The Sports Examiner's 2018 Heisman Ballot

At the time of writing, the Heisman trophy will be presented today on December 14th. There are four finalists this year: Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts, Ohio State's Chase Young and Justin Fields, and LSU's Joe Burrow. While The Sports Examiner does not have an official Heisman ballot, we have been tracking the Heisman race all season long and have our own unofficial ballot.

Before we get to our top three, let's look at some honorable mentions. We start with Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin and Chuba Hubbard of Oklahoma State. These two men were some of the nation's best running backs and were present in our Heisman watch all season long. Hubbard led the nation in rushing yards while Taylor finished second. They each had 21 rushing touchdowns, a number beaten only by LeVante Bellamy of Western Michigan. Our next honorable mention goes to the man that many had as their Heisman favorite entering the season: Trevor Lawrence. The sophomore was coming off of a dominant performance in the national title game and expectations were very high. Though Lawrence and the Clemson offense got off to a sluggish start, things would pick up and Clemson would go undefeated and earn a spot in this year's College Football Playoff. In the ACC Championship game against Virginia, Lawrence passed for 302 yards and four scores as the Tigers won their fifth straight ACC title. Our last two honorable mentions go to a pair of teammates: Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins and Chase Young. Dobbins was one of the nation's best backs, finishing third in rushing yards and scoring 20 rushing touchdowns. Young was arguably the nation's best player, offense or defense. Despite missing two games due to suspension, he still led the nation in sacks.

3. Justin Fields, Ohio State

The sophomore QB had a remarkable first season at Ohio State. The former Georgia Bulldog led the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and berth in the College Football Playoffs. Fields threw for 2,953 yards and 40 scores (which was third in FBS) with only one interception. That's right, just one interception.

Readers of this blog might remember that I actually had Fields's teammate J.K. Dobbins in the third spot last week. However, after watching Ohio State beat Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game last week, it was hard to keep Fields out of the top three. The QB helped engineer a second-half comeback to seal the deal.

2. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

I don't think a lot of people expected Hurts to have this great of a season. Before the rise of Joe Burrow, Hurts was the Heisman favorite. Though he faltered a bit in the second half of the season, Oklahoma still won the Big 12 and earned a spot in the playoffs. Hurts also boosted his draft stock considerably.

This season, Hurts completed 71.8% of his passes, threw for 3,634 yards, and passed for 32 touchdowns. On the ground, the former Alabama player ran for 1,255 yards and 28 touchdowns. All in all, this season has to be considered a major success for the former national champion.

1. Joe Burrow, LSU

Burrow is the easy and obvious pick. The real question is not whether he will the Heisman, it's how much of a landslide will it be. The LSU Tiger has been absolutely sensational this season. LSU is ranked #1 and coming off an undefeated regular season that featured wins over teams like Auburn, Alabama, and Georgia. If you're looking for a "Heisman moment" to encapsulate his season, look no further than his incredible play in the third quarter against Georgia (you know the one I'm talking about).

Burrow was second in the nation in passing yards (behind only Washington State's Anthony Gordon), first in completion percentage, and first in passing touchdowns. In other words, he's the complete Heisman package.

Thanks for reading everyone. 

Heisman Watch Week 14

I can't believe we've finally caught up. It's been a long few weeks, and I appreciate everyone's patience. Let's get started.

9. Travis Etienne, Clemson (Last Week: 8)- Etienne has pretty much zero chance of getting invited to New York, but he deserves credit for his great season. In Week 14,

8. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State (Last Week: 7)- Hubbard had an impressive performance against Oklahoma on Saturday. On 24 carries, Hubbard ran for 104 yards and one score, though the Cowboys did fall to their in-state rivals.

7. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (Last Week: 6)- Taylor has a big opportunity against Ohio State on Saturday. If he delivers a standout performance (and Wisconsin at least makes it a competitive game), then he has a chance of becoming a Heisman finalist.

6. Chase Young, Ohio State (Last Week: NR)- There has been no football player more dominant this year than Chase Young. Despite missing multiple games due to suspension, Young leads the nation with 16.5 sacks.

5. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (Last Week: 5)- Clemson blew out in-state rival South Carolina in advance of their ACC Championship game against Virginia. Lawrence, who at one point completed 18 straight passes, threw three touchdown passes and ran for 66 yards.

4. Justin Fields, Ohio State (Last Week: 4)- To be completely honest, I thought J.K. Dobbins outplayed his teammate against Michigan. That's not to say Fields played badly (he threw four touchdowns), but Dobbins just felt more essential to OSU's win.

