Three And Out: Travis Hunter In Heisman Hunt; Mizzou Eyes CFP Spot; Mike

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PublishedOctober 2, 2024 2:22 PM EDT|UpdatedOctober 2, 2024 2:22 PM EDT

We have reached the first week of October, which means the landscape of the season will begin to come into focus over the next couple of weeks – both on the field and in the race for the Heisman Trophy.

The only game featuring ranked teams is in the SEC, where No. 9 Missouri and No. 25 Texas A&M will tee it up in Kyle Field in College Station. Is Missouri ready for the stretch run and contend for the College Football Playoff? We will know a lot more Sunday morning.

Can Clemson keep rolling along? The Tigers will head to Tallahassee in what was considered the biggest game of the ACC schedule back in August prior to the start of Florida State’s disastrous season. It’s a big game for the Seminoles and coach Mike Norvell as well, but for totally different reasons than initially anticipated.

Let’s take a spin around the country in this week’s Three and Out.

Travis Hunter for Heisman

I saw Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe up close and personal last week in the win over Georgia. He threw for 374 yards, rushed for 117 and accounted for four touchdowns in the dramatic 41-34 win.

That’s good enough to be the unquestioned front-runner, right? Wrong.

While the defense had a rough stretch against North Dakota State, Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter led Colorado to the win, giving Deion Sanders another win as head coach of the Buffaloes.

BOULDER, COLORADO – AUGUST 29: Travis Hunter #12 of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrates scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the North Dakota State Bison at Folsom Field on August 29, 2024 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

There is no way that anybody other than Colorado defensive back/wide receiver Travis Hunter should be behind Milroe or anybody else. He is averaging 112.2 receiving yards per game, has two interceptions and plays approximately 93,501 plays* per game (*only a slight exaggeration).

Can Milroe do that? Nope. Can anybody else in the world? Nope.

Generally speaking, most Heisman finalists are the best quarterbacks on the best teams. This isn’t a typical race, though. Voters who follow the sport on a day-to-day basis already know about Hunter. However, there are a ton of voters who focus on other sports and only dip into the college football world when things start to get hot and heavy in November.

They all watch Colorado, though, thanks to what Coach Prime has brought to Boulder.

Keep an eye on Hunter. He’s second in Heisman odds (+300) behind Milroe (+265) on BetOnline. That not only should be flip-flopped, but the gap will grow when all is said and done.

Could Missouri make a run?

I had Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz on my podcast last week, and he said something that stood out to me. He said that, despite his defense tossing two shutouts and giving up just 4.07 yards per game, is very frustrated with his defense due in large part to missed tackles.

Did he solve things during the bye week? We’ll find out as his D will have to deal with a new-look Aggies offense that features dual-threat weapon Marcel Reed. If he did, this Tigers’ team could be on a fast-track to the College Football Playoff.

COLUMBIA, MO – SEPTEMBER 21: A Missouri Tigers cheerleader performs during an SEC football game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and Missouri Tigers on September 21, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

There is a wrinkle, though. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said this week that former starter Conner Weigman is a game-time decision after suffering a shoulder injury in early September. Could this be gamesmanship? Maybe. Either way, Drinkwitz’ defense might have to prepare for two different signal-callers, which will undoubtedly make things difficult for the defensive staff.

Referendum on Mike Norvell

Is former starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei the problem, or was Norvell’s success last year an aberration? We will find out as they’ll look to solve the Clemson defensive riddle with Brock Glenn taking the snaps in place of an injured and ineffective Uiagalelei. Glenn didn’t complete a pass last week in place of Uiagalelei in the blowout loss to SMU, and only completed 37.3% of his passes over the last four games of their 2012 season in place of Jordan Travis and Tate Rodemaker.

Is Norvell a genius? Or, is was he a victim of his own ego thinking that he could be the one who turns Uiagalelei around after DJU’s nomadic journey from Clemson to Oregon State to Tallahassee?

Glenn was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2023 and one of Norvell’s hand-picked guys as the potential future of the ‘Noles’ offense. If he can’t make it work with Glenn and it becomes apparent that he had to get DJU because Glenn wasn’t ready, it will show that maybe – just maybe – Norvell caught lightning in a bottle last year and is bound for the fraternity of misfit coaches like Gene Chizik and Ed Orgeron – both of who won national titles with generational quarterbacks.