Heisman of Week 9: LaNorris Sellers' throwback, Darian Mensah's move

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          • Bill ConnellyNov 3, 2026, 07:00 AM ET
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              Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.
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          In Week 9, the Heisman race officially got blurry again.

          According to the odds at DraftKings, Miami quarterback Darian Mensah became the betting favorite after a strong (and necessary) performance against North Carolina, while the longtime favorite, Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, was relegated to No. 2 after he generated just 83 receiving yards with new quarterback Luke Fahey as his Buckeyes lost to USC. Just three weeks ago, Smith's odds were an overwhelming -220, equivalent to a 69% chance of winning; now they're at +290 (26%). Things can change pretty quickly.

          The Heisman of the Week race, however, went to an old friend. South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers has been an up-and-comer, an epic disappointment and everything in between in what has somehow been only a three-year tenure as the Gamecocks' starting quarterback. He has thrown for 6,906 career yards and 49 touchdowns, and not including sacks (so, so many sacks), he has rushed for 2,203 yards and 19 more scores.

          Sellers' extreme athletic potential got him discussed as a potential top-five NFL draft pick following an intriguing but inconsistent redshirt freshman season, but when his supporting cast disappointed in 2025, so did he. He got no run support and put too much on his own plate, and after taking 33 sacks in 2024, he took a massive 42 last season. Both he and Shane Beamer's program appeared broken, and they didn't exactly appear fixed when they lost three games in a row this fall to start SEC play.

          But here come the Gamecocks.

          Sellers & Co. have won three in a row, beating Florida (38-19), Tennessee (27-24) and Oklahoma (42-25). And the game in Norman was a statement: Against a stellar Sooners defense, South Carolina gained 521 yards, the most anyone has hung on OU since late 2023. Sellers was at the heart of it all, completing passes of 84, 79 and 38 yards, rushing for five first downs and ripping off a 30-yarder during a second-quarter burst that decided the game.

          Sellers threw two picks and suffered some negative plays, but when you're otherwise torching a great defense, you're allowed a couple of missteps. Warts and all, he's leading what seems to be an even-year tradition at this point: a late-season Gamecocks charge. Will it last into November? We'll see. But Sellers was the best player in the country Saturday, and he gets the Heisman of the Week because of it.

          This year, Heisman is running its Heisman Hopefuls Fan Vote all season long, with a platform that provides statistics, EA Sports ratings and other information. In that vein, I am once again awarding the Heisman every single week of the season and doling out weekly points, F1-style (10 points for first place, 9 for second, and so on). Jeremiah Smith leads the overall race, but Sellers gets this week's 10 points.

          This week's Heisman winner: LaNorris Sellers

          1. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

          Week 9 numbers: 19-for-24 passing for 301 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs, plus 101 non-sack rushing yards and two scores against Oklahoma

          Just a casual flick, 57 yards in the air.

          Just 47 yards off one foot on the run.

          Just a normal run, shrugging off a couple of large men and bouncing around untouchable to others.

          Sellers' great moments are so overwhelming that they make us forget the flaws and mistakes. Josh Allen comparisons start jumping out of our mouths involuntarily. He might be the most seductive player in the country when things are clicking. And they were clicking in Norman.

          The rest of the top 10

          2. Caleb Hawkins, Oklahoma State

          Week 9 numbers: 25 carries for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 81 receiving yards and a score against Iowa State

          3. Aiden Flora, Iowa State

          Week 9 numbers: 29 carries for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns against Oklahoma State

          We'll combine these two entries, as they were the stars of an aesthetically pleasing, orange-and-black Halloween track meet.

          Flora's 29-yard touchdown gave Iowa State an early lead, but Hawkins' 59-yard touchdown catch-and-run made it 14-7 OSU late in the first quarter. Flora had the biggest play on ISU's game-tying drive, but after the Cyclones began to pull away, Hawkins' 75-yard touchdown brought the Cowboys back within three.

          Flora's 75-yard run gave ISU a 10-point cushion again, but Hawkins scored three minutes later. Hawkins gained 45 of OSU's 75 yards on a late go-ahead drive, but ISU quickly moved back into field goal range, and three Flora carries gained 14 yards to set up Kyle Konrardy's game-winning 34-yarder.

