In front of a gathered group of past champions, Colorado’s Travis Hunter raised the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, delivered a heartfelt speech, and carried the 45-pound cast bronze statue back to the Mountain Time Zone.
According to the player he nearly defeated for the accolade, he should have been the one to do all of it. The Heisman runner-up, Ashton Jeanty of Boise State, told reporters during the event that he “should’ve walked away” with the most coveted individual honor in college football.
Bravo to Travis for winning, but he acknowledged that it’s as easy as that. Go harder, work harder.
As Boise State prepares to play either Penn State or SMU in the College Football Playoffs, Jeanty has run for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns at an average of 7.3 yards per carry. With a rushing total that is the fourth-highest in FBS history, he trails the 1988 single-season record set by Barry Sanders by 131 yards. In just 11 games, Sanders, who was named the Heisman of the season, accomplished that feat.
Jeanty accomplished this while leading the Broncos to a 12-1 record, a championship in the Mountain West Conference, and a postseason first-round bye.
Hunter finished with 2,231 overall points, slightly ahead of Jeanty’s 2,017, and received 552 first-place votes, compared to Jeanty’s 309 total. With 516 points, no other player had more. The Heisman vote was the closest since 2009.