We’ve made it to Championship November. This is the time of year is when the pressure gets turned up a few notches. Teams are competing for championships at the national and conference level as well as bowl positioning. The pressure lines up at the individual level as well. Coming down the stretch the performance of Tua Tagovailoa, Kyler Murray, and Will Grier as some of the Heisman favorites will go a long way in determining the winner. Now, how does the rest of the field shake out in our week nine Heisman rankings?
Murray continues to put pressure on Tagovailoa. His four touchdown performance against Kansas State is keeping the pressure on. Comparatively, the narrative on Tagovailoa is that he’s putting up ridiculous numbers without playing a full four quarters in any game this season. With both of the favorites playing in front of a national audience and under the lights, the opportunity is there for some clarity come next week. Now, let’s take a look as we dive right into our week nine Heisman rankings.
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Note: Tiebreakers were settled by alphabetical order of the players last name.
Top Five Candidates
QB | Alabama Next Game: 11/3 at LSU
The Crimson Tide had an off week to prepare for their toughest test of the season. Alabama takes their number one ranking to face third-ranked LSU in Baton Rouge. A strong bet that Tagovailoa will play into the fourth quarter for the first time all year come this week.
2018 SEASON |
PASSING |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
CMP% |
QBR |
2,066 |
25 |
0 |
71.5 |
97.5 |
|
|
RUSHING |
YDS |
TD |
YPC |
123 |
2 |
4.7 |
|
QB | Oklahoma Next Game: 11/2 at Texas Tech
Murray threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in the Sooners 51-14 victory over Kansas State. The Sooners defense has improved over the last couple of games which has helped Murray and company on the offensive side of the ball. Oklahoma will face Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday at 7 PM CST on ABC.
2018 SEASON |
PASSING |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
CMP% |
QBR |
2,329 |
28 |
3 |
73.2 |
97.2 |
|
|
RUSHING |
YDS |
TD |
YPC |
474 |
6 |
6.7 |
|
QB | West Virginia Next Game: 11/3 at Texas
Talk about a bounce back. The Mountaineers hammered Baylor 58-14 on Thursday night. Grier threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns. West Virginia was in control early leading 41-0 at halftime. On Saturday, the Mountaineers are set for a Big 12 showdown as they travel to Austin to face Texas.
2018 SEASON |
PASSING |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
CMP% |
QBR |
2,272 |
25 |
7 |
71.4 |
82.1 |
|
|
RUSHING |
YDS |
TD |
YPC |
-63 |
1 |
-2.1 |
|
RB | Clemson Next Game: 11/3 vs Louisville
Unfortunately, for Tiger fans, Etienne’s stock is dropping dramatically. He only has 84 yards over the last two games. On a positive note, Clemson has been extremely dominant in those games. However, Etienne should have a tremendous opportunity against a Louisville defense that surrenders 36 points a game.
2018 SEASON |
RUSHING |
YDS |
TD |
YPC |
845 |
14 |
7.8 |
|
|
RECEIVING |
REC |
YDS |
YPR |
TD |
6 |
47 |
7.8 |
1 |
|
QB | Washington State Next Game: 11/3 vs California
Minshew is the newest member of our top five. The Cougars are the current darlings of the PAC 12 after consecutive victories over Oregon and Stanford. He is in the mold of previous Leach quarterbacks in terms of high completion percentage and yardage being chewed up. Minshew will have a tough matchup against a California who has held their last two opponents to a total of 17 points.
2018 SEASON |
PASSING |
YDS |
TD |
INT |
CMP% |
QBR |
3,183 |
26 |
6 |
71.0 |
81.8 |
|
|
RUSHING |
YDS |
TD |
YPC |
48 |
2 |
1.5 |
|
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