Heisman Watch Week 7

Week 7 was a pretty solid week for all of our Heisman contenders. There were a few slip-ups here and there, but nothing too egregious. That's why everyone who is in our Heisman list last week is still on there this week. Let's get started.

10. Trevor Knight, Texas A&M (Last Week: 9)- Knight's had a pretty good season thus far, but it will all be for naught if he doesn't do well against Alabama in Week 8. A good game and a win against the Tide will launch Knight up our Heisman list.

9. Donnel Pumphrey. San Diego State (Last Week: 10)- Pumphrey's Heisman chances took a plunge when San Diego State fell off the rankings, but it's hard to ignore Pumphrey's stats. Against Fresno State he ran for 220 yards and two scores. It was however, the first time all year he didn't record a reception.

8. Dalvin Cook, Florida State (Last Week: 8)- Cook failed to find the end zone against Wake Forest, but he still did record 115 rushing yards. He's one of the best running backs in the country and needs to prove that in order to keep his Heisman campaign alive.

7. Greg Ward Jr., Houston (Last Week: 6)- Like Cook, Ward failed to find the end zone (he played against Tulsa) but he still racked up some impressive yardage: 254 passing yards and 142 rushing yards.

6. Seth Russell, Baylor (Last Week: 7)- Russell quietly has put up a fantastic season thus far. Against Kansas he accounted for four total touchdowns as the Bears won by 42. Russell has thus far been overshadowed by players like Deshaun Watson and J.T. Barrett.

5. Jake Browning, Washington (Last Week: 5)- Browning was on a bye this week, but he stays steady at the #5 spot.

4. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan (Last Week: 4)- Like Browning, Peppers stays put after a bye week. The #3 Wolverines take on Illinois next week.

3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- The Buckeyes were pushed to the brink by Wisconsin, but they ended up pulling out the win in Wisconsin. Barrett threw for a touchdown and added two more on the ground.

2. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 2)- Watson and the Clemson Tigers were pushed to the limit by NC State. Watson accounted for all three of Clemson's touchdowns in this game two through the air and one rushing.

1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: 1)- Louisville struggled against Duke, but Jackson still played quite well. He accounted for more than 300 total yards and two scores as the Cards won 24-14.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Heisman Watch Week 6

The end of October and the beginning of November is when the Heisman conversation starts to get serious. Some of the front-runners, like Christian McCaffrey and DeShone Kizer, have vanished while new stars like Lamar Jackson and Jake Browning are lighting up the fields. The real contenders are emerging and the Heisman conversation is getting serious. Let's take a look at the Top 10 Heisman candidates.

While we have a number of honorable mentions (like Zach Terrell of Western Michigan and Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong Jr.), we have only one player who dropped off last week. That would be Stanford's Christian McCaffrey. Although he was #1 on this list just a few weeks ago, McCaffrey and the Cards have been on a very rough streak the last two weeks. McCaffrey has been playing at a level far below where he was last year.

10. Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State (Last Week: 9)- San Diego State is no longer undefeated nor ranked, but Pumphrey is still putting up big numbers. He put up nearly 200 all-around yards on Saturday as the Aztecs beat UNLV.

9. Trevor Knight, Texas A&M (Last Week: NR)-  After weeks of being on the fringe, Trevor Knight finally makes it onto our Heisman watch. The Aggies beat #9 Tennessee in a thriller as Knight accounted for five total touchdowns and 349 total yards.

8. Dalvin Cook, Florida State (Last Week: 8)- Florida State's chances at making the playoffs may be over, but Cook's Heisman campaign is still rolling. He rushed for 150 yards and had a touchdown catch as FSU upset the #10 Hurricanes.

7. Seth Russell, Baylor (Last Week: 7)- Russell continues to find himself on the edge of the Top 5. He and Baylor were off on Saturday, but the #11 Bears take on Kansas next week. Look for Russell to have a great game against them.

6. Greg Ward Jr., Houston (Last Week: 5)- Houston may have fallen to Navy, but Ward still put up big numbers. He threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another one. Ward's great stats are keeping him in the conversation, but he'll need to win out from here.

5. Jake Browning, Washington (Last Week: 10)- Browning continues to be one of the best quarterbacks in the game. Against Oregon, he passed for six touchdowns and 304 yards while throwing zero picks.

4. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan (Last Week: 6)- Last week, I questioned whether or not Peppers was a viable Heisman candidate. He really proved me wrong in Michigan's win over Rutgers. Not only did he record two tackles, but he also rushed for two scores.

3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 2)- Barrett uncharacteristically struggled against Indiana. He went 9 for 21 while throwing a TD and a pick. However, he did have a strong ground game, as he rushed for 137 yards and one score.

2. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 3)- Watson's been on a real roll the last two weeks. Against Boston College on Thursday, Watson threw for 270 yards and four scores. He also added 33 yards on the ground.

1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: 1)- Jackson's last two weeks have featured a loss and a bye week. It's a real testament to his season that he's still #1 in our rankings. The Cardinals play Duke next week.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Heisman Watch Week 5

Week 5 has come and go, and it was full of some pretty exciting games. Tennessee's improbable underdog season continued after a Hail Mary against Georgia, Clemson and Louisville went to the wire, and Michigan barely outlasted Wisconsin. Of course, we're here to talk about all of the Heisman implications. Who took a hit and who stepped up? Let's find out.

As we've had the last few weeks, we have a number of honorable mentions. I want to single out one player in particular: Alabama's Jalen Hurts. He may just be a freshman, but he's leading the best team in the country. We also have Patrick Mahomes II of Texas Tech, Tennessee's Josh Dobbs, UNC's Mitch Trubisky, Cal's Davis Webb, Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong Jr., Brad Kaaya of the Hurricanes, and Trevor Knight of the Texas A&M Aggies.

10. Jake Browning, Washington (Last Week: NR)- Washington was seen as a fringe team last week, but they now find themselves ranked #5. The Huskies ran all over #7 Stanford and Browning threw for 210 yards and three scores.

9. Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State (Last Week: 6)- Pumphrey plays weaker opponents compared to the other Heisman candidates, so he needed to win as many games as possible as well as racking up massive yardage in those games. He rushed for 151 yards and one score, but San Diego State lost to South Alabama and is no longer ranked. If the Aztecs lose again, Pumphrey's Heisman campaign may be over for good.

8. Dalvin Cook, Florida State (Last Week: 9)- Florida State may have fallen to North Carolina, but Cook shone nonetheless. His 29 carries went for 140 yards and three scores. Florida State is still ranked, but as a running back, his Heisman campaign is not dependent on the success of his team.

7. Seth Russell, Baylor (Last Week: 8)- Russell had himself a solid outing against Oklahoma State. He threw for 178 yards and one score while also rushing for 88 yards and two scores. Baylor is still undefeated, and that might be the most important part of his Heisman campaign.

6. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan (Last Week: 5)- Peppers had a rough day against Wisconsin, with only three tackles and 33 return yards. If Peppers want his Heisman campaign to be taken seriously, he'll need bigger games. Instead, he found himself overshadowed by his teammates in Week 5.

5. Greg Ward Jr., Houston (Last Week: 7)- Ward's Heisman campaign has fluctuated wildly, but he is now firmly planted in the Top 5. He had a phenomenal game against Connecticut, going 32 of 38 for 389 yards and three scores while adding 65 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. The injury concerns are still there, but Ward has done enough to earn his spot in the Top 5.

4. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford (Last Week: 2)- McCaffrey has now gone two straight weeks without a rushing or receiving touchdown. His Heisman campaign is in serious danger, and he'll need to start putting up better numbers if he wants to contend with the likes of Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, and J.T. Barrett.

3. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 4)- During the first four weeks of the season, Watson's play can best be described as unspectacular. That all changed in Week 5 when Watson threw for 306 yards and five scores (he also added 91 rushing yards). More importantly, Clemson beat the number three team in the country

2. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- Barrett has been inching closer towards the #2 spot for some time now, and he finally snags it this week. He threw for 236 yards and four TD's (as well as 46 yards on the ground) as the Buckeyes ran over Rutgers.

1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: 1)- Yes, a QB's Heisman campaign is tied to his team's win record. And yes, Louisville lost to Clemson in Week 5. Still, it's hard to argue with the notion that Jackson has still been the most outstanding player in college football. Even in the loss to Clemson, he accounted for three scores and more than 400 yards of total offense.

Thanks for reading everyone. Check back next week for updated rankings.

Heisman Watch Week 4

Our Heisman watch is pretty steady compared to last week's seismic shake-up. Only one player dropped off and the top five remained unchanged. Don't expect this to be the case next week however, as players will soon find themselves getting tested against conference opponents. Let's get started.

