Travis Hunter makes his Heisman statement with eye-catching play in Colorado's clash against Oklahoma

Colorado's two-way star Travis Hunter has had a mixed week after seeing his Heisman Trophy odds (-400) surge following the game against the Kansas Jayhawks.

He was also nominated for all the major awards, including; the Biletnikoff, Walter Camp, Bednarik, Hornung and Maxwell. But he missed out on one of the most prestigious ones, the Jim Thorpe Award, that recognizes the best defensive back in the nation.

Hunter shook off the disappointment and had a Heisman-worthy moment in the first half of the Buffs' Week 14 clash against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He recorded an interception in the first quarter and proceeded to pull off the Heisman pose.

He also added 22 yards on four receptions, resulting in one touchdown to put Colorado up 21-0 at the half to further bolster his Heisman chances.

Travis Hunter gets extensive support after Jim Thorpe snub

The NFL-bound Travis Hunter being snubbed for the prestigious Jim Thorpe Award has resulted in extensive support for the two-way star. During Wednesday's episode of FS1's "The Facility," Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho was critical of the Oklahoma Committee that decided the finalists for the award.

“Travis Hunter should be at a minimum, at minimum, be a finalist because it quite literally is a disgrace to the award and it undermines the integrity of the award,” Acho said.

“Again, Hunter should be, at minimum, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. If he does not win it, fine, I get that. There are some other great defensive backs in college football. Jahdae Barron, Malaki Starks, and Caleb Downs are all worthy of being finalists, but Travis Hunter has single-handedly won games at defensive back.

"Remember, forced a fumble against Baylor in overtime to win the game."

On Wednesday, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III compared the finalists of the Jim Thorpe Award (Malaki Starks, Caleb Downs and Jahdae Barron) to Hunter statistically. He accused the voters for the award of punishing the Buffs star for playing for the charismatic Deion Sanders in a detailed X post.

“Voters need to STOP PUNISHING Travis Hunter just because they don’t like Deion Sanders. Travis is not a product of hype. He should have been a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

"@TravisHunterJr vs Jim Thorpe Award Finalists. 1st in Passes Defended, 2nd in Ints, 4th in Tackles. Target 34 times in 11 games. Giving up 12.18 yards a game. Stop punishing this young man,” Griffin wrote.

Should Hunter end up winning the coveted Heisman Trophy and the other awards that he has been nominated for, it will put the snub for the Jim Thorpe Award in even more stark relief.