College football is back. Week 0 was fun. Maybe not thrilling, but it was good to see our old friend. Kansas State and Iowa State “Split the G” in Dublin to open the college football season. UNLV almost went bust against FCS Idaho State. Stanford traveled to the Hawaiian Islands…we’ll get to the result in a moment. Let’s hope they got some nice time on the beach and their Capt.Luck’s post was funny at least… As we get ready for the Week 1 action, we want to take a look at our Week 0 Heisman Poll. Last Word will come to you every Wednesday, handicapping the race that will end on December 14th in New York City. This week, we will see if any of the Week 0 performances caused any movement from our Heisman watchlist earlier this summer.
Week 0 Heisman Poll
Honorable Mention Kansei Matsuzawa – K Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
Kansei Matsuzawa’s story feels straight out of why we love this sport. At 20 years old, he was waiting tables at a Morton’s in Tokyo when a trip to the U.S. introduced him to the NFL. He went home, pulled up YouTube, and taught himself how to kick. With barely any English and hardly a dime to his name, he talked his way into Hocking College in small-town Nelsonville, Ohio. He gave himself haircuts to save money, kicked field goals, learned the language, and thrived. This summer, he transferred to Hawaii. On Saturday night, he drilled the game-winner to beat Stanford 23–20.
- Week 1 Opponent: 8/30 @Arizona
#5 Jeremiyah Love – RB Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Jeremiyah Love had one of the best touchdowns of 2024. He broke through four Penn State would-be tacklers to put the Irish up in the 4th quarter against the Nittany Lions. The run epitomizes who Love is as a running back. Love started all 16 games for the Irish, leading the team with 19 touchdowns, including 17 on the ground and two through the air.
He set a Notre Dame record by scoring a rushing touchdown in 13 straight games and had five games with over 100 rushing yards. Love finished the year with a team-best 1,125 rushing yards, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Big things will be expected from Love and his running back battery as CJ Car steps in as QB1 of the Irish.
- Week 1 Opponent: 8/31 @ Miami Hurricanes
#4 Garrett Nussmeier – QB LSU Tigers
Should I stay or should I go? Netflix’s latest documentary took us behind the scenes to the decision that Garrett Nussmeier had at the end of the season. Should he take his talents to the NFL, where he might have been a mid-round pick? Or, should he stick around for one more year, bet on himself, and improve his draft stock? Nussmeier chose himself, and the Tigers rewarded him by bringing in a talented Transfer Portal class.
Nussmeier enters 2025 as one of the nation’s top passers. He became the first in school history to return after a 4,000-yard season, joining just three others in SEC history to reach that mark. In 2024, he started all 13 games, guiding LSU to a 9-4 record and a Texas Bowl win over Baylor. Nine or ten wins won’t be enough in 2025 in Baton Rouge. A deep and long playoff run will be the standard. Winning the first game of the season would also help.
- Week 1 Opponent: 8/30 @ Clemson
#3 Arch Manning – QB Texas Longhorns
Arch Manning. Those are two words that will be discussed and written about a lot in 2025. Whether the Longhorn meets expectations and brings a title to Austin or he is a bust, there will be no shortage of thoughts about the latest Manning. Manning was the #1 recruit in the class two years ago. Now, he takes over for Quinn Ewers as the QB1 on the #1 team in America. College football got a sniff of Arch-mania last year. The numbers were pretty, pretty, pretty good.
Manning played in 10 games with two starts, finishing 82-of-129 (63.6%) for 1,019 yards, 10 passing touchdowns, and three rushing scores. He became the first player in Texas history to record a 75+ yard touchdown pass and 65+ yard rushing touchdown in the same game, and the only FBS or NFL quarterback in the last 25 years with a 75-yard TD pass, a 65-yard TD run, and another 50+ yard TD pass in a single game. His five-touchdown performance against UTSA (four passing, one rushing) was the most by a Texas freshman since Colt McCoy in 2006. He set career highs against Mississippi State, going 26-of-31 (83.9%) for 325 yards and three total touchdowns.
Arch will have no cupcakes in Week 1 like our friends in Bloomington; instead, Arch and Horns will travel to Columbus to take on the defending national champion Buckeyes.
- Week 1 Opponent: 8/30 @ The Ohio State University
#2 Jeremiah Smith – WR The Ohio State University
Clearly, there has been some sort of mistake, or the writers at the Last Word on College Football are biased. There are no more SEC players after Arch at #3. This isn’t some puff piece publication like what many sites try to sell as college football. Last Word cares about the story and getting it right (it even allows this writer to have some fun with his writing…I digress.)
Jeremiah Smith may have been the most impressive athlete and player in college football last year. He was a human cheat code. Smith enters 2025 as one of college football’s top players and a candidate for every major offensive award, including the Heisman Trophy.
He shattered Ohio State freshman records with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, earning first-team All-America honors from USA Today and Big Ten awards for WR of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He ranked fourth nationally in receiving yards, tied for second in TD catches, and led the country with six receptions of 50+ yards. Smith scored 16 total touchdowns, including five in the College Football Playoff, and was named Rose Bowl MVP after a 187-yard performance against Oregon.
- Week 1 Opponent: 8/30 Texas Longhorns
#1 Cade Klubnik – QB Clemson Tigers
The South Carolina fans won’t like this one. Surely, that’s not how you spell LaNorris, they’ll say. What a transformation for the Clemson quarterback. Cade Klubnik has been a good quarterback. He’s a game manager. He is going to complete 70% of his passes and not do anything (usually) to put the Tigers into trouble. Klubnik returns as the starter in Year 3 and in the catbird seat not only for the Week 0 Heisman, but the actual trophy presentation in December. He enters his senior season ranked in Clemson’s top five all-time in passing touchdowns (4th), passing yards (4th), passing attempts (4th), and completions (5th), while also ranking 5th in career touchdown responsibility and 6th in total offense.
But it won’t be the stats and numbers that will matter. Clemson (and the ACC) needs Klubnik to be their guy and take them where they have been unable to take themselves. Clemson will likely be the only team that can challenge for the national championship. No offense to our friends in Coral Gables or in the Big 12, but none of the other teams have the talent or the rosters to compete. Clemson does. If lil ole’ Clemson is going to be the last team standing on January 19th, Klubnik will be the reason.
- Week 1 Opponent: 8/30 Clemson
Main Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
