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Isaac Brown eclipses 200 rushing yards in a Louisville win (1:23)

Some athletes just stand out. The way Kamario Taylor throws a deep ball just looks different from the way everyone else does it. The ease with which Jeremiah Smith gets open makes it seem like college cornerbacks have never studied routes before. The way Ndamukong Suh dominated a double-team at Nebraska made it seem like he was the only college football player who lifted weights.

Louisville running back Isaac Brown hasn't succeeded at the level of Smith or Suh, but he's putting together a solid career. A football and track-and-field star at Miami Northwestern Senior High School, he was the ACC's best rookie and a Freshman All-American in 2024. His third career carry went for 36 yards, and his fifth went for 77 and a touchdown. He finished the year with 1,325 yards from scrimmage, 12 touchdowns and a few solid kickoff returns.

His sophomore season began almost the exact same way -- his sixth carry of the year: a 68-yard touchdown -- but injuries limited his opportunities. And the first month of his junior season was a frustrating one: He averaged just 4.1 yards per carry with 238 yards from scrimmage in Louisville's first four games, and the Cardinals stumbled to a 2-2 start.

But Brown finally ignited with carries of 24, 20 and 70 yards against NC State in Week 5 (albeit in a loss), and in Week 6 he (A) moved Florida State's Mike Norvell about three steps closer to getting fired, (B) maybe saved Louisville's season and (C) reminded everyone that he's faster than just about anyone else on a football field.

Down 14-0, Louisville had just made a desperate fourth-down stop to keep hope alive, and on the first play of the Cardinals' third drive, Brown took off.

Florida State might not have its best defense ever, but Seminoles defenders are well-paid, high-level athletes. Brown made them look like a high school junior varsity, and this jarring touchdown kick-started a 44-6 run. He returned the second-half kickoff 71 yards to set up an easy score, and he fittingly capped the game with another long touchdown that finished with no FSU defender in the picture.

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Isaac Brown goes the distance on a 68-yard TD

Louisville might not have the defense or the consistency to climb back into the ACC race, but any offense with a healthy Brown is among the most explosive in the country. And in Week 6, Brown was college football's most outstanding player.

This year, Heisman is running its Heisman Hopefuls Fan Vote all season long, with a platform that provides statistics, EA Sports ratings and other information. In that vein, I am once again awarding the Heisman every single week of the season and doling out weekly points, F1-style (10 points for first place, 9 for second, and so on). This week's 10 points go to Brown.

This week's Heisman winner: Isaac Brown

1. Isaac Brown, Louisville

Week 6 numbers: 17 carries for 235 yards and two touchdowns plus a 71-yard kick return against Florida State

Brown is among four players with at least three rushes of 60-plus yards this year -- the others are Missouri's Jamal Roberts, Boise State's Dylan Riley and Texas State's Torrance Burgess Jr. -- and since the start of the 2024 season, only Boise State's Ashton Jeanty has topped Brown's nine such rushes. (That Jeanty made all 10 of his in the 2024 season is a pretty good reminder of why he won my Heisman points race that year.) Brown just moves differently from everyone else.

The rest of the top 10

2. Gunner Stockton, Georgia

Week 6 numbers: 18-for-22 passing for 249 yards, one TD and one INT plus a rushing touchdown against Alabama

Stockton finished eighth in last year's Heisman points race (and seventh in the actual voting), but with Georgia winning a series of cupcake blowouts to start the season, he didn't get much of a chance to make an impression. In Georgia's first big game of the year, however, he shined, outdueling Alabama's Keelon Russell in a 20-17 Bulldogs victory and proving that the improved vertical passing we saw early this season wasn't just a product of playing poor competition.

Among Stockton's 18 completions were shots of 20, 26, 30 and 53 yards -- all to different targets -- and when Alabama took a 14-10 lead into halftime, Stockton led the Dawgs 75 yards on the opening drive of the second half and scored from 14 yards out. Georgia would never trail again.

