Heisman Watch: Darian Mensah is out front after Week 1, but the Miami QB is not alone

The Heisman watch comes a day early because Darian Mensah leads the Miami Hurricanes in their home opener against Florida A&M on Thursday night. Mensah is now the favorite in the Heisman race after a near-perfect debut, throwing for 401 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-6 win over Stanford. 

Mensah's yards confirmed all the thoughts we had about him being the perfect fit for Shannon Dawson's offense. But what about the other Heisman candidates? How did they perform in Week 1 and did a dark horse or two emerge?

And Mensah isn't at the top of the On3 Heisman poll, but another Hurricane is.

How did the QB Heisman favorites perform in Week 1?

We're looking at the top five quarterback favorites from FanDuel, since the Heisman is basically a quarterback award (with a few exceptions). Here is how they played in the opening week of the regular season:

Miami's Darian Mensah (+600): 27-for-30, 401 passing yards, 5 TDs
Texas' Arch Manning (+1000): 20-for-27, 305 passing yards, 4 TDs, INT
Ohio State's Julian Sayin (+1200): 21-for-25, 320 passing yards, 3 TDs
Notre Dame's CJ Carr (+1200): 19-for-29, 329 passing yards, 2 TDs
Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss (+1200): 21-for-36, 336 passing yards, 3 TDs, INT
LSU's Sam Leavitt (+1500): 16-for-27, 230 passing yards; 113 rushing yards, 3 TDs, INT
Oregon's Dante Moore (+1500): 28-for-37, 378 passing yards, 3 TDs
USC's Jayden Maiava (+2200): 48-for-54, 635 passing yards, 5 TDs (two games)

Most of the QBs were able to post big numbers in blowout games. Moore and Chambliss had tougher assignments and showed up. Things will get much tougher for Manning and Sayin this week when Ohio State meets Texas. Leavitt and Chambliss are en route to a showdown on September 19 in the Magnolia Bowl. 

Maiava really set the pace by basically not letting a ball touch the ground in his first two games. But he and Moore will get a bigger test when USC faces Oregon on September 26. So there's a lot to be determined among this group.

How did the non-QB Heisman favorites perform in Week 1?

Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (+1200): 8 catches, 151 yards, 2 TDs
Miami WR Malachi Toney (+1400): 12 catches, 234 yards, 3 TDs

The Heisman is a quarterback award, and it probably will still be this year, but these two could break through. And if not, the two-man race for the Biletnikoff Award is going to be wild. Toney set a Hurricanes single-game receiving record last week and looked like a player that has put in the offseason work to get bigger, faster and stronger. He would be the first Miami wide receiver to win this award. 

Here are some dark horse candidates worth watching

Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor (+6500): 22-for-34, 354 passing yards, 59 rushing yards, 5TDs
'Florida RB Jadan Baugh (+15000): 14 carries, 160 yards, 3 TDs
Pitt QB Mason Heintschel (+17500): 31-for-41, 453 passing yards, 7 TDs

Taylor was the talk of Week 1 because Mississippi State hasn't really had anything close to great QB play since Dak Prescott was there. The good news for Taylor's candidacy is that the Bulldogs' schedule is brutal, and he'll have to perform at a ridiculously high level to keep them competitive. 

Baugh gives us a running back on the list, and he was the best one last week. He'll be the focal point of the Gators offense, but like we said before, it's a quarterback award.

Heintschel is really intriguing because Pat Narduzzi is going to let him throw, and the Panthers built an offense around his arm. Can he put up video game numbers each week that will be too hard to ignore?

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