HOUSTON -- While Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson has dazzled the nation with his dizzying collection of touchdowns for the No. 3 Cardinals and will be the focal point Saturday when his team faces No. 5 Clemson, another dual-threat quarterback who wears red is quietly making his Heisman Trophy case and will have an opportunity to add to his résumé Thursday night.

Greg Ward Jr. and No. 6-ranked Houston host Connecticut -- the one team that was able to defeat the 13-1 Cougars in 2015 -- at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on ESPN.

Any chance Ward had last season to make a dark-horse run at college football’s most prestigious individual award was wiped out when the Cougars went to East Hartford, Connecticut, and dropped a 20-17 decision, one Ward mostly missed with an injured ankle (Houston backup quarterback Kyle Postma started the game; Ward entered in the fourth quarter for only five plays and threw an interception on the Cougars’ final offensive drive that ended their chances at victory).

Because the Huskies, a fellow American Athletic Conference team, enter Thursday night at 2-2, this game won’t make Ward’s Heisman chances, but it is an opportunity for himand the Cougars to atone for their 2015 hiccup and extend Ward’s streak of consecutive starts with a victory (currently an FBS-best 17). And it’s a chance to rack up a few highlights while being one of only two FBS games on air Thursday night.

Ward, who in the preseason was No. 27 in ESPN.com’s #CFBrank of the nation’s top 100 players, has moved into the top 10 after the season’s first month. He’s also fifth in ESPN.com's weekly Heisman Watch (Jackson is currently a unanimous No. 1).

Already this season, Ward led the Cougars to a season-opening victory over then-No. 3 Oklahoma with 321 passing yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions -- a win that immediately thrust Houston into the national top 10 and the College Football Playoff conversation and put Ward into Heisman contention.

An up-and-down performance by the senior quarterback two weeks ago in a closer-than-it-looked 40-16 win at Cincinnati was capped off by a strong fourth quarter. He rebounded from two earlier interceptions to go 5-for-6 passing for 65 yards -- including four completions for key first downs -- and rush for two touchdowns in the final stanza. All of that came while battling an injury to his throwing shoulder suffered in the win over Oklahoma, an injury Houston coach Tom Herman and his staff will continue to manage and monitor throughout the season.

“Greg Ward Jr. is an electric player,” UConn coach Bob Diaco said Monday. “He’s an electric player athletically. He runs like a great back, like a great nationally ranked and recognized back or slot receiver. He has that type of skill and ability. But he’s also a very underrated passer. He’s a much better passer than people are talking about. This guy can make all the throws, he has pocket poise and presence. He’s not just scrambling to run. He sits in the pocket and delivers the ball down the field.

“I think a lot of people talk about his athleticism, but I’ve been very impressed with his quarterbacking.”

Ward won’t be the only Heisman candidate on display Thursday night -- Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II and the Red Raiders host Kansas -- but fair or not, Mahomes has a steep uphill battle with a loss already on his team’s résumé. Mahomes' video game-like statistics have been mind-boggling so far, as he has thrown for at least 470 yards in each of the Red Raiders’ first three games and is responsible for 18 touchdowns, third nationally to Jackson (25) and Cal quarterback Davis Webb (20).

Houston, however, does have a chance to go undefeated, and Ward’s chance for a “Heisman moment” could arrive Nov. 17 when Jackson and Louisville travel to TDECU Stadium to take on the Cougars, a game with potentially high stakes if both teams enter unbeaten.

Because the Cougars are in a Group of 5 conference and don’t face another Power 5 opponent until Louisville comes to town, Ward’s chances to impress the nation are few and far between. Thursday night, regardless of the opponent, is one of them.