Heisman Trophy Watch 2017: Big upsets shift order in Week 6

Saquon Barkley‘s season has been interesting from a statistical standpoint. Teams have keyed in on the Penn State tailback, doing their best to stifle his rushing production. But Barkley has managed to beat teams in other ways, showcasing a multi-threat talent to get yards any way possible.

Against Northwestern, the Wildcats bottled up Barkley once again on the ground. Through the first half, the Nittany Lion back had negative yardage running the ball. But in the second half, he racked up a pair of rushing touchdowns and finished the game with 75 yards. Northwestern wasn’t foolish enough to kick off to Barkley, and they held him to two catches for nine receiving yards.

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Barkley was held to his lowest yardage total of the season by Pat Fitzgerald‘s defense. It won’t matter, though, as one statistical anomaly isn’t going to eliminate the back from the Heisman race. Penn State’s best player remains second nationally in all-purpose yards per game despite failing to reach 100 total yards in Week 6.

As long as Penn State remains in the Big Ten race and the College Football Playoff hunt, Barkley will be right in the thick of the Heisman race. He gets another chance to put up big numbers again when the Nittany Lions take on Michigan in two weeks.