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.
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.
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