3. J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- Maybe I'm a little too high on Dobbins, but he really feels like a Heisman finalist at this point. He's fourth in the nation in rushing yards and fifth in touchdowns. 

2. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma (Last Week: 2)- The early season favorite, Hurts feels like a lock to be a Heisman finalist. He's had a tremendous season, which includes throwing for 3,184 yards and rushing for 1,156.

1. Joe Burrow, LSU (Last Week: 1)- Even if LSU loses to Georgia, it's hard to imagine Burrow not winning the Heisman this year. That speaks to just how dominant the former Buckeye has been this year.

Thanks for reading everyone. Be sure to check back next week for our unofficial Heisman ballot.

Heisman Watch Week 13

I promise, we will have our final Heisman watch (with our official Heisman picks) before the award is given out. Let's get started.

We say goodbye this week to Oregon's Justin Herbert. The Ducks' loss to Ohio State not only ended Oregon's playoff chances but also Herbert's Heisman dreams.

8. Travis Etienne, Clemson (Last Week: 8)- The recent departures of Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa opened up a hole that Etienne stepped into. Per PFF, Etienne leads the nation in forcing missed tackles (among backs with at least 100 carries) and has a total of 16 scores. He's not going to win the Heisman, but he sure deserves some votes.

7. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State (Last Week: 7)- Hubbard turned his 26 carries into 106 yards as the Cowboys beat West Virginia.

6. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (Last Week: 6)- Taylor had a great performance against Purdue this week. The junior ran for 222 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries. I still believe he can make it to New York City, but he'll need a few of the players ahead of him to slip up.

5. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (Last Week: 5)- Clemson had a bye this week.

4. J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State (Last Week: 4)- Dobbins had a good, not great, performance against Penn State as he ran for 157 yards and a score on 36 carries. He's currently on the cusp of being a Heisman finalist.

3. Justin Fields, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- Like his teammate, Fields had a good, not great performance against Penn State in Week 13. The sophomore threw for 188 yards and two scores, but he also coughed up the ball three times.

2. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma (Last Week: 2)- Oklahoma narrowly escaped TCU by a score of 28-24. Hurts completed only 11 of his 21 passes, but he made up for it with a great game on the ground. The Alabama transfer ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

1. Joe Burrow, LSU (Last Week: 1)- The Heisman favorite had another big game in Week 13. This time, it was against Arkansas. Burrow went 23 of 28 for 327 yards and three touchdowns.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Heisman Watch Week 12

So, so close. Let's get started.

With the departures of CeeDee Lamb and Tua Tagovailoa, this list can finally be cut down to eight players.

8. Justin Herbert, Oregon (Last Week: 9)- Herbert and the Oregon Ducks drummed Arizona 34-6. Herbert was the main reason why, as he went 20 of 28 for 333 yards and four scores.

7. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State (Last Week: 8)- The sophomore stud has accumulated 1,726 rushing yards for the season and is second in rushing touchdowns (only Western Michigan's LeVante Bellamy) has more. He had another strong performance in Week 12 as he ran for 122 yards and two scores in Oklahoma State's win over Kansas.

6. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (Last Week: 7)- Taylor ran roughshod over the Nebraska defense as he ran for 204 yards (the third time he's run for more than 200 yards against the Cornhuskers) and two touchdowns.

5. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (Last Week: 6)- Lawrence finally makes it back into the top five after a disappointing start to the season. He has been playing some lights out football recently, and it genuinely wouldn't surprise me if he finished in the top five this year.

4. J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State (Last Week: 4)- Dobbins had another productive game in Week 12 as the Buckeyes steamrolled Rutgers 56-21. The star back ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

3. Justin Fields, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- At this point, it's hard to see how Fields does not make it to New York. The Georgia transfer has 41 total touchdowns and more than 2,100 passing yards.

2. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma (Last Week: 2)- When the first half of the Baylor/Oklahoma game ended, it looked like Oklahoma's playoff chances were toast. Unfortunately for the Bears, no one told Jalen Hurts. The QB threw for three touchdowns in the second half and finished with more than 400 yards of total offense.

1. Joe Burrow, LSU (Last Week: 1)- The clear favorite in this year's Heisman race had another memorable Saturday against Ole Miss. Not only did the Tigers win by 19, but Burrow threw for a career-best 489 yards and five scores.

Thanks for reading everyone.