Travis Hunter is arguably the best player in college football, although the Maxwell Award (most outstanding player) went to Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
Hunter took home the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night following a regular season where he caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Colorado Buffaloes. He recorded four interceptions, 32 tackles and 11 passes defended.
While Hunter was a snap merchant, playing 434 more snaps than any other player in the FBS, the future first-round pick was not the best wide receiver or cornerback in the country.
Travis Hunter had good odds to win the Heisman on Friday
Jeanty, the best running back in the country, lost the Heisman Trophy race to Hunter by 14 total points. That final tally was awfully close after sportsbooks on Friday predicted minus-2500 odds for Hunter to win college football’s most prestigious award.
What was really odd about Hunter’s win was the jovial nature of some people in sports media on Saturday night.
One member of the media bought while Hunter’s odds were down
Big Cat (or Dan Katz) with Barstool Sports posted his bet slip on a wager made on Aug. 29 when he placed a $5,000 bet on +4000 odds for Hunter to win the Heisman. The payout on Saturday night?
$205,000.
Bang!!!
Travis Hunter! #He12man pic.twitter.com/ezULyKwM3v
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) December 15, 2024
Big Cat wasn’t shy about promoting Hunter for the Heisman throughout the season when the 21-year-old would score a touchdown on offense or grab an interception on defense.
Barstool Gambling, which is presented by the sportsbook DraftKings, celebrated Big Cat’s win on Saturday night.
BANG@BarstoolBigCat cashes his Heisman future on Travis Hunter to win $200K @draftkings #DKPartner pic.twitter.com/buO1z1n5vn
— Barstool Gambling (@stoolgambling) December 15, 2024
Many college football fans on social media felt that the optics of a sports media company, with a major platform using its power to push Hunter’s Heisman propaganda through the season didn’t look great for the integrity of the award, or the sport in general for that matter.
To be fair to Big Cat, he doesn’t vote for the Heisman. However, his sphere of influence (and Barstool Sports) can contribute to how voters decide who to pick. And he had a horse in the race. Frankly, it’s impossible to know how many in the sports media industry had money on the Heisman outcome.
The majority of voters (807) for the award are media members. There’s a reason why sportsbooks and Barstool have been pushing the Heisman talk all season. (The fan vote went heavily for Jeanty, for what that’s worth.)
College football fans aren’t sure about the media’s role in the race
“Congrats on your propaganda machine win,” wrote a fan.
“Glad your Ponzi scheme w other media members worked,” posted another.
“Congrats on being part of the most well run cfb media campaign of all time that turned a once great award into a popularity contest,” commented one fan.
“Media members tweeting bet slips where they bet on Hunter to win the Heisman while gushing over him nonstop in their own media is certainly a choice,” wrote another.
“My conspiracy theory: Travis Hunter won because many of the prominent media members who pushed him the most also bet on him to win this offseason with his lower odds,” suggested a fan.
“You know deep down this is bad for not only college football but the sport of football as a whole,” wrote another.
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