13 days into 2025, and we already have the Heisman buzz? Arch Manning is going to be a problem next season. No, we do not mean for Texas. He will be a pain to deal with, so if you are on the Longhorns’ schedule, beware!! “Even without Quinn Ewers, Texas can still win a national championship.” Roll the Roadrunners tape. Ewers goes out with an injury, Arch Manning drops and instantly brings in 4 touchdowns for the boys. Now this year, yeah, Steve Sarkisian wasn’t exactly lucky. But, that little glimpse was more than enough to secure a future where Texas still has a chance to get to the natty, and hey, add a Heisman to the awards list, and it’s like adding a cherry on top of that cake. But will it really be that easy?

“So Arch Manning, uh, is already getting that preseason Heisman hype at plus 500… Are you surprised by the three-way tie for second place?” Alex Donno pointed out on Locked On ACC. 3 big dogs are fighting it for the 2nd spot on the odds list. Now first we got the Gators’ golden child who single-handedly managed to revive Billy Napier’s career: DJ Lagway. Are we really surprised that he has +900 odds? Florida started the year off with Graham Mertz in a 17-41 blowout by Miami. They ended the year with a 33-pointer Bowl win with Lagway.

“Playing quarterback is sometimes like playing golf,” but luckily for Napier, Lagway turned out to be a young Tiger Woods. Over 1900 yards with a cannon arm and amazing long-shot accuracy… He saved a Florida boat that wasn’t sinking. It was freaking 10,000 leagues under the sea.

But hey, Lagway ain’t the only threat. Another surprise guest for the 2nd spot or, rather, the supposed 1st spot for the Heisman goes to a Sooners quarterback. Now, is this the start of another Cinderella story? John Mateer‘s transfer to Oklahoma from the Cougars wasn’t something surprising. A massive year with Washington State with over 3k yards and 29 TDs. “I think he’s going to be the best player in the country next year.”

Huh, you don’t say. OU got extremely lucky with this pick. As per ESPN’s ranking, Mateer was the No.1 player in the portal, so it’s safe to say Brent Venables is cooking something. Now, after all this, you will say, “Hey, you mentioned a ‘three-way tie’ so who is the 3rd guy?” Now this is where things get interesting….

“Who wants me?” – Carson Beck

Y’all Dawgs should’ve known. Now that we have finally come to a point where it is safe to say SEC is pretty much done for if they don’t keep up with NIL and the portal, it is also interesting to point out how Carson Beck‘s jump from Georgia wasn’t even surprising to other CFB fans.

When money is doing the talking, you can barely do anything. And that $10 million NIL deal is going to look pretty hot when you are going into the drafts with one arm gone. Returning to CFB for another season was a wise choice. Not only will it allow Beck to salvage his QB1 reputation, but it will also give him a 2nd shot at the Heisman.

And yeah, he is our 3rd guy. Now Beck ain’t a bad QB. Arguably, if Georgia had him during the game against Notre Dame, they actually would’ve had a chance to win. No matter how much hate you put on this guy, he still got the Dawgs to the top 4 seed.

No,w will he be able to recreate the same magic in 2025? Yeah, well, if there is anything, Miami’s 2024 season run has taught us… it is the fact that Mario Cristobal can be quite unpredictable.