We’re far enough into the season to discard the Heisman ballot categories and roll right into it because this is clearly a four person race now. Leonard Fournette fell off the face of the Earth after LSU imploded. Trevone Boykin and Baylor’s entire offense got hurt. Dalvin Cook…well, Dalvin Cook actually had a monster season but for some reason Heisman voters are reluctant to invite a Florida State standout who recently assaulted a woman…can’t imagine why. As for Navy’s Keenan Reynolds, voters who have railed against his candidacy have claimed the Heisman isn’t a “career achievement award,” and ESPN has agreed enough to pull him off their ballot completely:
1. DERRICK HENRY, RB, ALABAMA: Henry probably locked this thing up with his 271 yard performance in the Iron Bowl which pushed his season total to 1,797 yards and eclipsed Trent Richardson’s Alabama record. Another strong performance in the SEC Championship Game should swing the seven (of 30) Gannett survey respondents who don’t have Henry leading their ballot.
2. DESHAUN WATSON, QB, CLEMSON: Watson’s 393 yard, 4 TD game against South Carolina kept the Tigers perfect and finally planted him firmly the Heisman discussion. The dual threat star will go over 4,000 yards of total offense on Clemson’s first drive Saturday night, and a solid outing against an 11-1 North Carolina team (and #1 Playoff seed) might be enough to sway voters who don’t think Henry has been dominant enough to warrant his frontrunner status.
3. CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY, EVERYTHING, STANFORD: Let’s be honest, they’re not giving the Heisman to a sophomore running back. That said, the kid is 216 yards away from breaking Barry Sanders’ record for all-purpose yards in a season, and deserves a free trip to Manhattan. He’ll be back.
4. BAKER MAYFIELD, QB, OKLAHOMA: Why not? The kid threw for a billion yards and won the Big 12. Give him a plane ticket.