thrive, but of course, Sayin can win the award by having many of his game-winning throws go to Chris Henry Jr. or the rest of the receiving corps, which have failed to generate much hype this spring beyond those two and feel-good story Brock Boyd.

There are many reasons why voters would have an Ohio State player at the top of mind this December when the decision is cast. It's been exactly two decades since Troy Smith won the award, marking the longest period since the QB's win that a Buckeye has won it. Smith ended a 19-year drought, while Archie Griffin broke an 18-year drought with his win in 1973.
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James Franklin (HC Virginia Tech)

Franklin is going to create chaos in the ACC so fuck Clemson, FSU and Miami while it pisses off the Cult and then he's going to spit the bit and crush the hopes and dreams of delusional VT fans right about the time they start to think they are a big boy and not just a mid major on a heater.

We really can't lose on this one.
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Cincinnati Bengals (Same Ole Bengals)

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Joe Burrow identifies key advantage with one of the few things the Cincinnati Bengals did not change about their roster​

Cincinnati may’ve started 2-0 for the first time in the Burrow era last season, but there’s still another level the unit can reach offensively in the first few weeks of the schedule.

Burrow believes having an o-line that has already worked together, at a high level nonetheless, can lead to better results out the gate.

“It’s so beneficial at the beginning of the season when you have the reps of communication that we’ve had with those guys,” Burrow said during his press conference last week. “O-line is all about communicating, knowing where your help is, playing off of each other, and when you have five returning starters, number one that have done that, number two that have all the talent to go and make it happen. That’s a great feeling for me. There’s no question that we have to be better in the first couple of games at those positions, and the last half of last year they were unbelievable, and we just have to carry that into first couple weeks of this year and beyond.”

The chemistry is established, and the level of ability is proven. Fairchild and Mims are only growing into their best days, while Brown, Karras, and Risner aren’t showing signs of slowing down just yet. They best not start showing signs during the opening weeks of the upcoming season.
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