Halfway through the Season, the Heisman Race is Heating Up
First things first, prayers out to Gordon Hayward. That was just a punch to the gut for Celtics nation last night. Absolutely awful. Anyways, with college football season approaching its halfway point its time to take a look into the Heisman race. There are some interesting names on the list that were not anticipated at the beginning of the year. In my eyes any Heisman or MVP type award requires two things. Obviously the most important aspect is that you’re one of the best players in the league but the part that gets overlooked is how your team plays. If you put up great numbers but your team is bad, in my eyes I don’t think you deserve an MVP type award. An MVP should carry his team to success. If Johnny Football put up historical numbers for the Browns but they didn’t win a game then who cares? So with that said lets take a look at the guys that are making a case to win the Heisman.
Saquon Barkley RB Penn State
Barkley is the guy that everyone is talking about right now. In my eyes while he is playing well, this isn’t that surprising with the numbers that he is putting up. Whats surprising is that Penn State as a team is playing this well. They are currently ranked #2 in the country and looking to continue playing this well. Barkely has ran for 649 yards and 6 touchdowns. His previous 2 seasons he has eclipsed a thousand yards rushing which is why I said that his performance is not that surprising. He is the front runner right now but I’m not sold on him winning the Heisman just yet.
Bryce Love RB Stanford
This guy has absolutely dominated so far this year. His numbers this year are just flat our crazy considering we are only half way through the season. Love has ran for 1,387 yards and 11 touchdowns so far this year. That’s nuts! The only thing that is hurting his Heisman campaign is that Stanford had some early struggles earlier in the year. They currently sit at 5-2 and ranked #22 in the country. If they can win the rest of their games this year then I don’t see any reason why this guy would not win the Heisman. His numbers speak for himself. If he keeps playing this well and Stanford doesn’t win then that’s going to be tough to give him the award. He is definitely the guy I will be rooting for the rest of the year.
Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
Baker Mayfield was my prediction to win the Heisman this year and I am sticking with it. This guy is the best QB in college football right now. I think he will make the case at the end of the year to win this award. Currently Oklahoma is ranked #9. Now remember they took down Ohio State on the road but then lost a heart breaker at home to Iowa State. If Baker Mayfield wants to win the Heisman then he has to win the BIG 12. If he can do that and continue to put up good numbers I don’t see why he wouldn’t win it. He currently has thrown for 1,937 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 1 interception. It will be tough for them to win the BIG 12. TCU has looked exceptionally well on both sides of the ball. Luckily Mayfield gets to play them at home so make sure to circle that game on your calendar.
TEXAS A&M UPDATE
Guys, A&M is legit. We only lost to Alabama by a touchdown and we just beat Florida in the swamp. I hate to say it but if we didn’t lose to UCLA this team would be ranked in the top 10. Keep your eyes on us. This defense is legit and if we can win out the rest of our schedule we could make a somewhat decent bowl game this year. The real good part of the whole season though is how young we are. This team is going to dominate next season and I can’t wait.
Written By: Nick Katinas (@nkatinas22)