The Buzz: The latest Heisman news and views
Week 12 of college football is the books and we are squarely in the home stretch. Let’s see what the college football world is discussing about the Heisman …
(Disclaimer — The Heisman Trophy Trust and Heisman.com does not endorse any college football player for the Heisman Memorial Trophy. The information contained here serves as a platform of information for fans and media, and is not intended to contain a definitive and comprehensive list of possible contenders.)
The Buzz
According to The Athletic’s latest Heisman Trophy straw poll, LSU QB Joe Burrow has extended his support for the coveted award after he led the No. 1 Tigers to a 58-37 shellacking at Mississippi, throwing for an eye-popping 489 yards on 32-of-42 passing with five TDs. He received 49 of 51 first-place votes.
247Sports listed the latest Heisman odds. Spoiler alert, Burrow is the odds-on favorite.
Saturday Down South broke down Burrow’s record-breaking season.
Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts was second in the The Athletic’s balloting and Ohio State’s Justin Fields was third, although neither got a first place vote.
Hurts, after a tough first half (that he acknowledged after the game) against No. 13 Baylor, orchestrated Oklahoma’s greatest comeback ever, rallying the Sooners from a 28-3 second-quarter hole. Oklahoma won 34-31 with a late field goal while Hurts threw for 297 yards and four scores and rushed for another 114 yards on 27 carries.
Fields kept Ohio State a perfect 10-0 with a 15-of-19, 305-yard, four-TD performance at Rutgers in which he was pulled early in the third quarter.
The growing number of early exits by Fields in Buckeye blowouts prompted TheSpun to consider Fields numbers, and Heisman hype, had he played as much as Burrow.
Then again, maybe early exits aren’t so bad.
Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending hip injury late in the first half of the Crimson Tide’s win at Mississippi State. A gut punch for the Tide and Tua’s Heisman hopes.
Hurts was also well aware of what happened to his former teammate and shared his sincere thoughts on his friend’s tough break.
Sophomore QB Trevor Lawrence, a major player in preseason Heisman talk, has returned to the mix as he keeps piling up wins with the Clemson Tigers. Lawrence led Clemson to a 52-3 victory over a good Wake Forest team with 272 yards on 21-of-27 passing with four TDs. His recent play is summed up here. Teammate Travis Etienne broke 100 yards again with 121 on just 16 carries with one score.
Out west, Oregon QB Justin Herbert keeps pushing to stay in the conversation, leading the Ducks to a 34-6 win over Arizona on 20-of-28 passing with 333 yards and four TDs. Former Duck Heisman winner Marcus Mariota was there to watch. This announcer is pushing for more Heisman love for Herbert.
Herbert’s not alone in the Pac-12. Utah’s Tyler Huntley (eighth in The Athletic’s poll) and Zack Moss led the No. 7 Utes to a 49-3 thrashing of UCLA. Huntley hit 14-of-18 passes for 335 yards and two scores, Moss running for 127 yards and two more.
One more look at The Athletic’s poll, by the way, still shows three defensive players on the list, with Ohio State’s Chase Young, Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons and Auburn’s Derrick Brown listed at fourth, ninth and 10th, respectively. Young, who missed two games due to a suspension, got support for his inclusion in New York from his A.D. for his body of work.
Running backs Jonathan Taylor of Wisconsin and Chuba Hubbard of Oklahoma State are fifth and sixth, respectively. Hubbard is fifth in the Washington Post’s opinion.
Taylor had a monster game in the Badgers win at Nebraska with 204 yards on 25 carries with two scores, his 11th career game with at least 200 yards. As Sports Illustrates notes in its weekend review, he’s coming on strong.
By his own standards, Hubbard’s 122 yards and two scores were modest. But he now has 1,726 yards for the season, closing on 2K. The Oklahoman makes this pitch for Hubbard’s inclusion in New York.
Georgia’s Jake Fromm kept the No. 4 Bulldogs in the hunt for an SEC title with a big win over No. 12 Auburn as the Bulldogs clinched the SEC East.
Throwbacks
Florida State great Chris Weinke (2000) was among 10 new members welcomed into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame this past weekend.
Former Alabama running back Derrick Henry (2015) has made his hometown proud.
Tagovailoa’s hip injury, sadly, is being compared to that of Heisman winner Bo Jackson (1985), who suffered his while playing for the Los Angeles Raiders.
Heisman Trophy Winners In The NFL
Lamar Jackson (2016) kept playing at a high level, leading Baltimore to a 41-7 win over Houston. He passed for 222 yards and four scores on 17-of-24 passing and rushed for another 86 yards.
Mark Ingram (2009) added 48 yards while Ravens backup QB Robert Griffin III (2011) completed two passes in the win.
Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston (2013) threw for 312 yards and two TDs, but four interceptions as well in a loss to New Orleans.
Kyler Murray (2018) also went down in defeat to San Francisco despite his 24-of-33 passing for 150 yards and two scores, plus 67 rushing yards and another TD.
Baker Mayfield (2017) led the Browns to a big win over Pittsburgh on 17-of-32 passing for 193 yards and two TDs.
Derrick Henry (2015) and QB Marcus Mariota (2014) had the week off with a bye.
