Alabama Football: How Derrick Henry loses the Heisman Trophy

Derrick Henry is the Heisman favorite, but is there a chance he can lose his lead in the SEC championship vs Florida?

Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry is the favorite to step up to the podium in New York City on Dec. 12 and accept the Heisman Trophy. We have already seen this season that college football is an unpredictable sport.

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Less than a month ago, LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette was basically handed the trophy and now he may not even be a finalist. We live in a reactionary sports culture, and the current reaction is Henry won the Heisman Trophy against Auburn when he ran for 271 yards on 46 carries.

That was his fourth 200-yard game of the year, tying him with Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson for the most in SEC history in a season. Heading into the SEC championship matchup with Florida he leads the nation with 1,797 yards and 22 touchdowns.

There is a reason he is the Heisman leader.

Yet, just a few weeks ago we watched Fournette hand his sizable lead to Henry himself when LSU played Alabama. Fournette’s 31 yards was just as surprising as a misstep by Henry would be.

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The Gators have one of the best defenses in the country and have as good of a shot as any team of containing Henry. Florida ranks seventh in the nation in rush defense so this will be Henry’s toughest test all year. He’s dominated inferior run defenses like Texas A&M and Auburn, but if the Gators defense slows him like Alabama slowed Fournette, it would put the award in jeopardy.

None of this happens in a vacuum. Players like Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield and Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson are still in the conversation. Mayfield has played his last regular season game, but put up a strong statement with a win in Stillwater against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Watson and the Tigers take on North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Championship Game and Watson has an opportunity to make one last push for the award and is the one player who can catch him, even if Henry struggles mightily.

If Henry has a misstep in Atlanta, it would open the door for Watson to impress the voters. While it would take an epic performance by Watson, it is not out of the realm of possibility.

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Watson could realistically throw for 350 yards and four touchdowns and run for 100 yards and a touchdown against the ACC’s No. 11 defense and give the voters one lasting image if they haven’t already cast their vote. One thing to also consider is whether Alabama wins the SEC. If Florida were to pull off the upset, it would give Alabama their second loss.

Alabama would likely miss the College Football Playoff and even if Henry had another impressive performance against Florida, it would leave the voters with a decision to make. His team’s place in the rankings is a  trump card over other backs who have had similar years like Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott and Christian McCaffrey who could reenter voters minds.

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All things considered, Henry is poised to win the award and it would take a shocking weekend for that to change, but that’s why we watch college football because shocking weekends tend to happen.

Nothing will be for certain until Dec. 12 when the Heisman Trophy will be announced.