Kirk Herbstreit breaks down 'wide open' Heisman race, reveals who will be on his ballot

The Heisman Trophy will be handed out three weeks from today. Heading into Week 13, there is still no definitive favorite among the leading contenders for college football’s most prestigious individual award.

Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is the odds-on favorite to win the trophy, according to BetMGM, but Ohio State‘s Julian Sayin is hot on his heels. However, Kirk Herbstreit has a different name that he’s sure to put on his Heisman ballot next month. He revealed one of his finalists while breaking down the current Heisman Trophy race.

“I just think it’s like the last two or three, four years — it’s wide open,” Herbstreit said during SportsCenter ahead of ESPN College GameDay. “I think voters are kind of waiting to see who has that hot hand at the end. You look at (Fernando) Mendoza and (Julian) Sayin, Marcel Reed at Texas A&M, Diego Pavia has been a huge story all year. Maybe the best player all season, as far as any position, has been Jeremiyah Love.”

This season, Love has logged 177 rushing attempts and totaled 1,135 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s added 26 receptions for 274 yards and three additional scores through the air as well.

He’s led the Fighting Irish to eight consecutive wins after an 0-2 start, and has his squad in-line to make the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row. However, Herbstreit knows that the Heisman Trophy is typically a quarterback award.

The last time a tailback won the Heisman was when Alabama’s Derrick Henry won it in 2015. Two receivers have won the award in the last decade, but other than that has been won by quarterbacks.

“So for me, I think it’s going to be who has the big windows these last two or three weeks,” Herbstreit continued. “Who has a chance to really kind of have that closing argument?

“Typically, their focus is a lot on the quarterbacks in a lot of the recent years, but I still think Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame — he’ll be on my ballot. I don’t know if he’s going to be No. 1, 2 or 3, but he’s definitely up in the top three. But in these last two or three weeks, hopefully everybody holds on to their ballot, see who can have that hot hand and then make that vote.”

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