LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt was named the Heisman of the Week for Week 8 in ESPN's weekly ranking of the best individual performances in college football. He led the Tigers to a 38-17 win over Auburn, a game that was effectively decided by halftime.
Leavitt threw 32-for-45 for 378 yards and three touchdowns and added eight carries for 54 yards and a score. In the first half alone, he completed 21 of 27 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another, putting LSU up 31-10. Despite early-season sacks and interceptions, he has posted a Total QBR in the 80s or 90s in seven of eight starts and ranks fifth in the country in the category. Only two other Heisman candidates sit ahead of him: Miami's Darian Mensah is first and Georgia's Gunner Stockton is fourth. Leavitt has climbed to 11th in DraftKings' Heisman odds.
LSU's season has been uneven. The Tigers looked dominant against Clemson in the opener, then lost close road games to Ole Miss in Week 3 and Kentucky in Week 6. Back-to-back blowouts of Mississippi State and Auburn have put them in a better position, helped by chaos elsewhere. Their next three games are against Alabama, Texas and at Tennessee. The column notes that the coming 24-team playoff, expected to begin in 2027, will make this kind of recovery far more common.
Miami's passing tandem took the next two spots. Malachi Toney had 16 catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns against Pitt, plus two punt returns for 28 yards. Mensah went 31-for-37 for 387 yards and four touchdowns. ESPN's ranking has struggled to split credit between them, though it has leaned toward Toney, who has now made three weekly lists and finished in the top three each time. Toney has been the target of 38% of Mensah's passes and 50% of his touchdown throws. He entered the week averaging 5.3 yards per route run, just behind Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith at 5.4.
Florida Atlantic's Easton Messer was fourth after scoring five touchdowns in a 51-49 win over Rice, including an 82-yard punt return in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winner. Wisconsin's Sebastian Cheeks was fifth, with 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks as the Badgers held Lincoln Riley's USC to seven points. UCF's Keyone Jenkins, starting in place of the injured Alonza Barnett III, led the Knights past BYU for their first win over a top-2 team. Rice's Gael Ochoa rushed for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries in his first start of the season.
Texas defensive back Rasheem Biles, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and Cincinnati running back Cole Tabb rounded out the top 10. Biles had an interception and two pass breakups in the Longhorns' win over Ole Miss. Mateer completed 76% of his passes against Mississippi State, and Tabb ran for 173 yards and scored twice in Cincinnati's upset of Texas Tech.
In the season-long points standings, which award points each week in the style of Formula 1, Smith leads with 27.5, just ahead of Toney with 27. Alabama's Keelon Russell is third with 25, followed by Mississippi State's Kamario Taylor with 20 and West Virginia's Michael Hawkins Jr. with 17. Smith's Heisman odds have moved from -220, about a 69% chance, to +122, or 45%, in a short span. Mensah is at +290 (26%) and Toney at +350 (22%).
The weekly small-school honor, named for Holy Cross two-way star Gordie Lockbaum, went to Campbell quarterback Kamden Sixkiller. He threw three touchdown passes of 28 yards or longer in a 35-6 win over Maine. The Camels are 7-1, their most wins since bringing back football in 2008, and Sixkiller has 2,349 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns and four rushing scores this season.
