playBill ConnellyOct 13, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseBill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsSome 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.Isaac Brown goes 97 yards to the 🏠 Louisville responds quick to Florida State 🔥 https://t.co/TF8bsGXcCT— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 10, 2026 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.play0:33Isaac Brown goes the distance on a 68-yard TDLouisville 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, LouisvilleWeek 6 numbers: 17 carries for 235 yards and two touchdowns plus a 71-yard kick return against Florida StateBrown 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, GeorgiaWeek 6 numbers: 18-for-22 passing for 249 yards, one TD and one INT plus a rushing touchdown against AlabamaStockton 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, BYUWeek 6 numbers: 22-for-30 passing for 329 yards and two touchdowns plus 109 non-sack rushing yards against Iowa StateStar 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, GeorgiaWeek 6 numbers: Eight tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one sack and two pass breakups against AlabamaCole 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, NavyWeek 6 numbers: 41 carries for 232 yards and three touchdowns plus 95 yards, one TD and one INT against TulsaAt 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, MissouriWeek 6 numbers: 34 carries for 222 yards and two touchdowns plus three receptions against Texas A&MWhen 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, UNLVWeek 6 numbers: Two tackles, one TFL, one sack, one forced fumble, one run stop and a pick-six against North Dakota StateAfter 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.ANDRE PORTER PICK SIX!!!! @unlvfootball jumps out to a 7-0 lead and @NDSUfootball finds itself trailing for the first time all season. https://t.co/OrlUqah6S2— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 10, 2026 8. Kamari Moulton, IowaWeek 6 numbers: 26 carries for 208 yards and two touchdowns against WashingtonIowa’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
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