Heisman Watch: No. 2 Georgia at No. 4 Alabama could have big early season Heisman implications

How far will Saturday’s massive matchup go in swinging the race for the Heisman Trophy?

September is typically too early to start talking about games that will have a significant impact on voters’ minds at the end of the season. But No. 2 Georgia’s trip to No. 4 Alabama is no typical September game. The rematch of December’s SEC title game features two Heisman favorites in QBs Carson Beck (Georgia) and Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and also will go a long way in determining the participants of this year’s SEC title game given the conference’s move to get rid of divisions as it expanded to 16 teams.

Ten months ago, Alabama got into the College Football Playoff at the Bulldogs’ expense with a 27-24 win. Milroe had the better game of the two quarterbacks, as he was 13-of-23 passing for 192 yards with two touchdowns and iced the game on the ground. Beck rushed for a score and was 21-of-29 for 243 yards.

Both players were in their first seasons as starters in 2023, and Beck spent much of the offseason as the favorite for the 2024 Heisman after he returned to Athens for another season. Milroe was at the top of the BetMGM board too, but he was also entering the season with a new offense to learn under new head coach Kalen DeBoer.

So far, Milroe (+700 at BetMGM) has had the better season. He’s completed 67% of his passes and is sixth in the country at 11.3 yards per attempt. He has 14 total touchdowns through three games; no player in college football is responsible for more scores on a per-game basis.

Beck (+1600) played well against Clemson to open the season as he completed 70% of his passes and threw for two scores. After beating up on Tennessee Tech in Week 2, Georgia had a sluggish game against Kentucky in Week 3. The offense couldn’t get out of neutral in a 13-12 win. Beck was just 15-of-24 passing for 160 yards.

Was that game an aberration? Probably. It’ll be a surprise if Georgia’s offense has another rough go of it, especially after a bye week. It’ll be easy to forget Beck’s performance against the Wildcats if the Bulldogs put up over 30 points on the road against the Tide.

Unless the game resembles the 9-6 classic between LSU and Alabama in 2011, the quarterback from the winning team may become the betting favorite for the Heisman. Especially if his team keeps winning through October and November.

Here are three other players worth mentioning in the Heisman race ahead of Week 5.

Miami QB Cam Ward: It’s clear why Ward continues to be the Heisman favorite (+400) through the first month of the season. In a 50-15 blowout win over South Florida on Saturday, Ward was 24-of-34 passing for 404 yards and three TDs. He also threw just his second interception of the season. Over four games, Ward has thrown 14 TDs. No other QB has more TD passes and Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart is the only player to throw for more yards. Ward will also get a chance to showcase himself on Friday night against a Virginia Tech team that already has losses to Vanderbilt and Rutgers.

Ohio State QB Will Howard: The former Kansas State QB has been one of the top Heisman favorites since he transferred to Columbus and he’s now at +2200 to win the award. Through three games this season, Howard has thrown for 795 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for two scores. He’s averaging 10.7 yards a pass … but that’s not that far ahead of both Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson’s yards per carry. Judkins is averaging over nine yards every time he runs the ball, and Henderson is at 8.6 yards per carry. Yes, those are extremely limited sample sizes; the two RBs have combined to rush the ball just 60 times through three games. But it’s easy to see how Ohio State’s wealth of offensive talent is going to make it nearly impossible for any Buckeye to win the award.

Texas QB Quinn Ewers: How much is Ewers’ Heisman case impacted if he misses a second straight game? Ewers status is in doubt ahead of Texas’ SEC opener against Mississippi State. It doesn’t make much sense for the Longhorns to rush him back. Mississippi State is dreadful and probably the worst team in the SEC. And it'd behoove the Longhorns to play it safe with their senior QB considering the schedule. Texas has an off week after the MSU game before the annual Red River Rivalry. After disappearing from the board at BetMGM following the UTSA game, Ewers is back as the No. 6 favorite at +1400. We’re fascinated to see what those odds are if he doesn’t play in Week 5.