          In all, the two combined for 496 yards from scrimmage and five of the game's 12 touchdowns. Dynamite stuff no matter what it says about these two teams' defenses.

          4. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

          Week 9 numbers: 22-for-34 passing for 263 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, plus 65 non-sack rushing yards and a score against Auburn

          After a three-interception performance against an awesome Texas defense, Chambliss and Ole Miss didn't enjoy the smoothest start during Saturday's early kickoff. The Rebels scored just once in their first three drives and led only 7-6 late in the first half. Six straight scoring drives later, however, they were up 30. Kewan Lacy remains hurt, and the Ole Miss defense remains unreliable, but Chambliss is still Chambliss.

          5. Gideon Lampron, Colorado

          Week 9 numbers: 16 tackles, 4 TFLs, 2 sacks and 2 run stops against Kansas State

          There's something about Boulder. Colorado has been atrocious in its past three road games (losses by a combined 121-44), but the Buffaloes frustrated Texas Tech and nearly beat Utah at home, and Saturday they ended a five-game losing streak with an inspired performance against Kansas State. And Lampron was the most inspired. He took part in 16 tackles -- his fifth double-digit effort in six games -- and he sacked Blake Barnett twice in the second half and made seven other tackles within 3 yards of the line of scrimmage.

          6. Darian Mensah, Miami

          Week 9 numbers: 22-for-29 passing for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 37 non-sack rushing yards against North Carolina

          Mensah has been so accurate and efficient this season that completing 22 of 29 passes, a 75.9% completion rate, actually lowered his completion rate for the season to a mere 80.7%. I'm still curious how Heisman voters will divide credit between Mensah and his incredible No. 1 receiver, Malachi Toney. I've been prone to give more points to Toney -- but with UNC actually sort of keeping Toney in check by his standards (he had seven catches for 75 yards), Mensah spread the ball around to six targets and led Miami to scores on six of seven full drives.

          7. Charlie Becker, Indiana

          Week 9 numbers: 8 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota

          Your offense is listless, your opponent just made a go-ahead 60-yard field goal, and your coach has forgotten every rule of clock management? It's fine as long as you still have Charlie Becker. With no seconds to spare, Becker set up Paddy McAteer's overtime-forcing 60-yard field goal with a 33-yard catch, then torched his man for what turned out to be the winning TD on the first play of OT.

          Indiana has been pretty wobbly of late, but when you have Becker, you still have a chance.

          8. Luke Drzewiecki, Minnesota

          Week 9 numbers: 3-for-3 on field goals of 60, 51 and 37 yards against Indiana

          Man oh man, did he knock the crap out of this.

          Kickers deserve Heisman love too.

          9. Hank Brown, Iowa

          Week 9 numbers: 20-for-24 passing for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 17 non-sack rushing yards against Wisconsin

          A week after Wisconsin completely shut down Jayden Maiava and the USC offense, Iowa -- Iowa! -- ripped the Badgers' defense apart. The Hawkeyes scored on six of their first seven drives in a 30-0 romp, and Brown went 16-for-18 for 190 yards in the first half. Per Total QBR, his six starts this season have produced three of the eight best Iowa quarterback performances of the 2020s.

          An Iowa QB on the Heisman of the Week list. Now I've seen everything.

          10. Tayven Jackson, North Texas

          Week 9 numbers: 33-for-46 passing for 404 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 41 non-sack rushing yards against Florida Atlantic

          We probably haven't talked enough about Jackson and North Texas. Nearly the entire Mean Green roster got shredded by graduation and the transfer portal, but new head coach Neal Brown has engineered a 6-2 start, 4-0 in the American. The only team to hold North Texas under 35 points was Indiana, Jackson's former school. I bet the Hoosiers wouldn't mind if he were still donning the cream and crimson this year. He has thrown at least three touchdown passes in five of his past six games, and he topped 400 yards for the second time of the year Saturday.

          Honorable mention:

          • Rasheem Biles, Texas (8 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a run stop against Mississippi State).

