Heisman Watch Week 8

For the first time this season, we only have nine players listed in our Heisman watch. That is not to say these are the only men who are in the Heisman conversation. There are also players like Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield and UNC's Mitch Trubisky making some noise. Unfortunately for them (and the other honorable mentions), they didn't do enough to warrant a top ten spot on this list. With that being said, they could definitely make it next week. Greg Ward Jr. was also denied a top ten spot after his loss to SMU. Let's get started.

9. Jalen Hurts, Alabama (Last Week: NR)- Hurts has been on the radar for a while now, but he finally breaks through after leading the Tide to a win over #8 Texas A&M. He accounted for three total touchdowns as 'Bama won by 19.

8. Dalvin Cook, Florida State (Last Week: 8)- Cook had the week off, but he takes on Clemson at home next week. Cook has thus far been outshone by Donnel Pumphrey, but a great showing over Clemson would do wonders for Cook.

7. Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State (Last Week: 9)- Pumphrey has made headlines for his fantastic season thus far, but he's still flying a bit under the radar. If he wants to go to New York, he's going to need to continue to put up monster stats.

6. Seth Russell, Baylor (Last Week: 6)- I've said it countless times before, but I believe Seth Russell is not being taken seriously as a Heisman contender. Baylor isn't exactly seen as an elite team (like Michigan or Alabama), and his stats may be inflated by Baylor's pass-happy offense, but Russell's work should not go ignored.

5. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan (Last Week: 4)- The Wolverines ran roughshod over Illinois, but Peppers had a relatively quiet game. He accounted for only two tackles and accounted for 72 total yards. A big performance against in-state rival MSU will help him tremendously.

4. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- Barrett slips a spot after OSU was upset by unranked Penn State. There's still a good chance Barrett goes to New York though, He had a good game against Penn State and OSU still has an outside chance of making the playoffs.

3. Jake Browning, Washington (Last Week: 5)- At the beginning of the season, it seemed like all of the Pac-12's Heisman hopes would be pinned on guys like Christian McCaffrey and Royce Freeman. Instead, Browning has emerged as one of the nation's best quarterbacks. Against Oregon State he threw his 26th touchdown of the season as the Huskies stayed unbeaten.

2. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 2)- Watson and the Tigers had the week off to prepare for Florida State next week.

1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: 1)- At this point, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Jackson will win the Heisman. Against Virginia he threw for three scores and racked up more than 400 yards of offense.

Thanks for reading everyone.