The only player to drop off from last week is LSU's Leonard Fournette. His performance this season has been somewhat underwhelming, as proven by his performance against unranked Auburn on Saturday. Not only did LSU lose, but Fournette failed to find the end zone.

We have five players on our honorable mention list, and they're all QBs: Tommy Armstrong Jr. of Nebraska, Brad Kaaya of the Hurricanes, Washington gun-slinger Jake Browning, the Aggie Trevor Knight, and Josh Dobbs of the Tennessee Volunteers.

10. Nick Chubb, Georgia (Last Week: 10)- Chubb struggled mightily against Ole Miss. He rushed for only 57 yards before leaving with an ankle injury. However, Chubb is expected to play in Week 5, so he barely beats out one of the QBs on our honorable mention list for the number 10 spot.

9. Dalvin Cook, Florida State (Last Week: NR)- Cook finds himself back on our watch list after his fantastic performance against South Florida. Not only did he rush for 267 yards and two touchdowns, but he also led the Seminoles in receiving yards.

8. Seth Russell, Baylor (Last Week: 10)- Russell quietly continues to be one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football. Against Oklahoma State, Russell threw for 387 yards and four scores while also leading the Bears in rushing.

7. Greg Ward Jr., Houston (Last Week: 8)- Ward put up beautiful numbers against Texas State, as he threw for 289 yards & two touchdowns and went 20 for 26. He added 39 yards and a score while rushing. Ward is hampered by the fact that he doesn't play many quality opponents, so he'll have to continue to put up big numbers and stay undefeated.

6. Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State (Last Week: 7)- Pumphrey was inactive in Week 4, but he rises after Chubb's slip. Pumphrey leads the nation in rushing yards and is third in rushing touchdowns. Like Ward, Pumphrey doesn't play many quality opponents, so that will hurt his stock a little bit, especially when looking at Power Five players like Dalvin Cook and Lamar Jackson.

5. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan (Last Week: 5)- Peppers is looking to be only the second defensive player in history to win the Heisman. The first was Michigan's Charles Woodson. The only defensive player to have come close in recent years was Manti Te'o, who was the runner-up to Johnny Manziel. But if anyone can break through, it's Peppers. No one in the nation has more tackles for loss than him and he leads the nation in punt return yards per game.

4. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 4)- As I said last week, Watson has yet to have a truly spectacular game this season. That being said, Clemson is undefeated and ranked at #5. Watson threw for 304 yards and ran for 36 more as Clemson rolled over Georgia Tech.

3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- Barrett had the week off, so he stays in the number three spot. We'll next see him in Week 5 when he takes on Rutgers at home in a Big 10 conference matchup.

2. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford (Last Week: 2)- McCaffrey didn't exactly have a banner game against the UCLA Bruins, but he did account for more than 150 all-purpose yards as Stanford stayed undefeated.

1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: 1)- Is there any defense that can contain Lamar Jackson? The Lousville QB accounted for more than 470 yards of total offense while also racking up seven touchdowns. Jackson's stats have been nothing short of fantastic thus far. He's sixth in the nation in rushing yards, first in rushing touchdowns, seventh in passing touchdowns, and ninth in passing yards.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Heisman Watch Week 3

Week 3 was a big one for the Heisman race. We saw a lot of contenders from last week dropout and some new players who are making their case. Some of these new players have reignited their campaign while others are just now making their case. The number of contenders are possibly higher than they were at any other time this season. It's going to be difficult to rank all of them, but we'll do our very best.

Five players from last week dropped off the rankings. The most notable player is Deondre Francois, the Seminoles QB. He was fourth last week and drops off after accounting for less than a 100 yards and throwing a pick. Two other QBs also dropped off, including Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma and Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, both of whom lost to ranked teams (although Kizer had a much better performance than Mayfield did). Two running backs also dropped off: Dalvin Cook of Florida State and Royce Freeman of Oregon. Both backs had subpar games over the weekend.

We have a number of honorable mentions to look at, and all four of them are quarterbacks. Let's give some love to Brad Kaaya of Miami (Fl), Tommy Armstrong Jr. of Nebraska, Josh Dobbs of Tennessee, and Tyler O'Connor of Michigan State. They'll need strong performances going forward in order to bolster their campaigns.

