Cade Klubnik, Caleb Downs among early favorites for college football's top awards
Fred Biletnikoff Award: Jeremiah Smith
Few young receivers have generated as much hype as Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith, who comes off a dominant freshman season. Smith led the Buckeyes with 1,315 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024, finishing ahead of first-round pick Emeka Egbuka.
The No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class delivered for the Buckeyes throughout their national title run, connecting with quarterback Will Howard for 381 yards and five touchdowns in the postseason. At 6-foot-4 with excellent hands and elite route running capabilities, it's hard to keep the ball out of Smith's hands.
Jim Thorpe Award: Caleb Downs
Two years into his collegiate career, accolades are stacking up for Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. The preseason first-team AP All-American was an immediate standout for the Buckeyes after spending his freshman season at Alabama.
Downs was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year after finishing the season with 82 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and six pass break-ups. He was critical to the championship run, consistently locking down threats in the passing and running games. He held tight end and eventual first-round draft pick Tyler Warren to four catches for 47 yards in Ohio State's 20-13 win over Penn State and picked off Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers in the CFP semifinal.
Chuck Bednarik Award: Dylan Stewart
After a breakout freshman campaign, South Carolina's Dylan Stewart is poised to lead the Gamecocks' defense in 2025.
Stewart earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team after recording 23 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a pass breakup. The edge rusher who can also drop into coverage put together one of the best freshman defensive campaigns in South Carolina since Jadeveon Clowney.
Though Downs will likely make a strong case, the Bednarik Award has yet to be given to a safety in its 30 years of existence. Stewart is one of just seven sophomores on the watch list for the award.
Doak Walker Award: Jeremiyah Love
Love is widely considered the top returning running back after playing an integral role in Notre Dame's best season since 1988. The six-foot, 214-pound running back finished the season with 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns on 163 carries, averaging 70.3 yards per game, 8.5 yards per carry and at least one score in each of the first 13 games.
As Notre Dame undergoes a quarterback shift in 2025, Love could see even more opportunities to carry the offense, putting the preseason AP All-American in prime position to take home the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back.
Outland Trophy: Spencer Fano
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best interior lineman in college football. Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. earned the award in 2024, marking back-to-back Outland Trophy wins for the Longhorns after T'Vondre Sweat won in 2023.
We expect the award to stay on the offensive side of the ball in 2025 and Utah's Spencer Fano is a player to watch. He led FBS offensive tackles in 2024 with a 92.7 PFF grade, allowing just two quarterback hits and one sack through 424 pass-block attempts. Fano held his opponents to zero sacks through the last 11 games of the season.
The preseason AP All-American has shown versatility, lining up on the right and left sides, and seems a good bet to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
Heisman Trophy: Cade Klubnik
The most prestigious award in college football is likely to return to the hands of a quarterback in 2025. Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik headline early Heisman conversations and possess the best odds heading into the season.
Klubnik has the experience Manning lacks, the mobility Nussmeier strives for and enough consistency in the receiving room to hit the ground running in 2025.
The Clemson quarterback comes off an impressive 2024-2025 campaign, completing 63.4% of passes for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions. A dual-threat, he added 463 yards and seven touchdowns on foot. His 36 touchdowns ranked behind only Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, who were both selected in the 2025 NFL draft.
Clemson landed at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. If Klubnik can measure up to high expectations, the Tigers could have their first Heisman winner since Trevor Lawrence.
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Advertisement Here's the ACC's schedule for national TV and ESPN: 'Week 0' (Aug. 23) Stanford @ Hawaii, 7:30 p.m. on CBS (home team is Mountain West) Week 1 (Aug. 29-Sept. 1) Friday: Georgia Tech @ Colorado, 8 p.m. on ESPN Syracuse vs. Tennessee, noon on ABC (neutral site) Alabama @ Florida State, 3:30 p.m. on ABC LSU @ Clemson, 7:30 p.m. on ABC California @ Oregon State, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN Sunday: Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina, 3 p.m. on ESPN (neutral site) Sunday: Notre Dame @ Miami, 7:30 p.m. on ABC Monday (Labor Day): TCU @ North Carolina, 8 p.m. on ESPN Week 2 (Sept. 6) Illinois @ Duke, noon on ABC or ESPN Baylor at SMU, noon on The CW Boston College @ Michigan State, 7:30 p.m. on NBC (home team is Big Ten) Stanford @ BYU, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN Week 3 (Sept. 11-13) Thursday: NC State @ Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Clemson @ Georgia Tech, noon on ABC or ESPN Pitt @ West Virginia, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN South Florida @ Miami, 4:30 p.m. on The CW Minnesota @ California, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN