When people think of the Heisman Trophy, they usually picture the top college football stars making headlines week after week. And since the start of the season, Travis Hunter, the Colorado Buffaloes’ standout, has been one of those names. Whether it’s catching passes or locking down opponents on defense, Hunter has consistently proven himself, earning a spot among the Heisman favorites. But here’s the twist: a new contender has entered the Heisman race, and he’s not from big teams like Alabama or Ohio State. Yet, he’s giving the Buffs’ two-way star some serious competition.

During Colorado’s bye week, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty emerged as a frontrunner for college football’s most prestigious award. Well, who could’ve predicted that?

Ashton Jeanty jumps ahead

Travis Hunter has been particularly outstanding all season long. The guy is scoring 561 yards and 6 touchdowns as an offense and is tackling 16 times and intercepting two times as a defense player. Pretty crazy, right? But in the case of the Heisman race, even a brief break is sufficient to turn everything upside down. Well, this is exactly what happened.

Ashton Jeanty has been more than happy to take advantage of this week of Colorado. This Boise State Junior has now taken the top spot in Heiman rankings at odds of +240 speed limiting Hunter at +320, as per FanDuel Sportsbook. It’s not just the numbers that are impressive—it’s how quickly he’s doing it. Combined in just five games, Jeanty has now churned out a total of 1,031 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. This guy is gaining 10.9 yards per carry!

Even in the ‘Elite College Football’ Heisman rankings released earlier this week, Jeanty claimed the top spot, with Hurricanes QB Cam Ward in second, while the Buffs’ two-way star dropped to third. It seems like an underdog Heisman contender is rising just as the Sanders team takes a breather this bye week.

A Heisman-worthy campaign

That is the comparison all are making? Barry Sanders. Yes, this is Barry Sanders the man of Oklahoma State University, who finished the 1988 Heisman Trophy by running 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns. Jeanty should be able to score about the same if he continues this pace, particularly should Boise State do well in the conference championship or get into a major bowl.

Still, there are people skeptical about it. Of course, a weak argument against Ashton Jeanty is that in his time at Boise State, they did not compete with the SEC or BCS teams. However, in a recent game against the No. 3 Oregon Ducks Jeanty proved his detractors wrong and rushed for 192 yards and 3 TDs on 25 carries. Yeah, that’s not a typo. He burnt a top team alive, with a 7.7 yards per carry ratio. If that’s not Heisman material, I don’t know who is.

Thus, though Travis Hunter continues to mesmerize the fans as a two-way player, Ashton Jeanty is proving to everyone that it does not matter where you stand, what matters is how you perform. And right now, Jeanty is having the nation’s best performance of any college football player.