Heisman Watch, Week 3: Notre Dame's Kyren Williams joins the fold

The second week of the college football season is in the books and the Heisman watch is taking shape. Who are the top candidates heading into Week 3? rnWeek 2 of the college football season is now in the books. We had blowouts, upsets, breakout performances and really everything you could ask for in this season.rnrnIn a small slate of games, we still got to see plenty of Heisman hopefuls. There are still a lot of players who haven’t had their first game yet so the Heisman watch is still very foggy at this point.rnrnThe SEC has a ton of dudes who will be competing for the coveted trophy and we’ll get to see those guys starting on Sept. 26.rnrnThere were a few guys who added their name to the Heisman watchlist and others who backed up their preseason claim. The Heisman winner can come out of nowhere, nobody was talking about Joe Burrow setting the college football world on fire last season. The last few seasons it has been more of a surprise guy lifting the trophy in New York City.rnrnHere’s my current Heisman rankings after Week 2.rnrn[nextslide teaser="5.%20Kyren%20Williams" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_188316" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Kyren Williams, Notre Dame football (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)[/caption]rn 5. Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame rnAfter winning the starting job this offseason, sophomore Kyren Williams was the breakout star of Week 2. He ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and caught two balls for 93 yards. He was the most dominant guy on the field Saturday against Duke.rnrnThe Irish offense didn’t look great and whenever a big play was needed, Williams was there. He led the team in rushing and receiving yards and was the first Irish player to have 90 plus rushing and receiving yards in the last 25 years. He was making guys miss all over the field and looked like a real game-changer against the Blue Devils.rnrnIt looks like Williams will be a major part of the Irish offense. If you would have said a Notre Dame player was on the Heisman watch list after Week 2, I -- as well as a lot of people -- would have guessed quarterback Ian Book. Book but Williams was the guy who looked special.rnrnWe haven’t had a running back win the Heisman since Derrick Henry in 2015. It’s going to be tough for Williams to bring home the award but if he continues what he did Saturday for the rest of the season and Notre Dame makes a run, he could receive an invitation to New York City.rnrn[nextslide teaser="4.%20Micale%20Cunningham" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_180838" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Micale Cunningham, Louisville football (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)[/caption]rn 4. Micale Cunningham, QB, Louisville rnMicale Cunningham is a guy every college football fan should keep their eye on this season.rnrnThe dual-threat junior threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns and added another touchdown on the ground in Week 2. He has one of the top receivers in the country in Tutu Atwell to throw to -- get used to seeing that combo all season.rnrnCunningham was one of the biggest risers in the Heisman odds board, going from around 150-1 preseason to now being listed at 33-1. The question facing Cunningham is 'are the Cardinals good enough to compete for a playoff spot?' We saw Lamar Jackson win the award a few seasons ago at Louisville and not make the playoff, the only Heisman winner to do so in the past five seasons.rnrnThere are a lot of other quarterbacks who are going to put up huge numbers and whose teams have legit national title aspirations, so Cunningham will likely have to have a very special season to take home the award.rnrn[nextslide teaser="3.%20Sam%20Ehlinger" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_188418" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Sam Ehlinger, Texas football (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)[/caption]rn 3. Sam Ehlinger, QB, Texas rnSam Ehlinger had arguably the most impressive box score on Saturday, completing 25-of-33 passes for 426 yards and tossing five touchdowns, a career high. He was taken out midway through the third quarter in a blowout win over UTEP.rnrn[related-category /]rnrnThe Texas senior was in the middle tier of guys on the Heisman odds board coming into the season and he definitely didn’t hurt his chances with his performance.rnrnThe whole “is Texas back?” thing will be popular this year as always and Ehlinger is trying to prove the Longhorns are back in his last season in Austin. This was Texas’ one non-conference game and the easiest contest on the schedule. Ehlinger will be going up against much better defenses, though it is still the Big 12.rnrnThe Texas offense is built around Ehlinger and if the Longhorns make a run to the Big 12 title, it’ll be on the back of him putting up monster numbers.rnrnTexas has had two Heisman winners in Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams. If Ehlinger keeps on slinging it like he did against UTEP, he’s got a shot at joining those guys.rnrn[nextslide teaser="2.%20Spencer%20Rattler" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_183737" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma football (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)[/caption]rn 2. Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma rnOklahoma quarterbacks and the Heisman Trophy -- nothing we aren’t used to seeing. Spencer Rattler is looking to become the third Sooner quarterback to win the award in the last four seasons, joining Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.rnrnThe redshirt freshman got off to a heck of a start to his Oklahoma career.rnrnAgainst Missouri State, Rattler completed 14-of-17 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. We should know by now what Lincoln Riley can accomplish with a talented quarterback. There’s a reason that Rattler had the second-best odds to win the Heisman behind Trevor Lawrence despite just being a freshman.rnrnNo matter how the Sooners' season goes, Rattler is going to be throwing the ball all over the field and putting up huge numbers. If he stays healthy and plays the majority of the season he’s as close to a sure thing to get an invite to the Heisman ceremony as anybody in the country.rnrn[nextslide teaser="1.%20Trevor%20Lawrence" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_186515" align="alignnone" width="3200"] Trevor Lawrence, Clemson football (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)[/caption]rn 1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson rnThe preseason favorite to win the Heisman should stay No. 1 after a solid performance against Wake Forest. Trevor Lawrence completed 22-of-28 passes for 351 yards, threw for one touchdown and ran for another two. He came out towards the end of the third quarter when the Tigers were up by 34 in classic Clemson fashion.rnrnLast season we saw Trevor as the preseason favorite and lose his grip on the award after a slow start combined with a monster season from Joe Burrow. This year, Lawrence and Clemson look to be on a mission after their national title game loss to Burrow and LSU. With everything that Lawrence did to ensure the 2020 season would happen and the Tigers being title favorites, it feels like Lawrence’s trophy to lose.rnrnThe thing that could end up hurting Lawrence that likely won’t hurt Spencer Rattler, Sam Ehlinger or other quarterbacks competing for the award, is nobody else has another Heisman candidate in their own backfield. Depending on how Clemson’s offense operates, Travis Etienne's numbers could look better than Lawrence’s.rnrnAlso, the fact that Clemson is often up by 30 at halftime and Lawrence doesn’t get a full game to put up numbers can hurt. Regardless, I think most people would be surprised if Lawrence isn’t a Heisman finalist come December.rnrn[story_link_next description="Ranking%20college%20football's%20top%2050%20fanbases" url="https://saturdayblitz.com/2019/08/26/college-footballs-top-50-fanbases/" /]

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Heisman Watch, Week 3: Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams joins the fold

5. Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame

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