2026 Heisman, Coach Of The Year Predictions: Can Jeremiah Smith Win ‘A QB’s Award?’

When thinking about potential winners of the 2026 Heisman Trophy, it’s worth looking back at last year’s voting results: Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin finished in fourth place. His Buckeyes’ teammate, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, was the top non-quarterback and was sixth. SEC stars Gunner Stockton (Georgia) and Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) finished seventh and eighth, respectively. 

All of those players returned for another season of college football, which should make the upcoming Heisman race among the most exciting in quite some time. Not to mention there’s another handful of high-end, NFL Draft-worthy players who are likely to factor into the race: From Arch Manning at Texas to Dante Moore at Oregon, from Darian Mensah at Miami to Josh Hoover at Indiana. There is no shortage of worthy contenders. 

That’s on the field. On the sideline, we’re also considering likely candidates for Coach of the Year, which Indiana’s Curt Cignetti won in 2025 while coaching his Hoosiers to their first-ever national championship and a 16-0 record. He could be in the mix this year with another competitive-looking team. But he’s not among our preseason picks.

So ahead of the 2026 college football season, here are our picks for this year’s Heisman and Coach of the Year winners.

JUMP TO: Coach of the Year

2026 Heisman Trophy Predictions

Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith is looking to be the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since DeVonta Smith in 2020. (Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

2026 Heisman Trophy odds: +1400

If he’s not an elite quarterback or a running back, a college football player has the same odds to win the Heisman as one certain Hoosier — Fernando Mendoza — did before the 2025 season. Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith isn’t a quarterback or running back. So it’s not a snowball’s chance in hell, but a snowball’s chance in lukewarm temperatures: Odds are it is probably gonna melt.

In most years, Heisman voters simply won’t choose you. In fact, 80 of the 90 winners of the Heisman have been quarterbacks or running backs. And the ones who weren’t? Wide receivers — every last one of them. Yes, I’m counting Michigan’s Charles Woodson and Colorado’s Travis Hunter as wide outs because Lord knows Heisman voters ain’t gonna ever let a player who only plays defense win their award. 

So now that we’ve eliminated 19 of the 22 positions on the field from consideration, I can safely say Jeremiah Smith ought to win this award if he puts together the kind of season he’s planning to in 2026: lead Ohio State to a second national title in three years and put up numbers that would make him undeniable, despite his position.

“I always felt like it was a quarterback award unless you have a crazy season like DeVonta Smith with 1,800 yards and 24 touchdowns,” Smith said at Big Ten media days last month.

See that? There? Smith knows the target, and he’s chasing it. — RJ Young

As Smith noted during Big Ten media days in late July, this will be his third and final season of college football. He arrived at Ohio State carrying one of the strongest recruiting profiles in recent memory — Smith was the first receiver to finish No. 1 overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings since former Missouri signee Dorial Green-Beckham in 2012 — and immediately justified the circus-like hype. In making 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns as a true freshman two years ago, Smith earned first-team All-America honors while simultaneously guiding the Buckeyes to their first national championship since 2014. His individual demolition of then-No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl (seven catches, 187 yards, two touchdowns) and his game-winning reception on a deep pass from quarterback Will Howard in the national championship against Notre Dame will never be forgotten around Ohio State.

By that point, he was already the best wide receiver in the sport, smashing a host of program receiving records along the way. And when he mirrored that stratospheric level of production again last fall — this time snagging 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns — Smith became a unanimous first-team All-America selection and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. No other wide receiver appeared in the top 10.

Both career achievement and real-time production will determine Smith’s Heisman case this fall. Smith is likely to be the best player at his position for a third consecutive season based on 2026 output alone. Sure, the award is only meant to encapsulate a single campaign. But sometimes, as in Smith’s case, sustained greatness deserves its own applause. — Michael Cohen

CJ Carr enters his second season as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

2026 Heisman Trophy odds: +700

The Heisman Trophy has essentially become a quarterback’s award. This season, there are plenty of quarterbacks to like from Arch Manning to Dante Moore to Darian Mensah and more. But CJ Carr stands out. He started all 12 games for the Fighting Irish last year and finished the season with 2,741 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, while leading the nation’s second-best scoring offense at 42.0 points per game.

After a productive first season, Carr is expected to take that next step. And when it comes to the Heisman, it’s helpful when your team is also really good. Notre Dame has the second-best odds to win it all this year, on DraftKings. The Irish have a favorable schedule with both Miami and SMU at home.

Carr will have plenty of opportunities to deliver Heisman moments while playing for one of the most visible brands in the sport. He has the poise and the name recognition – he’s the grandson of former legendary Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. And if he can take that next step in his career and lead Notre Dame into the College Football Playoff, then the award is as good as his. — Laken Litman

Darian Mensah transferred between ACC teams from Duke to Miami (Fla.) during the 2026 offseason. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

2026 Heisman Trophy odds: +1150

Darian Mensah has had one hell of an offseason from his controversial transfer from Duke to some of the – ahem –  words he had about the whole situation during ACC media days.

Now that football is here, we can talk about his on-field skillset. I love what he brings to a Miami offense that should remain incredibly explosive with receiver Malachi Toney and tailback Mark Fletcher Jr. back in the fold. Throw in that Mensah is joined in Coral Gables by second team All-ACC performer Cooper Barkate from Duke and the weapons are there.

