Heisman Watch: Week 6

Story posted October 5, 2017 in CommRadio, Sports by Sports Staff

Bryce Love: RB, Stanford

Stanford is beginning to produce running backs like a Ford assembly line, including the likes of Ty Montgomery and Christian McCaffrey.  McCaffrey in particular had one of the best collegiate football careers in recent memory, as his all-purpose yards record at Stanford will likely never be broken.  New starting running back Bryce Love has extremely big shoes to fill, as he is now the centerpiece of the Stanford Cardinal’s offense.  

The Cardinal started off the season with a modest record of 3-2; however, they have a great chance to run the table and win the Pac-12.  USC was the only team in the Pac-12 that beat Stanford, which means that their bowl chances and conference championship aspirations are still alive.  That being said, the only way this is all possible is if Bryce Love maintains his Heisman-caliber play throughout the duration of the season.

Bryce Love is absolutely dominating the field right now, as he is currently in the lead for most rushing yards in the country by over 200 yards.  Through five games, Love has totaled 1088 rushing yards to go along with eight touchdowns and an average of 11.1 yards per carry.  As ridiculous as Love has been playing, it was only his recent game where his name was entered into the Heisman conversation. 

Bryce Love rushed for 301 yards and added three touchdowns to carry his team to a 34-24 victory over Arizona State.  Now with the “Heisman moment” under his belt, Bryce Love has garnered the national spotlight needed to win the award.

 

Sam Darnold: QB, USC

Sam Darnold disappointed during USC’s Week 5 loss to Washington State, connecting on just 15 of his 29 attempts. He threw for 164 yards, an interception, and failed to find the end zone in an underwhelming performance.

Darnold started the season as the Heisman favorite and, before last week, Darnold played well. In Weeks 2 through 4, the Trojans’ quarterback threw for nine touchdowns. However, Darnold has yet to play a game this season without throwing an interception and in three of USC’s five games, he has thrown multiple interceptions. The high number of interceptions are definitely a blemish on Darnold’s Heisman resume.

It is still possible that Sam Darnold will have a resurgence and a strong finish to the season. He will continue to be the key to the offense in Southern California and in that role, he will have every opportunity to improve upon his statistics.

Darnold’s Heisman chances definitely took a hit with the loss last week at Washington State. His numbers are solid, but he lacks the extraordinary resume of other quarterbacks in the running. Darnold will have to be spectacular from here on out to be a Heisman finalist come season’s end.

 

Bryce Love: RB, Stanford

This season has shown how dynamic running backs can be, and Stanford’s Bryce Love has to be near the top of the list. At the end of September, Love leads the nation in rushing yards and yards per carry with 1,088 and 11.1 respectively.

He is 265 yards ahead of Rashaad Penny, who’s in second place, and has gained at least 150 yards and scored a touchdown in every game this year. In his last two games, Love has rushed for 564 yards and four touchdowns on 55 carries.

He has eclipsed 10 yards per carry three times this season and his 8.8 against UCLA is his season low. The lack of receptions and West coast bias are holding Love back as he only has two so far this season and the late start time of his games makes it hard for viewers to watch him play. The Cardinal have a tough road game against Utah and if Love has a monster game, the east coast media have to start paying attention.

 

Hunter Pitcoff is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism.  To contact him, email hxp80@psu.edu.

Josh Starr is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email joshlstarr16@gmail.com.

Joseph Esquivel-Murphy is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and Spanish. To contact him, email jje5139@psu.edu.