The Heisman pecking order shifted a bit after the weekend results, opening the door for new contenders. Here is the Heisman Trophy watch top five after Week 5.
Now that we have passed through the first month of the season, every team in the country is at least a quarter of the way through its regular-season schedule. Standout single-game performances have been normalized with the addition of more data points. Those talents that remain atop statistical leaderboards have demonstrated an ability to maintain that level of play week after punishing week.
The Heisman Trophy, though, isn’t necessarily awarded to the player who produces the most consistently dominant numbers. And it is also worth noting that the Heisman has become an award exclusive to offensive skill players. After all, you won’t find a player like Utah State’s Jalen Davis on this week’s Heisman Watch or on anybody else’s list of contenders.
Davis has been among the most dominant cornerbacks in the country at this point of the season. He has returned three of his five interceptions through September for defensive touchdowns. But a combination of playing in the Mountain West and playing at the wrong position will keep him from even getting a sniff at the Heisman. He put in another dominant performance this weekend as the Aggies down state rival BYU, but few noticed and fewer will give it the attention it deserves.
With all that in mind, there have been plenty of other impressive displays that match the criteria favored by Heisman voters. Who stepped up biggest in Week 5 to bolster his claim on the venerated stiffarm trophy? Keep reading for our top five at this juncture of the race in this week’s Heisman Trophy Watch.
After a loss in Week 4 to TCU, the Cowboys barely survived their trip to Lubbock this weekend in a 41-34 shootout against the Red Raiders. Mason Rudolph was the catalyst for the victory. It is hard to believe that Oklahoma State would be anywhere near contending for the Big 12 this season without their senior quarterback.
Against Texas Tech, Rudolph accounted for all five of Oklahoma State’s touchdowns in the narrow victory over their Big 12 counterpart. The quarterback finished the day with 376 yards and three passing touchdowns on 27-of-38 passing. He added another 50 yards and two scores on 11 carries, keeping drives alive against a Red Raiders defense keying in on him.
Through five games, Rudolph has thrown for 1909 yards and 16 touchdowns against four interceptions. He is completing 67.6 percent of his attempts and is averaging 11.04 yards per passing attempt. Rudolph ranks third nationally in passing efficiency and total offensive production, and has added four rushing touchdowns to date.
Mike Gundy’s team still harbors hopes of winning the Big 12 and putting its name in the hat for a spot in the College Football Playoff. To have any chance of realizing either or both of those goals, they will need Rudolph to continue playing at a Heisman-contending level.
Luke Falk is the newest face in the Heisman race after leading the upset of No. 5 USC on Friday night in Pullman. Falk took over as Washington State’s starter in November of his freshman season in 2014, and he has been putting up video-game numbers ever since. That trend continued against the Trojans as the Cougars moved to 5-0 on the season.
In the #Pac12AfterDark victory, Falk came through with another solid performance that sparked the upset. Though he found himself pressured by a USC defense that racked up five sacks, Falk still completed 34 of his 51 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried the ball a couple of times, keeping one drive alive with a 10-yard scramble.
With 16 touchdowns against two interceptions, Falk has been the linchpin of Washington State’s offense. He ranks fifth nationally in passing yardage, with 1718 yards through the first five games of the year. The win over the Trojans marked Falk’s fourth 300-yard passing game out of five appearances, and the fifth failed to meet that mark only because he was injured in the win over Boise State.
If Washington State is going to steal away the Pac-12 North from its Apple Cup rival, Falk will have to remain at the forefront of the success. Should he continue to put together prolific performances to lead the Cougars to the conference title, he will be at the Downtown Athletic Club in December. Falk might even walk away as Washington State’s first-ever Heisman winner.
Saquon Barkley opened up Saturday’s game against Indiana with a Heisman-worthy moment, streaking 98 yards on the opening kickoff to put Penn State up immediately. On a day when the Hoosiers sold out to stop Barkley on the ground, he found other ways to make an impact as the Nittany Lions ran away with their fifth straight win.
Indiana succeeded at its primary goal, holding Barkley to just 56 yards on 20 carries. Barkley did not manage a single run of 10 or more yards on the day. He did add 51 yards on four receptions to finish with over 100 yards from scrimmage, but in general it was a relatively quiet day from a running back known for gaudy performances.
Even then, Barkley still finished with over 200 all-purpose yards against the Hoosiers to remain first in the nation in that category. He is averaging 243 yards per game on an average of two dozen touches. While Barkley has become the focus of every defense he faces, he continues to find new ways of breaking opponents’ spirits.
The defending Big Ten champions have plans to return to Indianapolis this season and lock up the College Football Playoff spot they were denied last year. Barkley needs to continue his versatile assault on the stat sheet to keep the Nittany Lions in position to realize those goals.
The one running back who might be having an even more impressive season than Saquon Barkley is Stanford’s Bryce Love. After taking over backfield duties for Christian McCaffrey, the Cardinal tailback is the most dominant pure runner in the country. As Stanford struggles to find a consistent passing game, Love has been the key to keeping his team in the Pac-12 hunt.
In the most recent game this past weekend against Arizona State, Love steamrolled the Sun Devils defense to fuel the 34-24 victory. On 25 carries, Love racked up 301 yards and three touchdowns. His three touchdowns were all highlight-reel plays, as he burst through the line and to the endzone on plays of 61 yards, 43 yards, and 59 yards. Love added five other plays for first downs.
In the process, Love became the first running back this season to top the 1000-yard mark. Through five games, the Cardinal star has averaged an absurd 11.1 yards per carry to reach 1088 yards on fewer than 100 carries. He has scored eight times on 98 plays, reaching the endzone on 8.2 percent of his touches.
Stanford is currently 3-2 on the year, and remain behind both Washington schools in the Pac-12 North race. But the Cardinal get to play both schools later this season. If Love puts up more huge showings in victory against the Huskies and Cougars, it would restore Stanford’s chance of returning to the top of the league and position Love as a player to beat in the Heisman race.
Oklahoma sat out Week 5 on a bye, leaving Baker Mayfield without a chance to bolster his resume in the Heisman race. But he remains on the top of the charts this week thanks to what he has already done through the Sooners’ first four games of the year. The Big 12 favorites are in position for another trip to the College Football Playoff thanks to their talented offensive leader.
Mayfield broke the season record for passing efficiency in 2016, and he is in position to obliterate his own mark this year. The Sooners veteran has averaged over 13 yards per passing attempt with a completion rate north of 75 percent.
More importantly, he hasn’t thrown a single interception in his first 101 passing attempts. At this point of the season, Mayfield is one of just four players with at least 100 attempts (and eight total quarterbacks) who can boast that distinction. He started the season with a near-perfect game against UTEP, took down Ohio State in a runaway victory on the road, and hasn’t stopped since.
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In Lincoln Riley’s first season taking over for Bob Stoops at the helm of the Sooners, he was gifted perhaps the most talented quarterback in the country. Mayfield has been as good as advertised, positioning himself as a Heisman favorite. If he continues this pace, he could supplant Sam Bradford as the most efficient FBS quarterback in history and join the former Sooner as a Heisman winner.