Several of today’s college-football matchups
have major playoff implications, Matt Murschel writes.
A chaotic weekend in college football shook up a lot more than the College Football Playoff rankings, with the Heisman race taking a turn. Here are the five top players to watch this week:
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma The Buzz: Mayfield added another Heisman moment to his résumé during the weekend after the Sooners quarterback set a school record with 598 passing yards while leading Oklahoma to a 62-52 win over Oklahoma State Saturday. It was his second career 500-yard passing game and the 35th consecutive game with at least one touchdown pass. Mayfield ranks second in the nation in passing yards per game (358.4). This week, he leads Oklahoma against the best defense in the Big 12 in TCU. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
The Buzz: It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Barkley, who has seen his Penn State team drop backto-back games for the first time since 2015 after losing to Michigan State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions tailback rushed for 63 yards, moving into second place on the school’s career rushing list with 3,436 yards. He wound up with 111 all-purpose yards but failed to find the end zone, snapping a 15-game scoring streak. Barkley and Penn State look to bounce back this week against a Rutgers team that ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten in total defense (11) and rushing defense (13). Bryce Love, RB, Stanford The Buzz: Love finished with a season-low 69 yards rushing against Oregon State, with 52 of those yards coming on a long touchdown run in the second quarter. It was his 10th career rush of 50-or-more yards this season, tying Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon
(2014) for the record according to ESPN. Even more concerning was the fact that seven of his 16 rushing attempts wound up in negative yardage. The junior still leads the country in rushing yards per game (182.0), but his 1,456 yards on the ground this season are second behind San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny’s 1,602. Love and the Cardinal hosted No. 9 Washington late Friday night. Josh Adams, RB, Notre Dame
The Buzz: Adams is a late addition to the Heisman party, but the Notre Dame running back has been an integral piece of the Irish’s run at a possible spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals. So much so, the school even began a campaign for him: #33trucking. He came into last week’s showdown with Wake Forest having rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season. However, an injury in the game limited him to just 22 yards in the Irish win. He’s looking to become the eighth Notre Dame player to win the award. A strong performance against undefeated Miami this week would help his Heisman case. Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State The Buzz: Lost in Oklahoma State’s heart-wrenching loss to Oklahoma on Saturday was the outstanding performance of Rudolph, who threw for 488 yards and five touchdowns. It was his seventh game this season with at least 300 yards passing and his third with 400 or more. And according to the school, he’s also thrown 49 touchdown passes against nine interceptions in the last 18 games. Rudolph leads the nation in passing yards (3,314) and passing yards per game (368.2). He’ll get a test this week against an Iowa State team looking to bounce back from a loss to West Virginia.