CU Buffs wunderkind Travis Hunter is the best player in college football, but the only solid path for him to win the Heisman Trophy in New York runs through Jerry World in Big D.

Without having to brag, Hunter declared himself the rarest of football unicorns when dropped by the sets of both ESPN’s “College GameDay” and Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” in Happy Valley, Penn., on Saturday.

It was oh-so-cool and very politically savvy.

Before striking the Heisman pose, Hunter wrapped himself in a He12man banner, in vote-seeking moves so shrewd it could make a red or blue presidential candidate green with envy.

Yes, Hunter is indeed a combination of offensive and defensive excellence we’ve never witnessed in college football since the days of Jim Thorpe over a century ago.

At age 21, Hunter is also wise beyond his years. And he proved it by speaking with likable humility, letting a nationwide audience on two networks know: “I can’t get the Heisman without my teammates.”

While playing more than 100 snaps per game, his stats are Ohtani-like amazing. Hunter has caught passes worth more than 100 yards in five games this season, with eight touchdowns. As a corner, he has made 21 tackles, broken up seven passes, nabbed two touchdowns and put the exclamation point on a dramatic victory by forcing a fumble at the goal line.

But do you know what will ultimately matter as much, or more, to Hunter’s quest for the Heisman than how many touchdowns he scores or the number of big defensive stops he makes? It’s how far the Buffaloes, currently 6-2 and ranked No. 23 by Associated Press voters, can rise in the national polls.

Should the Buffs finish the regular-season on a six-game winning streak, get some help with pratfalls from Iowa State, Brigham Young and Kansas State and fill a spot in the Big 12 Conference championship game on the first Saturday in December, Hunter will have a chance to make a compelling closing argument for Heisman voters before they cast their ballots, due Dec. 9.

But should CU be stuck back in Boulder, watching the conference title game in the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium on TV, I would not hesitate to bet your mortgage that somebody else – whether it’s Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Miami quarterback Cam Ward or even Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty – will take home the Heisman from New York as Hunter offers gracious applause as a runner-up.

As a Heisman voter since the turn of this century, the entire selection process often frustrates me as more dependent on fluff than football. But I do know what causes a candidate to rise on ballots that see first, second and third places are awarded three, two and one points.

The whole process is rigged in favor of whatever quarterback happens to lead his team to the highest ranking in the polls. So long as Oregon remains No. 1 and undefeated, it will be difficult to wrestle the Heisman away from Gabriel, even if he’s not the quarterback that Bo Nix was for the Ducks.

While all the face time that Deion Sanders and the Buffs get on national TV doesn’t hurt Hunter in this beauty contest, he still must overcome the natural tendency for voters to be awed by the 400 yards and five TD passes Ward produced against Duke for the undefeated Hurricanes

Even if the Buffs win out in conference play, they will need upsets beyond their control to qualify for the championship game. So Coach Prime should send a truckload of California almonds to Lubbock as a two ton token of thanks to Texas Tech for the Red Raiders’ 23-22 defeat of previously undefeated Iowa State.

And after Kansas State gets over the shock of losing to Houston, the Wildcats will look up and see CU now tied for second in the conference standings.

What would give Hunter the best chance to win the Heisman is for Colorado to be ranked in the top 10 with 10 victories when the calendar flips to December.

As valuable as Hunter is to CU, that’s why he needs more than a little help from his friends on the team to bring the Heisman back to Boulder.

CU and Texas Tech set for afternoon kickoff

It’s another nationally-televised game for Deion Sanders and Colorado.

The Buffaloes’ Week 11 game at Texas Tech will kick off a 2 p.m. MT (3 p.m. locally in Lubbock) on FOX, making it nine consecutive games to start the season that the team has been on one of the major network channels or ESPN’s flagship channel.

It’s CU’s fourth game this season on FOX.

Despite being on a bye, Week 9 was good for the Buffs, who now have a clear path to the Big 12 championship game after losses by Iowa State and Kansas State. Coach Prime’s team is now tied for second in the conference standings with the Cyclones, who face the Wildcats in the final week of the regular season.

One more loss by Iowa State and none by CU would see the Buffs get into the conference title game on Dec. 7 in Dallas.

– Tyler King, The Denver Gazette