We learned a lot in Week 3 of college football, with preseason hopefuls Clemson and Notre Dame plummeting down the rankings, as both lost its second game. Both went from National Championship contenders to an afterthought.
The same can be said for players and the 2025 end-of-season awards, including the Heisman Trophy.
Below, we'll take look at the Heisman Watch ahead of Week 4, breaking down the top five contenders to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025 — the most prestigious individual award in college football.
🏈 Play $5, get $50 instantly in Lineups for CFB! Use PrizePicks Promo Code: PLAYBOOK
Clemson QB Cade Klubnik was a Heisman contender in the preseason, but with himself and his team struggling, he’s left the conversation.
While LSU is winning, QB Garrett Nussmeier has three games between 220-240 passing yards, dropping out of the Heisman race, as the Tigers' offense has sputtered, failing to put up over 23 points in three games.
After Week 3, Oklahoma QB John Mateer and Miami QB Carson Beck are the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy; however, some new faces have joined the list following their Week 3 performances, including Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed after an explosive performance vs. Notre Dame.
The quarterbacks are heavily represented, but Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith emerges as the first non-QB on our list this season.
Below, we'll break down the top Heisman contenders and how their Week 3 performance impacted their chances to take home the award, plus their projections in PrizePicks real money CFB game for the Week 4 slate.
2025 Heisman Watch Update: Top Candidates, as of Week 4
Here are the new top Heisman Trophy watch candidates to watch after Week 3. On PrizePicks, you can win real money by picking More or Less on the weekly stats on these Heisman candidates and more CFB players every week this season!
5. Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed
Next game: vs. No. 22 Auburn – Sat. Sept. 27, 3:30 p.m. ET
Reed has entered the conversation thanks to his performance against Notre Dame, which will have people paying attention to the Aggies in the SEC.
Against a feared Notre Dame defense, Reed threw for a career-high 360 yards with 2 TDs, and rushed for another 37 yards.
There are environments in college football that have an aura, and Notre Dame Stadium is one of them. The prestige associated with Notre Dame football will intimidate even the best teams. Texas A&M was up for the challenge, and the Aggies came away with a 41-40 victory — Reed's first signature win vs. a ranked team.
It was a tightly contested game that was capped off with Reed throwing an 11-yard touchdown on fourth down with 13 seconds left.
Reed got over some early jitters with two straight three-and-outs and an interception, but got comfortable as the game progressed, and he started hitting the big plays, including Mario Craver's 86-yard TD.
Having athletic receivers like Craver and KC Concepcion, and an explosive runner like RB Le’Veon Moss — who is averaging 5.1 yards per carry, will take the pressure off Reed and should help him navigate a brutal schedule.
Texas A&M will kickoff a brutal SEC schedule after a bye week, where Auburn, Florida, LSU, Missouri, and Texas await, which is why we still see Reed so far down this list.
4. Oregon QB Dante Moore
Next game: vs Oregon State – Sat. Sept. 20, 3 p.m. ET
New Oregon QB Dante Moore knows he has big shoes to fill as he watched former Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel lead the Ducks to an undefeated regular season and Big Ten title last season. Moore is starting the season very well, throwing for 657 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT, and his 85.7 QBR ranks tenth in the FBS.
Oregon also appears stronger early in the season compared to last year. In 2024, the Ducks just had a +13 scoring differential in their first two games, and this year it’s +112.
Dan Lanning is happy with what he’s seeing in Moore. He noticed that even after he threw his first interception of the year, it didn’t shake his confidence and showed “poise.”
Admittedly, the Ducks have faced a weak schedule, so Moore is still very much an unknown. But a 75%+ completion percentage, plus three easy wins speaks for itself.
Moore could rocket up this list if he shows out in a competitive game vs. a conference opponent as the Ducks enter Big 10 play with Penn State in Week 5.
3. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith
Next game: @ Washington – Sat. Sept. 27, 3:30 p.m. ET
Jeremiah Smith was one of the top wide receivers last year, finishing fourth in receiving yards (1,315) and tying for second in receiving touchdowns (15). More importantly, he was a key piece in Ohio State’s run to a National Championship.
He’s picking up where he left off last year, currently sixth in receiving yards (315).
Smith has put up big numbers in the last two games and is averaging 136 receiving yards in that span, dusting up defenses that can't contend with a player of his caliber.
That has put him in the Ohio State record books as he became the fastest player in school history to reach 1,500 career receiving yards.
Smith has been an important part of the development of first-year starter QB Julian Sayin. The transfer from Alabama has had a great beginning to the season with the fourth-highest passing yards per completion (11.0) and the second-highest completion rate (78.9%).
Smith has been his favorite target as he leads the team with 20 catches. That connection will only get better as the season progresses and help Smith make his Heisman run.
While a WR winning the Heisman is rare, we saw Travis Hunter do it a year ago, though he also contributed on defense. The last pure WR to win the Heisman was DeVonta Smith in 2020; he put up an absurd 1,856 yards and 23 TDs in that season.
2. Miami QB Carson Beck
Next game: vs. Florida – Sat. Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m. ET
Carson Beck’s move to Augusta, Ga., to South Beach has reinvigorated him. The Week 3 matchup against South Florida could have been a trap game. USF was riding high with back-to-back upset wins against No. 25 Boise State and No. 13 Florida.
Beck put an end to that Cinderella story with ease.
Miami gave the Bulls no hope, with a 49-12 win. Beck put up some impressive numbers, going 23/38 for 340 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, and a rushing TD.
🏈 Play $5, get $50 instantly in Lineups for CFB! Use PrizePicks Promo Code: PLAYBOOK
After losing his job to Gunner Stockton in Georgia, Beck's accuracy has been the most noticeable aspect, with back-to-back games of at least an 82% completion rate; his overall 79.3% leads the FBS.
So long as Beck can make it through the Florida and Florida State games unscathed, he should be in this conversation throughout the year, as the Hurricanes have a top level defense that can keep the win-streak rolling.
1. Oklahoma QB John Mateer
Next game: vs No. 22 Auburn – Sat. Sept. 20, 3:30 p.m. ET
Coming off a win against a high-profile team like Michigan, it can be challenging to regroup and maintain the same level of focus for the next game. This could have been the case against Temple, which hasn’t won more than three games in a season since 2019, but had some momentum at 2-0 with new QB Evan SImon.
However, there was no letdown, as the Sooners went to Philadelphia and cruised to a 42-3 win.
Another impressive performance for Mateer with 282 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 63 rushing yards, and 1 rushing TD. He's now at 5 pass TDs and 4 rush TDs through three games.
Those numbers don’t fly off the stat sheet, but he continues to pass the eye test; he’s making decisions under duress and cruising to wins.
For example, we saw him deliver a dot on the passing touchdown to WR Xavier Robinson against Temple with a free defender coming towards him.
For Mateer, as long as he plays well and the Sooners continue to win, he’ll continue to be the Heisman favorite at this point.
And things start to get real for Mateer in Week 4, as No. 22 Auburn will travel to Norman. In a month, he'll get an even more difficult test vs. current No. 8 Texas in the Red River Rivalry
Make Picks on Heisman Candidates on PrizePicks
After Week 3 of the 2025 college football season, we’ve seen a shift in our Heisman Watch rankings with three new players entering the top five — WR Jeremiah Smith, QB Dante Moore, and QB Marcel Reed.
No matter who you're backing to win the Trophy, you can cash in on your player picks in PrizePicks' real money CFB DFS game every week this season
Just pick More or Less on weekly stat projections, including John Mateer’s rushing yards or Carson Beck’s passing yards, and get paid when your picks are right — all the way up to 2000x.
Check out the Playbook for more CFB DFS picks and college football predictions throughout the season!