The other underrated piece in all of this is the return of offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, who has brought innovation and stability that Miami hasn’t had on the offensive side in quite some time.

Mensah was a revelation at Tulane. He was impressive (and a lightning rod) at Duke. I think he cements his college football legacy with a Heisman at Miami. — Ben Portnoy

2026 Coach Of The Year Predictions

Lincoln Riley is entering his fifth season at USC and still seeking his first CFP appearance with the Trojans. (Photo by Jordan Teller/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Generally, this award goes to the coach who won the national title or did the most with the least. Gratefully, it’s not so out-of-touch and nauseating an electorate as the Heisman, but the list of candidates at preseason could be anybody — really. Run the table. Go undefeated. Win a conference title when you’re expected to have a bad year. There are as many ways to secure the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award as there are playcalls on first-and-goal. 

However, picking that guy in August is asking who could win this award if things go right: I’ll pick Lincoln Riley. 

Riley had the humility to recruit and hire a better coach than himself to captain his defense in College Football Hall of Famer Gary Patterson. Patterson is not only one of the best defensive minds the game has ever seen but has pulled off the feat of running the table (13-0, 2010), winning the conference title and coach of the year in 2009 as head coach at Texas Christian.

Riley hired Patterson to marry his 4-2-5 defense with an explosive offense in such a manner that USC can reach the CFP for the first time in its history and, perhaps, make some noise competing for the Big Ten title. — RJ Young

Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame are looking to return to the CFP after missing the postseason in 2025. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The 2026 season feels like a new beginning for Notre Dame. After three consecutive 10-win seasons, head coach Marcus Freeman eschewed interest from the NFL to sign an improved contract with the Fighting Irish last winter, infusing the program with long-term stability. The school recently completed, and opened, a new training facility that cost north of $100 million. The incoming high school recruiting class ranked among the top five in the country for the first time since 2013. Starting quarterback CJ Carr, who threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns in his debut last season, should be a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate this fall.

After an offseason spent fuming over last year’s perceived College Football Playoff snub, the bedrock is there for the Fighting Irish to return to the postseason. Freeman returns 14 starters from a group that was playing as well as any team in the country when the final CFP rankings were released, including eight starters on defense alone. Carr, safety Adon Shuler, cornerback Leonard Moore and nickel Christian Gray are among the best players in the country at their respective position. Incoming transfer wide receivers Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter, who both came from Ohio State, will be counted on to support returner Jordan Faison (640 yards, four touchdowns).

If the Fighting Irish can navigate a tricky road game at BYU in mid-October and a home game against Miami in early November, they should have a good chance to enter the postseason undefeated and Freeman should be in position to win Coach of the Year. — Michael Cohen

Steve Sarkisian and Texas are hoping to rebound after missing the CFP in 2025. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Texas is looking for redemption after a disappointing 2025 season. Really up until last year, things were going according to Steve Sarkisian’s plan. In his third year in Austin, the Longhorns won the Big 12 championship and made their CFP semifinal debut. In Year 4, Texas made it back to the final four, where it lost to eventual champion Ohio State. But the program hit a speed bump in Year 5. Arch Manning didn’t live up to the hype as the team struggled for the first half of the season, looking suspect in games where they should have dominated. Manning hit his stride later on and Texas beat Texas A&M and Michigan to finish the season 10-3 after missing the playoff.

While the spotlight remains on Manning entering this season, it’s not like it was a year ago. Sarkisian has reloaded in the transfer portal, picking up star playmakers like Cam Coleman, Hollywood Smothers and Rasheem Biles. Sarkisian also parted with longtime defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and hired Will Muschamp — who held the same position with the Longhorns from 2008-10 — to lead the unit.

Sarkisian believes he has a talented team, no doubt. But more importantly, he believes his players have learned from last year’s struggles, which he hopes shows up in their consistency, physicality and maturity. If everything clicks — and if Texas can stay healthy — it can make a deep run into the CFP and maybe even win it all for the first time since Vince Young led the program in 2005. — Laken Litman

Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning are trying to bring Texas back to the CFP semifinals. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

If Indiana wins the Big Ten for a second consecutive year, Curt Cignetti might deserve this award in perpetuity, but I’m going to go with Steve Sarkisian.

Sarkisian has caught ample flack over red zone playcalling and the Longhorns’ inability to get over the hump in the postseason, but there’s too much talent in Austin this year for things to go completely off the rails — even with a nine-game conference schedule.

Cam Coleman might be generating more buzz than he already is if it weren’t for the existence of Jeremiah Smith. Colin Simmons, too, ought to be one of the most dominant defensive players in the country again this fall.

I was genuinely shocked Texas didn’t receive a single preseason No. 1 vote in this year’s Associated Press preseason poll. Sarkisian’s squad has its share of huge games on the schedule — Sept. 12 vs. Ohio State, Oct. 10 vs. Oklahoma and Nov. 14 at LSU — but the rest of the slate should be manageable as SEC schedules come.

As Arch Manning goes, this Texas team will go — and quarterbacks are Sarkisian’s calling card. The Longhorns have spent the cash and have a roster that can win a national championship. It’s on Sarkisian to put it all together. — Ben Portnoy

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