At this point, the 2017 Heisman Trophy is one man’s award to lose. After Week 11, who could still swoop in and claim the award from Baker Mayfield?
With a few weeks left in the regular season and conference championship games looming, the race for the Heisman Trophy is heating up full force. At this point, one player finds himself pulling rapidly away from the rest of the field.
But Heismans are easier to lose than they are to win in November. We’ve seen preseason favorites like Sam Darnold and Saquon Barkley rise and fall over the course of the year. There are still a few more weeks in which frontrunner Baker Mayfield could fall out of the top spot.
Winning isn’t everything when it comes to winning the Heisman. That has become especially apparent in recent years. Lamar Jackson took the trophy with a three-loss campaign last season. The same is true of Tim Tebow’s Heisman win in 2007 and the successful 2011 campaign for Robert Griffin III.
But winning certainly does help put a contender on the radar. If Oklahoma starts losing at this point, it will probably happen because Mayfield stops producing. That would be the kiss of death for his chances of hoisting the stiffarm trophy this season.
At this point, though, Mayfield is the favorite to bring the Heisman back to Norman. Who, though, could swoop in and steal it away from the Sooner star? Keep reading for the top five candidates in the race to be named the most outstanding player of 2017 in the Week 11 installment of the Heisman Trophy Watch.