          • Billy Edwards Jr., North Carolina (28-for-34 passing for 341 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 20 non-sack rushing yards against Miami).

          • C.J. Hicks, South Florida (5 tackles, 4 TFLs, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass breakup and a run stop against UAB).

          • Gio Lopez, Wake Forest (13-for-21 passing for 229 yards and a touchdown, plus 80 non-sack rushing yards against Virginia).

          • Nick Minicucci, Delaware (32-for-38 passing for 414 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 14 non-sack rushing yards against Western Kentucky).

          • Isaiah Mizell, Arizona (7 catches for 182 yards and a touchdown against Texas Tech).

          • Justin Powe, Troy (7 tackles, 3 interceptions -- including a pick-six -- and 2 pass breakups against James Madison).

          • Tre Richardson, Louisville (10 catches for 140 yards, plus 49 rushing yards against Stanford).

          • Marcus Stokes, Memphis (29-for-35 passing for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 30 non-sack rushing yards and a score against Army).

          • Jahiem White, North Texas (26 carries for 193 yards, plus 27 receiving yards against Florida Atlantic).

          Point totals and current odds

          Through nine weeks, here are your points leaders. As always, players who are also in the top 10 in the DraftKings betting odds are in bold.

          1. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (27.5 points)

          2. Malachi Toney, Miami (27 points)

          3. Keelon Russell, Alabama (25 points)

          4. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (22 points)

          5. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State (20 points)

          6. Darian Mensah, Miami (17 points, 13 in the past four weeks)

          7. Michael Hawkins Jr., West Virginia (17 points, nine in the past four weeks)

          8. Aiden Flora, Iowa State (16 points)

          9. Colin Simmons, Texas (15.5 points)

          10. Bear Bachmeier, BYU (15 points, all in the past four weeks)

          Since going for more than 200 yards in back-to-back weeks, Smith has caught 18 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns over his past three games. That's still excellent, but it's not otherworldly, and it's quite possible that Julian Sayin getting hurt harms his chances to some degree.

          Smith still leads the Heisman horse race, however, and he could benefit from Mensah and Toney splitting votes. But aside from maybe Chambliss reinserting himself in the conversation -- or Notre Dame's CJ Carr (fourth on the odds list) if he has a huge game against Miami this weekend -- it feels like a three-way race among Smith, Toney and Mensah at the moment.

          Gordie Lockbaum of the week: Kennedy McGill

          Your smaller-school star of the week is basically the FCS version of LaNorris Sellers. Western Illinois' Kennedy McGill has thrown seven interceptions, fumbled four times and taken 12 sacks for the Leathernecks, but he also has thrown for 1,810 yards and rushed for another 1,261 not including sacks. And a week after throwing for 139 yards and rushing for 210 against UT Martin, the Central Washington transfer topped himself by rushing 35 times for 295 yards and four touchdowns while completing 14 of 20 passes for 180. Sure, he also threw two picks and fumbled three times, but it's forgiven because, damn.

          He scored WIU's first three TDs with his legs and threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Israel Hiraldo to expand the Leathernecks' lead to 28-14. And when Charleston Southern cut the lead back to 7 points, he did this:

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          Kennedy McGill powers past defense for 84-yard rushing touchdown

          Things got weird in the fourth quarter, when CSU's Jayden Hancock scored on a pair of McGill turnovers. But McGill was simply being charitable: With the game on the line, he engineered a game-winning, 99-yard touchdown drive, which included a 32-yard pass on fourth-and-1. With McGill leading the way, WIU is 5-4 and has a chance at its first winning season since 2017.

          Other worthy Lockbaum honorees: Elizabeth City State's Ajani Farmer made a whopping 5.5 tackles for loss with two sacks as the Vikings scored a rare 5-0 win over Winston-Salem State, and both Parker Burke of Bridgewater College and Caleb Deal of Kansas Wesleyan posted video-game passing numbers: Burke went 28-for-42 for 497 yards and four TDs in a 51-48 track-meet win over Roanoke, while Deal's Coyotes somehow lost to Friends University, 49-48, despite a passing line of 34-for-55 for 489 yards and five TDs. There are worthy Lockbaums everywhere you look!