Jeremiyah Love shattered expectations, dominating in crucial games and proving his explosive, efficient play warrants college football's highest honor.
Since the start of 2000, there have been very few running backs who have taken home the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding player in college football. USC's Reggie Bush won in 2005, Alabama's Mark Ingram won in 2009 and Alabama's Derrick Henry won in 2015. Since then, there has only been two non-quarterbacks to win the award and I think that should change tomorrow night. Will it happen? That remains to be seen, but should it happen? Absolutely. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love embodies the meaning of this award and has been the most outstanding player in college football for the 2025-2026 season.
The St. Louis native finished the year with 1,372 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, 280 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Are these the most gaudy stats we've seen from a previous Heisman winner? No, but when you look deeper into what Love did this season, it makes it all the more impressive. Six players at the FBS level rushed for over 1,300 yards similar to Love, but they didn't shared a backfield with another running back who had at least 600 rushing yards and 113 carries.
Love's running mate in the backfield, Jadarian Price, finished the season with 674 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and two kick off returns for touchdowns. While sharing the backfield, Love was able to put up those numbers at season's end. He was also able to put up 21 total touchdowns and over 1,500 total yards of offense with a starting quarterback who threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns as well. Because of their dominance down the stretch, Love wasn't utilized much in the 4th quarter. Context always matters and he was an extremely productive, efficient and explosive player with the ball in his hands.
When talking about the Heisman Trophy, you also measure what players do in the biggest moments. LSU's Joe Burrow wasn't remembered for what he did against Georgia Southern in 2019; he was remembered for what he did down in Tuscaloosa or the SEC Championship. Boise State's Ashton Jeanty wasn't a finalist last season because of his performance against Hawaii; he was remembered for his 192 yard, three touchdown performance against Oregon on the road. The same could be said about the 6-0, 214-pound running back from South Bend.
This season, Love has his best performance when the lights were the brightest. He rushed for 94 yards, one rushing touchdown, 53 receiving yards including a one-handed snag on a wheel route for a touchdown against Texas A&M. Love had four total touchdowns, including a season high 70 receiving yards against Arkansas on the road when the Irish played the Razorbacks for the first time in program history. And to cap it all off, he rushed for 228 yards, one touchdown and caught five passes for 37 yards under the lights against arch rival USC. Love finished the Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh averaging 9.5 yards per carry.
Love is also a finalist for the Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. He's also well on his way to being a consensus 1st Team All-American and a day on NFL Draft pick. Love's final season in the blue and gold was special, and I have a lot of respect for the three other players in contention. But if this trophy is given to the most outstanding player in college football, I just don't see how you can give it to anyone else besides No. 4 from South Bend.
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