A 5-step roadmap for how Ed Oliver wins the 2018 Heisman Trophy

2. Oliver needs big games against Arizona and Texas Tech

If a Group of Five player is going to take a serious shot at winning a Heisman Trophy, he needs to have a huge game against any power-conference teams on the schedule. When Ty Detmer won the Heisman in 1990, for instance, that run was fueled in large part by an upset of the Miami Hurricanes early in the season.

This year, Oliver gets not one but two chances to put up big games against Power Five competition. The first comes at home in the second week of the season, when Khalil Tate and Arizona visit TDECU Stadium. A week later, the Cougars head northwest to Lubbock to face Texas Tech’s Air Raid offense.

To win both of those games, Houston would need to have two straight huge days from its defense. If Oliver can play a critical role in preventing Tate from running roughshod over the Cougars, and in pressuring the Red Raiders before they can carve up the secondary, it will give him the necessary credentials to make a serious Heisman case.

Of course, winning both of those games would have an even bigger effect. Oliver can post top-ranked statistics in every major category available, but it won’t make a difference in the Heisman race if the Cougars post another seven-win season.