Top Heisman Candidates to Watch in the 2026 Race After Week 10

The 2026 Heisman Trophy race experienced a significant shift in the last week.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback C.J. Carr took over the favorite title after his win over Darian Mensah and the Miami Hurricanes.

Mensah's top target, Malachi Toney, was ruled out for a few weeks with an ankle injury. That took the star wide receiver out of the Heisman discussion.

Jeremiah Smith's Heisman stock took another hit in Week 10 due to the Ohio State Buckeyes' third loss of the regular season.

Smith is still in the running for the Heisman because of his incredible statistics, but he sits in a tougher spot to win than he did a few weeks ago.

C.J. Carr is now the Heisman Trophy favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Notre Dame quarterback threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the Irish's win over top-ranked Miami.

Carr has 2,168 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns and a single interception on the season.

Carr should put up strong numbers in the next three weeks against a trio of unranked teams.

He won't play in any more marquee matchups, but Carr can make a strong closing argument in a Heisman field that changed with Toney's injury and Ohio State's team struggles.

Darian Mensah is still very much in the Heisman conversation despite his head-to-head loss to Carr.

The Miami quarterback ranks second in the FBS in touchdown passes and seventh in the FBS in passing yards.

Mensah put up 276 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's defeat. He played the Hurricanes back into the contest in the second half after a brutal start.

Just like Carr, Mensah has three unranked opponents in front of him to finish off the regular season.

If he keeps at his current pace, Mensah will remain inside the top 10 in both passing yards and touchdowns.

At minimum, Mensah has earned a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist.

In order to win, Mensah needs to put up big numbers and have Notre Dame unexpectedly slip up so that Carr's stock drops.

Ohio State hasn't had the season it was expected to have, but Jeremiah Smith has put up eye-popping numbers.

Smith is tied for first in touchdown catches, second in receiving yards and fourth in receptions in the FBS.

Smith is arguably the best individual talent in college football, but he has fallen behind Carr and Mensah in the Heisman discussion.

Jayden Daniels in 2023 won the Heisman on a three-loss LSU team and Travis Hunter's Colorado team had four losses in 2024, so there is recent precedent for Smith to win despite OSU's record.

The concern with Ohio State is that its play won't get better with backup quarterback Luke Fahey running the offense. There's a real chance the Buckeyes could finish with four or five losses.

Fahey's overall play hasn't been great, but he's still found a way to get the ball to Smith, who has had 216 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games.

You never know which way the college football season will turn, so as long as Smith is putting up big numbers, he's got a chance to challenge Carr and Mensah for first-place votes.