3. Bear Bachmeier, BYU

Week 6 numbers: 22-for-30 passing for 329 yards and two touchdowns plus 109 non-sack rushing yards against Iowa State

Star running back LJ Martin is out? No problem! Just make Bachmeier the running back too! The sophomore led BYU to a comfortable 24-10 win over Iowa State thanks to not only 22 completions to seven different targets -- including a 63-yarder to Roger Saleapaga II and a 75-yarder to star freshman Legend Glasker -- but also to rushes of 26, 17 and 39 yards. He moved the chains five times with his legs and 12 times with his arm, and BYU moved to 5-0 ahead of this week's huge game against Notre Dame.

4. Chris Cole, Georgia

Week 6 numbers: Eight tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one sack and two pass breakups against Alabama

Cole is probably Georgia's best all-around player, and he was everywhere in Tuscaloosa. He stopped EJ Crowell for big losses on both run and pass plays, he sacked Keelon Russell in the third quarter, and he twice dropped into coverage to break up passes to Ryan Coleman-Williams. Wherever Russell looked, he saw Cole.

5. Jackson Gutierrez, Navy

Week 6 numbers: 41 carries for 232 yards and three touchdowns plus 95 yards, one TD and one INT against Tulsa

At 1-3 and with starting QB Braxton Woodson out, Navy desperately needed a huge performance from Gutierrez, and he put the team on his back. He carried the ball 41 times, generating 13 first downs (seven on third or fourth down), and with Navy down 20-7 in the second quarter, he found Truman Brasfield for a game-changing 58-yard touchdown pass as well. His two first-half fumbles helped to dig that 20-7 hole, but he dug his team right back out of it.

6. Jamal Roberts, Missouri

Week 6 numbers: 34 carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns plus three receptions against Texas A&M

When it comes to lead running backs, TV announcers love nothing more than to say, "He gets stronger as the game goes on!" It's not usually true, but in two October games, Roberts has averaged 2.8 yards per carry in the first quarter, 4.6 in the second, 7.4 in the third and 15.7 in the fourth. Missouri's passing game wasn't clicking against Texas A&M on Saturday, but his third-quarter touchdown gave the Tigers a 20-3 lead, and his 54-yard sprint put away a 27-6 win in the fourth quarter. He has 433 rushing yards -- and two Heisman of the Week appearances -- in his past two games.

7. Andre Porter, UNLV

Week 6 numbers: Two tackles, one TFL, one sack, one forced fumble, one run stop and a pick-six against North Dakota State

After a 1-2 start, UNLV is climbing the Group of 6 rankings, and it's thanks primarily to its defense. The Rebels have allowed 10 or fewer points in three of their four wins, and they constantly pounced on mistakes in a 13-7 win over NDSU on Saturday. Or perhaps I should say, Porter pounced on mistakes. After causing them.

8. Kamari Moulton, Iowa

Week 6 numbers: 26 carries for 208 yards and two touchdowns against Washington

Iowa's defense wobbled in the second half in Seattle on Friday night, but it didn't matter in the slightest because Moulton had already given the Hawkeyes a big lead. He rushed 15 times for 141 yards in the first half alone, and Iowa led 27-3 at the break in an eventual 41-24 win. Moulton left Iowa's Week 2 win over Iowa State with injury, missed a game and didn't do much against Michigan or Ohio State. To say the least, he looked to be at full speed again Friday.

9. Jayden Maiava, USC

Week 6 numbers: 21-for-33 passing for 301 yards and three touchdowns against Penn State

In seven games this season, the super-steady Maiava has thrown for at least 260 yards and multiple touchdowns six times and produced a QBR over 80 five times. And in a cross-country must-win game in front of a White Out crowd at Penn State on Saturday night, he was steadier than ever. He took only one sack with no picks, and he got to lean heavily on Trent Mosley again (nine catches for 111 yards) after the freshman missed a month of action.

10. Braden Atkinson, Oregon State

Week 6 numbers: 29-for-38 passing for 409 yards and five touchdowns against San Diego State

Oregon State continues to play a different sport from the rest of the country, with Atkinson regularly topping 400 yards (three times in his past five games) and freshman receiver Jesse Legree -- who should probably be making this list just as often -- regularly topping 150 receiving yards. This duo has made the Beavers contenders in the Pac-12. Hell, with only super-competitive losses to Houston and Texas Tech marring the Beavers' record, they're probably not out of the CFP hunt either.

