On Friday morning, a pair of Heisman Trophy campaigns played out roughly 780 miles away from each other.

Three plays into the game at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado’s Travis Hunter intercepted a pass that set up a touchdown. At the same time, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was slicing through Oregon State’s defense for gains of 16 and 7 yards to kickstart a touchdown drive for the Broncos in Boise, Idaho.

By early afternoon, both had put a cap on Heisman-worthy performances.

Hunter, the one-of-a-kind two-way star, caught 10 passes for 116 yards and three touchdowns in leading the 25th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) to a 52-0 win against Oklahoma State. He also had that interception and two pass breakups on defense.

Jeanty, meanwhile, rushed 37 times for 226 yards and a touchdown in leading 11th-ranked Boise State (11-1, 7-0 Mountain West) to a 34-18 win against Oregon State.

There are, of course, other candidates for the Heisman, including quarterbacks Cam Ward (Miami), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) and even CU’s Shedeur Sanders. With the season winding down, however, it appears to be a race between Hunter and Jeanty — and it really may not be much of a race anymore.

Las Vegas sports books have Hunter as the overwhelming favorite.

Asked if Hunter’s performance was the “closing argument” for his Heisman case, Sanders didn’t hesitate.

“There’s no argument at this point,” Sanders said. “How many touchdowns? Three receiving touchdowns, an interception. He went for another 100 yards.”CU head coach Deion Sanders was even more definitive in his response to Hunter being the Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

“You’ve never seen it before,” he said of Hunter’s unique ability to dominate on both sides of the ball. “He’s the best player in college football. You could find ways to hate, to criticize, to condemn him, and you won’t come out of that looking professional, because now you’re just searching for something.”

Coach Prime is still upset that Hunter was left off the list of finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the top defensive back in the country. Considered by many to be the top cornerback in the country, his exclusion was a surprise.

Hunter’s response? A game-shifting interception on the third snap against Oklahoma State and two other pass breakups.

“Travis Hunter proved today, and he’s proved every week, that he is the best player in college football,” Coach Prime said.

“So you gotta give me another definition of the award. What’s the definition of award? The award is to go to who? The best quarterback?”

Quite often in recent years, the Heisman has gone to the best quarterback on one of the best handful of teams in the country. The past three winners — and 12 of the past 14 — have been quarterbacks.

In the past 18 years, only two running backs have won it — Alabama’s Mark Ingram II (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015). Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith (2020) is the only non-quarterback or running back to win it since 1997, but Smith, of course, didn’t play defense.

There is a definition inscribed on the trophy itself: “Awarded annually to the outstanding college football player in the United States.”

There is no question Jeanty is the best running back in the country. He’s rushed for 2,288 yards and 28 touchdowns for the 11-1 Broncos.

Hunter, meanwhile, is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award (top receiver); Bednarik Award (top defensive player) and Lott Impact Award (most impactful defensive player); Hornung Award (most versatile player); and the Maxwell and Walter Camp player of the year awards.

Statistically, Hunter is top-five nationally in receptions (92), receiving yards (1,152) and touchdowns (14) on offense, and tied for fifth in passes defended (15, with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups).

“He’s up for a plethora of things, right?” Coach Prime said. “Who else has done that, ever? Ever. Travis is him, man. Travis is that dude.”

Shedeur agrees, but said he won’t tear down Jeanty’s credentials to hype Hunter.

“I just hate whenever you got to knock down other players for your guy to win,” he said. “I don’t like that because I respect what Ashton Jeanty is doing at Boise State, because he’s doing an amazing job. I just hate talking down or anything like that on somebody else’s accomplishments. I wish everybody could win, but that’s not what it is.”

Shedeur might actually find himself in New York as a finalist along with Hunter and Jeanty. He’s among the national leaders in major passing categories and on Friday won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

Shedeur said he’s going to New York whether he’s a finalist or not, though, because he’s ready to see Hunter shine.

“Travis had a vision (when he chose to transfer to CU in 2023),” Shedeur said.

“He’s surrounded by the best people that he can be surrounded by to help him achieve his goal and everything he wants to do. So obviously, it was a great decision for him, and I’m just waiting to see him on stage holding up the Heisman Trophy.”