Heisman Trophy Watch 2017: 5 darkhorse candidates heading into November
By Dana Becker
Saquon Barkley, Bryce Love and Baker Mayfield might be the odds-on favorites to capture the 2017 Heisman Trophy, but as we enter November, the award appears to be up for grabs.
Barkley, Love and Mayfield have dominated headlines in regards to who is the best player in the country. However, we’ve seen it year after year; that isn’t always who takes home the hardware.
The Penn State and Stanford running backs have difficult stretches ahead of them, and one off-week could see them slide right down the charts. Mayfield and Oklahoma are playing with one loss on the resume already, with a second likely crushing hopes of a return to the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett, Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph and reigning Heisman winner Lamar Jackson from Louisville are also in contention, along with Notre Dame’s Josh Adams.
Of that group, Adams might be the hottest of the four right now, as the Irish are coming off a thrashing of Southern Cal and have the schedule remaining to make a run to the top behind the legs of Adams.
But what about the “darkhorse” candidates? Well, glad you asked, as here are five more who could slip on the list headed to New York City in December with big closing months to the season: