USA TODAY International Edition
Head turner
Lamar Jackson’s feats on the field make him an early favorite in the Heisman watch,
So here’s what one little rout of Florida State can do for you:
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, who led the Cardinals to a 63- 20 victory against the thenNo. 2 Seminoles with 362 yards combined rushing and passing, owns a commanding lead in the season’s first USA TODAY Network Heisman Trophy survey.
Jackson threw for one touchdown and ran for four Saturday. The Cardinals were rewarded with a No. 4 ranking in this week’s Amway Coaches Poll. The sophomore was rewarded with 31 first- place votes out of 32 from writers and editors at Gannett properties with Heisman ballots.
Stanford junior running back Christian McCaffrey, runner- up to Alabama’s Derrick Henry for the award last season, received 27 second- place votes and 59 points. Ohio State quarterback J. T. Barrett is third, and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, whose team plays Louisville on Oct. 1, is fourth. Watson finished third in the 2015 voting.
Eleven players received at least one vote, not unusual this early in the season. That includes Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Football Bowl Subdivision passing leader with 1,493 yards, and San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey, the rushing leader with 599 yards.
Jackson is second in rushing yards with 464 and leads the nation in rushing touchdowns with 10. He is eighth in passing efficiency and tied for first with Mahomes in points responsible for with 108.
McCaffrey leads the nation in all- purpose yards with an average of 235.
The 2016 Heisman will be awarded Dec. 10 in New York.