It takes one to know one. Baked within the discourse surrounding the coveted Heisman Trophy are opinions of CFB casuals and savants alike. Everyone has their reasons and biases about who the best player in the sport is for 2024. With the winner to be anointed at the very end of the season, there is still time for names maneuvering around. One ex-Heisman winner turned analyst discussed where he stands on the onset of November football.

The shortlist for Jayden Daniels’ successor has steadily condensed and continues to do so with every passing weekend. Only a handful of names remain in the fray, and even fewer are given a realistic chance by oddsmakers. 2009 Heisman recipient and Bama’s first ever, Mark Ingram II, named Cam Ward as his choice. Begrudgingly, he had to look past fellow RB Ashton Jeanty.

In a clip from his weekly CFB show The Triple Option, Ingram said, “Right now, I’d probably have to go with Cam Ward. He has Miami [9-0] and they would have lost three games if it wasn’t for [him]. I think just the swagger, the demeanor that he’s playing with has resonated through that entire team”. Ingram made this statement in the build-up to Week 10, before Miami played Duke this Saturday. He would only fancy Ward even strongly since.

After an unremarkable Week 9 performance by his own high standards, Ward cooked against conference rival Duke. He threw for a mammoth 400 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. The Hurricanes are the no.1 offense in the nation in PPG, and that is predominantly on Cam Ward’s arm. Ward has 29 passing TDs to go with 6 INTs.

The “three games” that Ingram referred to are 38-34 against Virginia Tech, a 39-38 comeback against California and another comeback, 52-45 against Louisville. Ward had a total of 12 TDs in those games, passing or rushing. While other contenders have made extensive cases themselves for why they should win the award, arguably, none are as pivotal to their team’s success as Cam Ward.

Why Cam Ward’s case for the Heisman is maybe the most compelling

Miami were a below .500 team for 2 years under Mario Cristobal. He then acquired Ward via the transfer portal and hasn’t lost since. One of Ward’s closest rivals in the race, Dillon Gabriel, cannot boast of such a remarkable turn of fortunes at Oregon. In fact, his predecessor, Bo Nix, had a better season last year statistically. However he’s the lynchpin of the no. 1 ranked team.

Travis Hunter has a more convoluted case owing to his two-way prowess. As long as Colorado continues to defy expectations and he’s in the headlines every week, Hunter will be in the reckoning. Like Ward, he also has the vote of a CFB legend on his side. The recent history of the award in favoring QBs works against Hunter.

Oddsmakers currently have Cam Ward as the favorite at +185. He is followed closely by Hunter (+220) and Gabriel (+230). Ashton Jeanty follows suit in fourth (+500).