Heisman Watch: Week 10
The ninth week of the college football regular season is in the books. So far, this football season has produced many candidates for the Heisman trophy, most of which are quarterbacks on top football teams in the nation.
There still has not been a major shake-up in the Heisman rankings even with Tua Tagovailoa of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Dwayne Haskins of the Ohio State Buckeyes being on byes this past week.
1.) Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama
Week nine was the bye week for the Crimson Tide, and this Alabama football team is going to need all the rest and practice time that they can get to tune up for the biggest game of their season so far next week. In week 11 the Crimson Tide face LSU in Death Valley and will face their toughest challenge in that raucous environment.
LSU’s defense ranks 38th in the nation in passing yards allowed per game, allowing 199 yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. The Tigers also ranked in the top-10 for points allowed with an average of 15 points allowed per game.
Tagovailoa is going to have to bring his best game to Baton Rouge if Alabama is going to beat an LSU team that is going to be juiced up to play in front of their home crowd.
On the season Tagovailoa has shown that he is an incredible game manager, but he has not seen a defense quite like the one he will face next week. Tagovailoa has not thrown an interception yet this season, but do not be surprised if he commits one or two turnovers in this week coming up.
Andraez “Greedy” Williams, LSU’s top cornerback, should be able to slow down one of Tagovailoa’s top playmakers, forcing Tua to progress through his reads even more than he has had to all season.
The left-handed quarterback has completed 70.4 percent of his passes, gained 2066 yards through the air, has yet to commit a turnover and has been sacked only three times. If he does continue his amazing stretch of efficiency against the No. 4 LSU Tigers then he may just lock down the Heisman trophy for the season.
2.) Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
Murray led the Sooners to a touchdown on the opening drive of Oklahoma's game against Kansas State by tossing a 35-yard pass right on the money to his tight end Grant Calcaterra. Oklahoma never let off the gas pedal during the game and ended up blowing out Kansas State to the tune of 51-14.
The next touchdown scored for Murray during the rout was an 82-yard pass to CeeDee Lamb, who ran a post route and absolutely burned his man on the outside. Murray took advantage of his superior playmakers all game and threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns on a 79.2 percent completion rate. He also ran five times for 42 yards and a touchdown where he went untouched from nine yards out.
Murray, who was a first-round MLB Draft selection by the Oakland Athletics last year, has proven that he can play really any sport that features him throwing a ball. His arm is incredible and he routinely puts his passes right on the numbers of his target’s jersey. Not only can he tear a team apart with his arm, but he can also torch opposing defenses with his legs.
Oklahoma’s starting quarterback has put up some impressive numbers so far this season. He has averaged a 73.2 percent completion rate with 2803 yards and 34 touchdowns. Murray continues to inch closer and closer to Tagovailoa in the Heisman race this season as the two battle for the title of “Captain Efficiency”.
Murray could take over the number one spot next week as he faces a Texas Tech defense that is one of the worst in the nation and averages 283 passing yards allowed per game.
3.) Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson
For the first time since Jonathan Taylor, a running back has cracked the top three in the Heisman watch. For most of the season, Etienne has been on the near outside looking in, and the fact of the matter is that he is one of the best backs in college football.
He actually had his worst game statistically against Florida State, but the Clemson Tigers keep rolling this season and the team absolutely destroyed the Seminoles 59-10. Etienne rushed for 45 yards last week and went without a touchdown for the first time this year.
He did excel in the passing game though, not for his pass-catching ability though. The Clemson lead back did a very good job at picking up blitzes from Florida State and Trevor Lawrence did not take a sack all game due to great protection from a talented Florida State front.
Etienne has accrued 889 total yards this season and 15 total touchdowns. In the three weeks prior to the Florida State game, the spectacular running back had managed to score three touchdowns in each of the contests.
He has been incredibly hard to bring down and burns opposing defenses with tremendous speed. Etienne definitely deserves a hard look at the Heisman Trophy as one of the most productive rushers in the nation, averaging 7.8 yards per carry.
Logan Dolby is a Junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him email ldd5135@psu.edu.
