Insider Josh Pate blames Michael Jordan-Lebron James debate for massive "plague" in college football

The discourse surrounding the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner continues to march on and people are giving their opinions on what transpired. Travis Hunter edged out Ashton Jeanty to win the award and this has some people picking sides.

On "Josh Pate's College Football Show," the analyst said Hunter deserved the award but would not have been surprised if Jeanty did, considering both players were outstanding this season. However, the discourse surrounding college football is attempting to talk down the other candidate instead of talking up your own.

Pate said this trend really began with the LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate in American sports.

"There is the plague of casualty that has swept America, and college football has not been immune, and that plague is 'and it's not even close'. ... It really, really started in the American sporting discourse, at least as far as I observed it, when we got into the whole Jordan-LeBron thing," Pate said.

It was one of the closest Heisman Trophy races in a long time and it showcased how incredible the premier talent in college football has been.

How did the 2024 Heisman Trophy voting wind up?

The 2024 Heisman Trophy race was the closest since 2009, with voters split between Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty. The Heisman has 928 total voters, which comprise the media, all live Heisman Trophy winners, and a fan vote.

The way the winner is decided is that there are three people on a ballot. First place gets three points, second place gets two points and third place gets one point. The highest total points-getter is the winner and below is the breakdown of the top 10 for the 2024 Heisman Trophy.

Player	School	1st Place Votes	2nd Place Votes	3rd Place Votes	Total Points
Travis Hunter	Colorado	552	261	53	2,231
Ashton Jeanty	Boise State	309	517	56	2,017
Dillon Gabriel	Oregon	24	52	340	516
Cam Ward	Miami	6	24	163	229
Cam Skattebo	Arizona State	3	18	125	170
Bryson Daily	Army	3	7	46	69
Tyler Warren	Penn State	1	7	35	52
Shedeur Sanders	Colorado	1	7	30	47
Kuris Rourke	Indiana	2	3	10	22
Kyle McCord	Syracuse	0	1	7	9

Hunter became the 90th Heisman winner on Saturday at Lincoln Center in New York. He had his family, fiancee Leanna Lenne and Colorado teammate Shedeur Sanders in attendance.