Honorable mention:

• Goose Crowder, Troy (18-for-21 passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns plus 159 non-sack yards and two TDs rushing against Southern Miss)

• Cale Hellums, Army (38 non-sack carries for 223 yards and two touchdowns plus 19 passing yards against Tulane)

• Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State (19-for-28 passing for 304 yards and two touchdowns plus a rushing touchdown against UCF)

• Wayshawn Parker, Utah (16 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns plus 36 receiving yards against Kansas)

• Keenan Phillips, South Alabama (19 carries for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus a kick return touchdown against Arkansas State)

• Dylan Riley, Boise State (19 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown plus 64 receiving yards and a TD against Fresno State)

• LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina (23-for-35 passing for 279 yards and four touchdowns plus 34 non-sack rushing yards and a TD against Florida)

• Colin Simmons, Texas (four tackles, three TFLs, two sacks, a forced fumble and a run stop against Oklahoma)

• Jonaz Walton, Notre Dame (13 carries for 181 yards and two touchdowns plus 28 receiving yards against Stanford)

• Conner Weigman, Houston (19-for-30 passing for 242 yards and four touchdowns plus 21 non-sack rushing yards against Kansas State)

Point totals and current odds

Through six weeks, here are your points leaders. Players who are also in the top 10 in the DraftKings Heisman odds are in bold.

1. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (27.5 points)

2. Keelon Russell, Alabama (25 points)

3. Kamario Taylor, Mississippi State (20 points)

4. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (15 points)

5. Jamal Roberts, Missouri (14 points)

6. Nate Sheppard, Duke (13 points)

7T. Isaac Brown, Louisville (10 points)

7T. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State (10 points)

7T. Malachi Toney, Miami (10 points)

10. Colin Simmons, Texas (9.5 points)

Jeremiah Smith was kind to the rest of the country Saturday, catching only four balls for 93 yards and two touchdowns -- how terrible! -- giving me a chance to talk about other players for a moment. But he still leads the points race, with only two players within 12 points. And at this point the oddsmakers are treating Smith's Heisman like a foregone conclusion.

In the past week, his odds have gone from +110 (equivalent to a 48% chance) to -220 (69%). Basically every week that Russell, Taylor, Chambliss, CJ Carr or Darian Mensah (Carr and Mensah are tied for second in the odds at +1,000) don't go nuclear with 400 yards and six touchdowns or something, Smith's lead grows. But even if we know how this story ends, it's fun to celebrate Brown, Stockton, Roberts and other big-time players doing big-time things.

Gordie Lockbaum of the week: Josh Brown, Mississippi Valley State

Our weekly hat tip to a smaller-school standout, named after the Holy Cross two-way legend who finished in the Heisman top five twice in the 1980s.

Week 6 numbers: 19-for-39 passing for 266 yards, two TDs and two INTs plus 140 non-sack rushing yards and three touchdowns against Texas Southern

There were once again lots of smaller-school stars I wanted to celebrate here: Youngstown State's Beau Brungard went for 386 passing yards and five total scores against Indiana State, Texas A&M-Kingsville's Mills Dawson threw for 408 yards with five total scores against Western Oregon, Western New Mexico's Jase Ashley combined 242 passing yards with 156 rushing yards in a Green Chile Bowl win over Eastern New Mexico, Northern Arizona's Ty Pennington threw a touchdown pass, rushed for four more scores and caught another against Montana, and Delaware State's Jayden Sauray produced a stat line I've never seen before: 162 passing yards and 292 rushing yards (342 before sacks) against Franklin Pierce. But the Lockbaum goes to Brown, the comeback kid.

Mississippi Valley State won back-to-back games only once between 2013 and 2025, but Terrell Buckley's Delta Devils have pulled off stunning back-to-back comebacks thanks in large part to Brown. He scored three rushing touchdowns and threw the game winner with 2:11 left as MVSU came back from down 24-0 to upset Prairie View A&M in Week 5. On Saturday in Houston, the Delta Devils trailed 31-14 heading into the fourth quarter, but Brown rushed for a 5-yard score, found Dayvian Bluitt for a 71-yard touchdown with 4:42 left, then scored from 16 yards out in the final minute as MVSU won again. Over 400 total yards and a second straight comeback? That's Lockbaum-worthy.