The Heisman Trophy ceremony begins this Friday at 8:00 p.m. EST. The winner is almost certain. There was a minute on Friday night when it looked like it would be a close vote for Ashton Jeanty. I saw Travis Hunter’s Draft Kings Sportsbook odds drop from -5000 to -600 when Ashton Jeanty rushed for 132 yards in the first half of the Mountain West Championship.

If Jeanty had managed over 300 YDS and a few more TDs by the end of the game, we might be having a different conversation right now. But he cooled off in the second half and finished the game with a pedestrian 209 YDS and a TD. Travis Hunter shot back to -2500. If you look at the Draft Kings app today at 1:41 p.m. EST, Heisman odds aren’t even being offered anymore.

As far as guaranteed Heisman winners go, Travis Hunter seems to have more opposition than anyone else. There’s more than enough outrage online about Travis Hunter being the clear winner. Comparing him to Jeanty is almost impossible. Ashton Jeanty currently ranks 4th among all-time rushing leaders. Travis Hunter played on both sides of the ball all season and performed well elitist at WR & CB.

They are two completely different players who lead their teams in completely different ways.

I know that at Barstool Sports we shouldn’t say anything negative about Travis Hunter because our key employee placed a sizable bet on him. And if I say something on Twitter that could potentially be construed as an insult to Travis Hunter, several people will tag @BarstoolBigCat in my replies. As if we aren’t even allowed to have our own opinions. As if there was even a world where Big Cat actually gave a shit who John Rich thought deserved the Heisman. But I’m not convinced that Travis Hunter is truly a talent like we’ve never seen before.

He’s a unicorn in the sense that he actually does the damn thing. He played almost a full season (one game was missed due to injury) and played on both offense and defense. He took more than 100 snaps per game and is arguably a top-five player at two positions. We have never seen anyone achieve this at such a level. For that, he is a deserving winner of the Heisman Trophy. But are we sure there isn’t anyone in college football right now who could do what he does? Don’t you think Jeremiah Smith or Ryan Williams wouldn’t be in the top 10 at that position if they had the opportunity to play defense? You definitely have the necessary skills to do this in a sporty way. They physically fit the mold. If they coached both sides of the ball and played for a Big 12 school that allowed them to do so, they could look a lot like Travis Hunter.

Maybe I’m way off base. Perhaps Travis Hunter has certain skills that translate to defense that other elite receivers don’t have in their arsenal. And maybe Quinshon Judkins would do Ashton Jeanty things if he played for Boise State (although I highly doubt that). But my theory is that players will try to play both sides of the ball more often. Now that Travis Hunter has shown people it’s possible and kids have seen how much praise he gets for it, I bet we’ll get some top recruits out of high school choosing a school , which allows them to play both ways. Just a little thing to pay attention to. If that happens, we might view Travis Hunter as a trailblazer rather than a perpetual “unicorn” of talent.

As for the other finalists, many people thought the Heisman would only invite three players this year. Aside from Hunter and Jeanty, everyone expected Miami QB Cam Ward to get an invite.

Not everyone expected Dillon Gabriel. In hindsight, we probably all should have done that. He fits perfectly into the type of player the Heisman likes to invite (i.e. the best player on the best team in college football). When I saw him play at the B1G Championship this past weekend, he definitely looked deserving. Unlike Cam Ward, who has crazy stats, Dillon Gabriel is a quarterback who just makes every play he needs to make. He makes Oregon win every game. He is the quarterback of the top-ranked team in college football. It only makes sense that he would get an invite.

The player with the best case for being snubbed is Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, who a few weeks ago won the Johnny United Golden Arm Award as the top quarterback in the major leagues, in a field that includes both Cam Ward and Dillon Gabriel belonged.

Compared to Cam Ward, his numbers are very similar. He’s just behind Ward in almost every category.

Miami was at the top of the college football rankings all season, but in the end, Miami didn’t have a much better season than Colorado. If there’s one quarterback who has a legitimate complaint, it’s Shedeur.

And when I post these stats, I’ll probably mention Kyle McCord. Even if he wasn’t really close. But Syracuse finished with the same record as Colorado (9-3), with nearly identical strength of schedule (Colorado 71, Syracuse 74). However, McCord lost any chance he had at an invite when he threw three pick-sixes in the first half of a single game. Honestly, looking at his season, Kyle McCord might have a legitimate case if it weren’t for that one 41-13, 5 INT blowout against Pitt.

As for non-quarterbacks, Arizona State fans are outraged that running back Cam Skattebo wasn’t invited.

That seems a little excessive, but the case is decent. He led Arizona State to a Big 12 championship and a third-place finish in the College Football Playoff. His stats are impressive, though Perhaps not Heisman worthy. As crappy and lazy as it is, a lot of the Heisman is about the stats. Skattebo ranks 5th nationally in rushing yards and 8th in touchdowns. His YPC of 6.0 doesn’t necessarily stand out. He’s the second highest earning running back and I’m sure he’ll get some votes. But the Heisman can only invite a limited number of players. Maybe that’s a problem, that the Heisman automatically invites a third quarterback instead of a second running back. Despite the top two this season, the Heisman is still a quarterback award. But I don’t think Skattebo is the most egregious snub I’ve ever seen.

Penn State fans who no longer live on planet Earth will say that TE Tyler Warren deserves an invite.

But Tyler Warren might not even win the Mackey Award for best TE. Harold Fannin Jr. of the Bowling Green Falcons statistically dwarfs him. Fannin has a significantly higher run-blocking grade and a real chance to lead the nation in receiving yards after the bowl game. According to PFF, he has the best grade of any player in college football. If any TE deserves an invite, it’s him.

But something about Tyler Warren occasionally running in the Wildcat, snuffing out a big run against Purdue and scoring a couple of goal-line touchdowns against Washington makes them think that Tyler Warren is the most versatile offensive talent college football has ever seen has.

Sorry, I have to sneak in Harold Fannin Jr. propaganda at every opportunity. But here’s the Purdue run for you Penn State fans. It was very cool.

As always, there are great players from smaller schools who had great seasons but would never receive a Heisman invite because of who they play for. The best example of this this year (besides Harold Fannin Jr.) is San Jose State wide receiver Nick Nash, who currently leads the national team in both yards and touchdowns

But the Heisman will only invite a limited number of players from certain schools. Ashton Jeanty had to have an all-time historic season at Boise State and lead them to the playoffs, only to snag an invite and not win. Unless voters shock the world this weekend. Everyone tells us that won’t happen and that Travis Hunter’s name is already engraved on the trophy. But when I see how many people are online and how many former players are rooting for Ashton Jeanty over Travis Hunter, there’s still this smallest Part of me believes it could happen. But that won’t…probably…