10. Seth Russell, Baylor (Last Week: NR)- Russell finds himself back on our Heisman watch after a strong performance against Rice. He threw for three touchdowns and more than 330 yards and Baylor is now ranked at 16.

9. Leonard Fournette, LSU (Last Week: NR)- Fournette's been a little inconsistent thus far this season, but he's now on the rise after running holes through the Bulldogs defense. He ran for 147 yards and two scores while also picking up some receiving yards.

8. Greg Ward Jr., Houston (Last Week: NR)-  Ward tumbled after suffering a shoulder injury, but he looks to become a serious contender once again. He threw for 326 yards and one score while also rushing for 73 yards and two scores.

7. Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State (Last Week: NR)- Pumphrey has recently come out of nowhere to become a serious Heisman contender. He may not play for a big-name team, but he is the nation's leading rusher.

6. Nick Chubb, Georgia (Last Week: 5)- Chubb takes a slight hit after his lackluster performance against Missouri. He ran for only 63 yards, but the Bulldogs are undefeated and are very much in contention for a playoff spot. If Georgia continues to do well, it will be great for Chubb.

5. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan (Last Week: NR)- Peppers is the only defensive player who has made the list thus far this season. But Peppers is more than just a defender: he's also a skilled returner. Against Colorado in Week 3, he returned two kicks for 81 yards and four punts for 99 yards and a score. Add to the fact that he got 9 tackles in the game, and you have the making of a true superstar.

4. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 6)- Watson barely played against South Carolina State, but in he did still go 12 for 15 while throwing three touchdowns. Watson has yet to have an outstanding game this season, but he's been very consistent. If he wants to go back to New York this year, he'll need to step it up a little bit.

3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 3)- The Buckeyes star has been excellent thus far this season. In OSU's route of #14 Oklahoma, Barrett threw for 152 yards and four touchdowns while also adding 74 yards on the ground.

2. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford (Last Week: 1)- McCaffrey had himself a game against USC on Saturday. He racked up 260 all-purpose yards and two scores while Stanford cruised to a win. The Cardinals are now ranked #7.

1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: 2)- Jackson continues to be the most outstanding player in college football today. In Louisville's dismantling of #2 Florida State, Jackson threw for 216 yards and a score while adding 146 yards and four scores on the ground.

Thanks for reading everyone. Check back next week for the newest Heisman edition.

Heisman Watch Week 2

The Heisman campaign is still in the early phases for this season, but we already have a number of key candidates. And of course, we get more and more every single week. This was a relatively quiet week, with only two ranked teams (#15 TCU and #22 Oklahoma State) going down. With a lot of teams having an easy week, we saw a lot of big-name players having good games. But was it enough for them to make our list? Let's find out.

Our drop-offs from last week are Seth Russell, Greg Ward Jr,, and Leonard Fournette, all of whom played very little or not at all last week. Our three honorable mentions go out to Washington's Jake Browning (who has thrown for 8 touchdowns thus far in the season), the Volunteer Josh Dobbs (who threw for three scores against Virginia Tech), and Trevor Knight of Texas A&M (who threw for three scores and 344 yards).

10. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma (Last Week: NR)- Mayfield dropped off last week due to a loss to Houston, but he bounces back after throwing for three touchdowns and 244 yards on Saturday. The Sooners are still ranked at #14. 

9. Royce Freeman, Oregon  (Last Week: NR)- Like Mayfield, Freeman dropped off the list after a weak Week 1 performance. In Week 2 however, he ran for 207 yards and two scores as Oregon beat Virginia. 

8. DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame (Last Week: NR)- Kizer was an honorable mention last week, but he moves up after going 16 of 18 for 165 yards and a touchdown (not to mention the one he had on the ground). 

7. Dalvin Cook, Florida State (Last Week: 5)- Cook slips a couple of spots, but he still had a good outing against Charleston Southern. The Seminole ran for 80 yards and two scores as Florida State moved up to #2 in the polls.

6. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 4)- Waston has only been trending downwards as the season began, and his performance against Troy really didn't help. Though Clemson won, Watson threw two picks while posting a QBR of 36.5. 

5. Nick Chubb, Georgia (Last Week: 3)- Chubb had a remarkable game in Week 1, but he slowed down a bit in Week 2. The Bulldogs won, but Chubb only ran for 80 yards and two scores. Not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but a rather pedestrian one for Chubb. 

