Since etching his name into the history books of both Notre Dame Stadium and the Notre Dame-USC rivalry with a 228-yard performance two weeks ago, Irish junior running back Jeremiyah Love has much more clearly entered the Heisman Trophy picture. Most sportsbooks afford Love the seventh-best Heisman odds in the nation, giving him far and away the best shot among Notre Dame running backs.
The Irish haven’t started November with a player this entrenched in the Heisman conversation since 2017, when running back Josh Adams posted his 1,430-yard rushing season. Adams and his team faded in the final month of that year, a development that Love and the 2025 Irish must avoid to keep all opportunities for individual and team hardware on the table. That said, what can Love do to best position himself for a trip to New York come Dec. 13?
Let’s start by looking at running back Heisman finalists of recent years – there have been more than you might think. Last season, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty finished as the runner-up to Travis Hunter with more than 2,500 scrimmage yards and 27 total touchdowns entering the College Football Playoff (CFP). The small-school factor and its accompanying weaker schedule worked against Jeanty, though, forcing him to post one of the greatest statistical seasons possible just to have a chance.
Three more running backs earned runner-up results in the mid-2010s, two of them coming from Stanford. Christian McCaffrey didn’t score many touchdowns in 2015, but he racked up more than 2,300 scrimmage yards through conference championship weekend, including a legendary showing in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Bryce Love never had a real “Heisman moment” with Stanford starting 1-2, but he still sniffed the trophy with nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns heading into bowl season. Wisconsin runner-up Melvin Gordon put together a Jeanty-like season in 2014, galloping for 408 yards in a single game against Nebraska but missing out on the Playoff opportunity awarded to trophy winner Marcus Mariota.
In the CFP era, there has been one Heisman winner at running back: Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015. Henry had punched in 23 rushing touchdowns and accounted for almost 2,000 ground yards by the time his Heisman weekend rolled around, sealing his case by combining for 90 carries in the regular-season finale and the SEC Championship game. He also benefited from succeeding at the highest level for an Alabama team that went on to win the 2015 national championship. Mark Ingram also won in 2009, going for more than 1,800 scrimmage yards on an undefeated Alabama team.
Looking at past finalists, the statistical benchmark for Love seems fairly obvious: 1,500 scrimmage yards. With five games to go before presentation weekend, he’s sitting at 955 – 758 on the ground, 197 as a receiver – to go with 12 total touchdowns. To reach that 1,500-yard plateau, Love would need to average a little more than 100 scrimmage yards a game. Despite his timeshare with junior Jadarian Price, that seems doable, given he’s already averaged 136 against a schedule harder than what he has remaining.
That remaining schedule doesn’t do Love’s ceiling any favors, though. He’s played in three games of sufficient magnitude to be considered “Heisman moment” games, taking advantage of two with a one-handed touchdown grab against Texas A&M and a one-man demolition of USC’s rushing defense. Any big days from Love down the stretch will be mostly expected, which adds to the importance of his and Notre Dame’s natural attraction of attention.
Evidenced by the national champion Heisman runners of Alabama, team success and storyline appeal always helps a candidate. No team that started 0-2 has made the CFP in its 11-season history, a seal Notre Dame could break with a 10-2 finish. And of course, no player was more integral to Notre Dame’s defining victory against USC than Love.
Love also sticks out as a highlight machine among a Heisman candidate class that has been, dare I say, a bit boring. Each of the top five preseason favorites at quarterback (Arch Manning, Cade Klubnik, Garrett Nussmeier, LaNorris Sellers and Drew Allar) have effectively fallen off the map. Left in their wake is a group of quarterbacks who are outstanding football players but don’t yet qualify as household names. Signal-callers like Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed have collected signature wins on the road, but neither they nor the rest of the candidates ahead of Love have his aptitude for jaw-dropping plays.
On several fronts, Love’s the ideal Heisman candidate from a marketability standpoint. He’s got the punnable last name with a custom-made touchdown celebration to boot. He has hurdles that, regardless of their necessity, the media will always eat up. And he carries major brand recognition as the face of the 12-team CFP's arrival thanks to his 98-yard run against Indiana last December.
Statistically, Love has a steep mountain to climb in his Heisman candidacy, but the nature of the candidates around him and his own appeal will help to keep him firmly in the conversation. If Love keeps rolling and the quarterbacks ahead of him don’t separate, who knows how the odds may ready come Dec. 1.
