Week 7 of the College Football season is in the books meaning we've reached the midway point of the 2025-26 season. For each team, the race for the College Football Playoff and the conference championships are starting to take shape. While the races for each team are starting to take shape, so are the races for each of the individual awards.
Aside from the race for the Heisman Trophy, the race for the Biletnikoff Award is the most fun to follow as the wide receiver talent at the college level is absurd. As we reach the second half of the season, 5 wide receivers have put themselves firmly into contention for the Biletnikoff Award.
Ranking the Top 5 contenders for the Biletnikoff Award
While his production isn't at the top of the Country, you can't talk about the best wide receivers in the Country without mentioning Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes star ranks 19th in yards but, he's 2nd in touchdowns with 7 on the season. The level of attention that Smith garners from defenses keeps him from posting video game numbers but, he has to be in the discussion regardless.
The Nation's leading receiver is flying under the radar as San Jose State star Danny Scudero has been a monster. Through 6 games, Scudero has the solo lead in receiving yards and touchdowns with 845 yards and 8 scores. It will be hard for Scudero to win the award unless he runs away with it as we saw last season when Nick Nash led the Country in yards and touchdowns yet, Travis Hunter took home the award.
When Texas A&M went out this offseason and brought in a haul of wide receivers, Mario Craver wasn't the headline name everyone was excited for. Once Craver got on the field it became clear that Texas A&M landed one of the best receivers in the Country as Craver is breaking out. Craver has posted the 3rd most yards in the country with 634 and if he keeps torching SEC defenses he'll be on the shortlist of contenders.
The Illinois Fighting Illini have gotten a great season out of Senior wide receiver Hank Beatty as he and Luke Altmyer are constantly on the same page. Beatty has the 4th most receiving yards in the Country but, he'll need to start finding the endzone more as he's only scored 2 touchdowns. Illinois' schedule gets easier the rest of the way which gives him a great chance to start jumping in production.
Coming into the season, everyone expected to see USC star Ja'Kobi Lane in the mix for the Biletnikoff Award but, missed time has kept him out of the lineup. While Lane was gone, Makai Lemon had an absurd stretch making him one of the best wide receivers in the Country. Lemon's 682 receiving is good enough for 2nd in the Country while his 6 touchdowns are tied for 7th. In a Lincoln Riley offense, Lemon is going to be hard to deny as long as he keeps stacking productive performances.