4. Deondre Francois, Florida State (Last Week: 4)- When the season began, all the Seminole Heisman hype was firmly planted on the shoulders of Francois's teammate, Cook. Now, after throwing for five touchdowns in two games, Francois finds himself one of the Heisman front-runners. 

3. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: 2)- The Buckeyes crushed Tulsa, but Barrett didn't put up eye-popping stats. While he did rush for two scores, he had zero from the air. Of course, the rainy weather is why OSU chose to run the ball more, but it still hurts Barrett a bit. 

2. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: 10)- Jackson follows up his incredible Week 1 game by putting on a show in Week 2 against Syracuse. In just two games thus far, Jackson has accounted for thirteen scores. A win over Florida State next week would do wonders for his Heisman campaign,

1. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford (Last Week: 1)- McCaffrey holds on to the top spot this week, but just barely. Stanford was inactive this week, but they have a big conference match-up against USC next week.

Thanks for reading everyone. 

Heisman Watch Week 1

That might have been one of the wildest opening weekends in college football history. Two top-five teams lost, Texas is relevant for the first time in years, and we saw games from Thursday to Monday. Of course, with so much action, there's a lot of Heisman action to talk about. We finally got to see a lot of the contenders like Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook in action, as well as other possible breakout stars. There's a lot of stuff to talk about, and that's what we'll do here. Let's get started.

Three players dropped off from last week: Royce Freeman of Oregon (who only had 92 yards of total offense), Chad Kelly (who lost to Florida State), and Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma (who lost to Houston). We have two players on the honorable mention list: DeShone Kizer of Notre Dame (who accounted for six touchdowns despite losing to Texas) and D'Onta Foreman of Texas (who ran for 131 yards and a score against ND).

10. Lamar Jackson, Louisville (Last Week: NR)- Jackson turned heads on Thursday when he passed for six touchdowns and rushed for two more when #19 Louisville dismantled Charlotte. The Cardinals are now six spots higher in the rankings and have a chance to compete for the ACC title.

9. Deondre Francois, Florida State (Last Week: NR)- Francois won his first career game when he beat Ole Miss on Monday night. All the Heisman spotlight was on Dalvin Cook and Chad Kelly going into this game, but Francois completely stole the show. He threw for 419 yards and two scores while also rushing for 59 yards.

8. Seth Russell, Baylor (Last Week: 7)- Russell threw for 163 yards and four touchdowns as he led Baylor to victory over Northwestern State. On top of that, Baylor now looks like the favorite to win the Big 12.

7. Leonard Fournette, LSU (Last Week: 1)- Fournette drops out of the top spot after putting up 138 rushing yards and zero scores against Wisconsin as #5 LSU suffered an upset loss. However, next week he faces Jacksonville St.  in what should help him bounce back.

6. Greg Ward Jr., Houston (Last Week: 10)- Ward continues his dark horse Heisman campaign after leading Houston to an upset win over #3 Oklahoma. He threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns, and the Cougars are now #6.

5. Dalvin Cook, Florida State (Last Week: 5)- Cook had a bit of a  rough game against Ole Miss, as he only had 91 rushing yards and zero scores. However, he did catch 7 passes for 101 yards as the 'Noles knocked off #11 Ole Miss.

4. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Last Week: 3)- #2 Clemson had a bit of a lackluster win against unranked Auburn. His statline wasn't great (248 passing yards with one score and one interception), but at least Clemson won.

3. Nick Chubb, Georgia (Last Week: 6)- Chubb probably had the best game of anyone who was on our Heisman watch last week. He had 222 yards on the ground (to go with his two scores) as Georgia beat #22 UNC.

2. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State (Last Week: NR)- Looking back on my list from last week, I can't believe I left Barrett out. He made me pay for that oversight by throwing for 349 yards and accumulating six total touchdowns. Now that he's not fighting for playing time, he's the smartest pick for a Buckeye Heisman winner since Troy Smith.

1. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford (Last Week: 2)- I had a tough choice between McCaffrey and Fourntette for the top spot last week, but I see now that McCaffrey was the way to go. Not only did he have 2 rushing scores, but he also picked up 40 receiving yards as well as 44 return yards. At this point, he's the safe pick to win the Heisman.

Thanks for reading everyone. Check back next week for an updated Heisman watch.