Jackson still favorite despite slip
No real challenger in Heisman race
There was always a way for Lamar Jackson to lose his strong grasp on the Heisman Trophy. It involved two steps: Louisville plummeting out of the College Football Playoff race, and Jackson laying an egg during the final weeks of the regular season.
Maybe you could picture the former, which happened last week with Louisville’s 36-10 loss to Houston. The latter seemed a little harder, if not impossible, to picture.
Yet here we are. With two weeks left in the regular season, the Cardinals have been eliminated from Playoff contention and Jackson has looked mortal, perhaps allowing a challenger to swoop from behind the year-long front-runner and nab the trophy.
But who is that challenger? Jackson is very likely to lift the trophy in December as a result of his superb play for much of the season, but he’ll be helped by the fact that there is seemingly no other contender nipping at his heels.
Here are this week’s top five players and those just off the list:
1. LOUISVILLE QB LAMAR JACKSON Jackson had a terrible game against Houston, completing fewer than half of his 43 passes for a measly 211 yards (a subpar 4.9 yards per attempt) and gaining 33 yards on 25 carries. The rushing total was crippled by the Cougars’ 11 sacks, but it was nonetheless a shockingly poor showing by one of the nation’s premier players.
2. ALABAMA DE JONATHAN ALLEN Someone from top-ranked Alabama should be recognized in the Heisman race. It could very well be freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts. But let’s make it Allen, the tone-setter for the Crimson Tide’s ferocious defense, a likely All-America pick and the heavy favorite for national award accolades.
3. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA QB SAM DARNOLD There’s no ignoring the way Darnold has turned around USC’s season since ascending to the starting role in late September. Since losing his debut against Utah — and only after the Utes marched 90-plus yards for the game-winning score with no time left — Darnold has helped the Trojans to seven wins in a row entering the finale against Notre Dame. Few players have been as valuable for their team.
4. CLEMSON QB DESHAUN WATSON Watson is two wins away from being a lock for the Heisman ceremony, even if winning the trophy seems unlikely. But Watson might very well be next in line for the top spot should Jackson and Louisville scuffle against Kentucky on Saturday, or should Clemson and its offense steamroll past South Carolina and then Virginia Tech or North Carolina in the ACC title game to end the regular season.
5. SAN DIEGO STATE RB DONNEL PUMPHREY Pumphrey gained 76 yards on 17 carries in the Aztecs’ loss to Wyoming, dealing a fatal blow to his Heisman hopes even as he remains in line for 2,000 yards during the regular season. If the Heisman features more than three finalists, Pumphrey should get an invite.
JUST OFF THE LIST Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts; Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien; Florida State running back Dalvin Cook; Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers; Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett; Oklahoma wide receiver Dede Westbrook; Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield; Penn State running back Saquon Barkley; Pittsburgh running back James Conner; South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers; Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans; Washington quarterback Jake Browning; Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis; Western Michigan quarterback Zach Terrell.