Are you able to consider the 2024 season is midway over?
Week 7 marked the official halfway mark of the season. With each workforce getting two bye weeks in 2024, there are simply seven weeks remaining within the common season earlier than convention championship week.
We have realized quite a bit already, and issues are about to get even wilder over the ultimate seven weeks of the season. Listed below are our midseason awards as we’re midway via the month of October.
Heisman: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
This one is fairly simple. Jeanty has been unstoppable via the primary six video games of the season. Sure, Boise State is exterior the ability conferences and sure, the Broncos haven’t performed a super-tough schedule. However Jeanty is simply ridiculous.
The junior has rushed for 1,248 yards to date via 2024. That’s 300-plus yards greater than Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, the nation’s second-leading rusher. Jeanty’s 31 carries for 217 yards towards Hawaii late Saturday evening was his worst per-carry efficiency of the season. And he nonetheless averaged seven yards an try!
For the season, Jeanty is averaging 9.9 yards a rush, and he has scored 18 complete touchdowns via six video games. Three of these got here towards No. 2 Oregon, when he had 25 carries for 192 yards within the Broncos’ 37-34 Week 2 loss. It’s laborious to justify a Heisman case for some other participant at this level.
Finest QB: Jalen Milroe, Alabama
You may make a case for Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, particularly after the Geese took down Ohio State on Saturday and Milroe threw two interceptions towards South Carolina in Alabama’s slim win. However we’re going with a participant who has made unimaginable progress since he was benched in Week 3 of the 2023 season and the QB who would be the most important to his prime workforce’s offense.
Milroe has accounted for 23 complete TDs via six video games and has accomplished 73% of his passes. Gabriel’s completion share is best, however Oregon’s offense schemes extra excessive share throws. He’s additionally not been as essential as a runner, both. Milroe is Alabama’s second-leading rusher with 319 yards and he has greater than twice the dashing TDs than operating again Jam Miller. If Alabama will get again into the playoff, Milroe’s excellence goes to be a giant motive why.
Finest WR: Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Harris is having one of the best season of his profession. And he’s performed in solely seven video games to date this season. Harris posted 65 catches for 935 yards in 2022 throughout his last season at Louisiana Tech. In his first season at Ole Miss, Harris had 54 catches for 985 yards.
This yr, Harris has 59 catches for 987 yards via seven video games. He’s additionally has six receiving TDs and is on tempo to eclipse his career-high in TD catches. Harris has performed a sport greater than virtually everybody else in school soccer, however he leads the nation in receiving yards (San Jose State’s Nick Nash is second with 806 yards) and is second in receptions.
Oh, he additionally made this superior catch towards LSU on Saturday evening.
Finest defensive participant: Travis Hunter, Colorado
Hunter will get this as a result of he would be the most respected participant in soccer. He performed 44 of 45 snaps on Saturday earlier than leaving Colorado’s loss to Kansas State within the first half. He’s the one participant who usually performs on each offense and protection and he’s nice at each. Hunter is the Buffaloes’ prime cornerback and has 49 catches for 587 yards as a receiver as nicely.
We additionally decide Hunter for this award figuring out that he could also be restricted within the close to future. He didn’t play in any respect within the second half due to an obvious proper shoulder damage. If Hunter is out for an prolonged interval, Colorado will take a big hit. Particularly if WR Jimmy Horn can also be sidelined for a number of weeks. He was additionally injured within the first half towards the Wildcats.
Finest coach: Curt Cignetti, Indiana; Bryant Vincent, Louisiana-Monroe
We had been torn between two coaches of their first years at new colleges so we declared this one a tie. Cignetti got here to Indiana from James Madison and the Hoosiers are 6-0 via seven weeks. Since changing into a university soccer head coach in 2011, Cignetti’s groups have by no means had a shedding season at any stage. That streak will proceed into 2025 barring a seven-game shedding streak to finish the season for the Hoosiers.
Vincent, the previous UAB interim coach, is doing an unimaginable job at ULM. The Warhawks are 5-1 after beating Southern Miss on Saturday and are two wins away from the college’s first successful season since 2012. If Louisiana-Monroe can win eight video games in 2024, the college will match its mixed win complete from the 2020-2023 seasons. Not dangerous for the man who was handed over at UAB for Trent Dilfer.
Greatest shock: BYU
The Cougars are considered one of simply two groups undefeated total within the Huge 12. BYU went 5-7 of their first season within the convention however have already surpassed that win complete to date this season. The Cougars are outscoring their opponents by a mean of 34-16 because the protection is forcing almost 2.5 turnovers per sport. That turnover charge is probably not sustainable, nevertheless it’s laborious to see BYU falling from the Huge 12 title race over the second half of the season. The Cougars don’t have any ranked groups on the schedule the remainder of the season.
Greatest disappointment: Florida State
This one isn’t a lot of a shock. The preseason ACC favorites are 1-5 total and 1-4 within the ACC. It’s been a depressing begin to the season for the Seminoles and a bowl sport feels almost not possible. FSU would want to go 5-1 simply to play a thirteenth sport and it has video games at Miami and Notre Dame remaining this season. Coach Mike Norvell isn’t on the new seat by any means, however the fall from 2023’s undefeated common season is tough to understand.