Week 5 (Sept. 26-27) Friday: Florida State @ Virginia, 7 p.m. on ESPN Week 7 (Oct. 11) Wake Forest @ Oregon State, 3:30 p.m. on The CW Week 8 (Oct. 17-18) Friday: Louisville @ Miami, 7 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2 Friday: North Carolina @ California, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN Washington State @ Virginia, 6:30 p.m. on The CW Florida State @ Stanford, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN Week 9 (Oct. 24-25) Friday: California @ Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Week 10 (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) Friday (Halloween): North Carolina @ Syracuse, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Week 12 (Nov. 14-15) Friday: Clemson @ Louisville, 8 p.m. on ESPN Week 13 (Nov. 21-22) Friday: Florida State @ NC State, 8 p.m. on ESPN Week 14 (Nov. 28-29) Black Friday: Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m. on ABC (neutral site) Clemson @ South Carolina, noon on ABC or ESPN What you'll need to watch ABC, ESPN, Fox, TNT Like the Big Ten, the Big 12 splits its games across three national TV partners. ESPN is omnipresent at this point, and Fox has been a broadcast partner since its 2012 media rights agreement. Of note here is TNT, which picks up 13 of the conference's best games. The network even has two first-round CFP games this winter (sublicensed from ESPN, why not?). Bring back 'Super Football Saturday Night' presentation next. Advertisement J.B. Long and Mike Golic Jr. are TNT's official Big 12 pairing, after working together last year on Mountain West football. Long has also been with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams since 2016; Golic is a Notre Dame guy. 'Week 0,' which still very much sounds like a failed sci-fi pilot, has the Big 12 exporting to Ireland. The Cyclones and Jayhawks open the 'Aer Lingus College Football Classic' on ESPN. This is what we know about the Big 12's opening weeks on national TV, ESPN and TNT. Most other games are on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, FS1 or FS2. 'Week 0' (Aug. 23) Iowa State vs. Kansas State, noon on ESPN (neutral site) Fresno State @ Kansas, 6:30 p.m. on Fox Week 1 (Aug. 28-Sept. 1) Thursday: Nebraska vs. Cincinnati, 9 p.m. on ESPN (neutral site) Friday: Georgia Tech @ Colorado, 8 p.m. on ESPN Friday: Auburn @ Baylor, 8 p.m. on Fox South Dakota @ Iowa State at 3:30 p.m on Fox Hawaii @ Arizona, 10:30 p.m. on TNT Utah @ UCLA, 11 p.m. on Fox Monday: TCU @ North Carolina, 8 p.m. on ESPN Week 2 (Sept. 6) Kent State @ Texas Tech, noon on TNT Baylor @ SMU, noon on The CW (home team is ACC) Iowa @ Iowa State, noon on Fox Oklahoma State @ Oregon, 3:30 p.m. on CBS (home team is Big Ten) Delaware @ Colorado, 3:30 p.m. on Fox Army @ Kansas State, 7 p.m. on ESPN Stanford @ BYU, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN Week 3 (Sept. 12-13) Friday: Colorado @ Houston, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Friday: Kansas State @ Arizona, 9 p.m. on Fox Oregon State @ Texas Tech, 3:30 p.m. on Fox Pitt @ West Virginia, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN Texas State @ Arizona State, 10:30 p.m. on TNT Week 4 (Sept. 19-20) Friday: Tulsa @ Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. on ESPN Week 5 (Sept. 26-27) Friday: TCU @ Arizona State, 9 p.m. on Fox Friday: Houston @ Oregon State, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN BYU @ Colorado, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN Week 6 (Oct. 3-4) Friday: West Virginia @ BYU, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN Advertisement Week 14 (Nov. 28-29) Friday: Utah @ Kansas, noon on ABC or ESPN Friday: Arizona @ Arizona State, TBD on Fox Of particular note to Big 12ers, ESPN DTC and Fox One can be bundled together as of Oct. 2 for $39.99/month. What you'll need to watch The American Athletic Conference (AAC) has a TV rights deal with ESPN/ABC. Extra games fall to ESPNU, ESPN+. etc. The Sun Belt Conference also has an ESPN/ABC deal. Mid-American Conference (MAC) football is under that umbrella, too. The annual Army-Navy game is locked in at CBS Sports. That exclusivity runs through the 2038 season. Conference USA is split between CBS Sports ('tier one selection status' since 2022) and ESPN/ABC. The Mountain West Conference has its main deal split between CBS and Fox. The Fox Sports networks get 22 broadcasts this fall, CBSSN has 28 and CBS proper has three. The Pac-12 is back. It is indestructible. It is the 'Conference of Champions.' It … has two teams right now. Oregon State and Washington State are to be showcased across CBS Sports, The CW and ESPN this fall. There are 10 Pac-12 CW kickoffs scheduled so far. Notre Dame has its own situation set up at NBC. It's been that way since 1991. The latest extension to the media rights agreement keeps Fighting Irish home games there through 2029. Road games are determined by the host's conference. Freaks List 2025: Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith tops a list of 101 — Bruce Feldman Preseason Coaches Poll: Who's overranked and underrated in the top 25? — Scott Dochterman Who are the most important transfer portal additions for every Power 4 team? — Manny Navarro College football 2025 quarterback tiers: Ranking the FBS' projected starters from 1 to 136 — Sam Khan Jr. and Antonio Morales What we learned from Netflix's SEC football documentary, 'Any Given Saturday' — Seth Emerson Advertisement College Football Playoff sleepers: 11 unranked dark-horse teams to watch — The Athletic College Football Staff Heisman Trophy Fantasy Draft: LaNorris Sellers, Jeremiyah Love and 30 more picks for NYC — The Athletic College Football Staff Streaming and odds/betting links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Jeremiah Smith: Alex Slitz / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
