2019 Heisman Watch: Down to Three

Now, after Tua’s injury, there were some great performances again this week. We had Heisman candidates showing us why they are in the running for this trophy and we had a new face try and enter the race. With Tua’s injury, he will not be taking home the Heisman trophy, but there are two other players who need to at least be mentioned in this race.

Heisman Favorite: Joe Burrow

• 268/341 Passing (78.6%)
• 3,687 Passing Yards
• 38 Passing Touchdowns
• Six Interceptions
• 215 Rushing Yards
• Three Rushing Touchdowns

Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers traveled to Ole Miss in what many people thought could be a tough test for them. Well for the most part that thought was pushed aside by the end of the first quarter. After one, the Tigers held a 14-0 lead and they went on to score 50 seconds into the second quarter. By halftime the Tigers were up 31-7 and well on their way to remaining undefeated.

Obviously, Burrow was a huge part of this, throwing for three touchdowns in the first half. He went on to throw another two in the second half totaling five on the day. The more impressive stat for me though was the fact that he threw for 489 yards on only 42 passes! That is well over 11 yards per attempt, which is just insane!

He did go on to throw a couple of picks in the second half, but the game was already in hand at that point. After another week, he is still your Heisman favorite.

Jalen Hurts

• 181/248 Passing (73%)
• 3,039 Passing Yards
• 28 Passing Touchdowns
• Five Interceptions
• 983 Rushing Yards
• 15 Rushing Touchdowns

Jalen Hurts made sure that Joe Burrow now has even less room for error moving forward. It looked like Burrow may have all but locked the award up this weekend. Then came Jalen Hurts!

Jalen’s Heisman Moment

After Burrow had his Heisman Moments last week, Jalen decided it was his turn this week. Heading into the second half of a huge game against Baylor, Oklahoma found themselves down 31-10. All seemed lost. The playoffs and the Heisman both seemed out of reach for Hurts and the Sooners. Then Jalen Hurts happened.

On the opening drive of the second half, Hurts led the Sooners on an 86 yard touchdown drive. Hurts capped it off with a three-yard pass to Austin Stogner to cut the lead to 14. Then the defense came up big getting stop after stop giving the Sooners a fighting chance.

A minute and a half into the fourth quarter, the Sooners scored again. This time Hurts hit Theo Wease for a 19-yard score. That cut the lead to seven and it really put the pressure back on Baylor. Well again, the Sooner defense came up big and got another stop. At this point, I think we all knew what was coming next.

Hurts led the Sooner offense on a 13 play, 87-yard drive that ended with a Hurts pass to Brayden Willis. With the game tied at 31, Hurts had one job left to do, and that won the game.

After Oklahoma’s defense forced another three and out, Hurts led the game-winning field goal drive to finalize his Heisman Moment.

Tight Heisman Race

At this point, I really think it will only be one of these two guys who win the Heisman. Everyone else is kind of an afterthought right now. Plus, since the inception of the Playoff in 2014, only one Heisman Trophy winner did not qualify for the playoff. That was Lamar Jackson, and we all know what kind of season he had that year.

This race will most definitely come down to Championship Weekend. It will be fun to watch both of these guys go back and forth over the next couple of weeks.

In the Hunt: Justin Fields

• 159/230 Passing (69%)
• 2,164 Passing Yards
• 31 Passing Touchdowns
• One Interception
• 377 Rushing Yards
• 10 Rushing Touchdowns

What Fields has going for him is that the Buckeyes are undefeated. Fields also has the best touchdown to interception ratio in the nation, but that just isn’t enough. He has been phenomenal all year long, but his numbers just cannot match Burrow or Hurts at this point.

One thing he does have going for him is a chance for a couple of big Heisman Moments. He has Penn State and Michigan in the next two weeks. Those are two big games where he can make his mark.

Heisman Honorable Mentions

Two guys that deserve to be at least mentioned are Chuba Hubbard from Oklahoma State and Omar Bayless from Arkansas State. These guys are having historic seasons, but the cards just are not on their side. For a running back to win, their team needs to be competing for a national championship. The case is usually the same for quarterbacks as well with the recent exception being Jackson.

Bayless is putting up Larry Fitzgerald numbers, but the last time someone outside the Power Five Conferences won the Heisman was all the way back in 1990. Ty Detmer, a quarterback, took home the award for Brigham Young.

These guys are great stories, and they may even get an invite to New York, but it’s just not their year.

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