5 Heisman contenders who have underperformed in college football this season

The Heisman Trophy is the highest individual accolade the game has to offer at the college level.

Winning secures you a spot in the annals of college football. Only being considered for it is a great honor. Players always strive to be a part of the Heisman watchlist.

However, it seems that some players are unaccustomed to the spotlight, as after being named prime candidates for the trophy, they start to underperform. While this year's watchlist has been especially inconsistent.

There's no clear favorite sticking out even after 13 weeks of football. Some names come to mind when thinking of players who greatly underperformed.

Let's take a look at the five contenders who underperformed this year.

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Heisman contenders who have underperformed

Here are the top fove:

#5 Travis Hunter - Colorado Buffaloes

In the early season Colorado hype, much was said of how Hunter was going to revolutionize the game, and the player even named himself as a favorite for the Heisman.

However, we never saw his performances reach the height of Week 1 again, but he did miss a few weeks due to injury.

#4 Shedeur Sanders - Colorado Buffaloes

He's another victim of the Colorado hype train. While Sanders is one of the brightest spots in the Buffs roster, he will be more remembered this season for being the most sacked quarterback in the nation and having negative rushing yards. Moreover, no QB with a losing record has won the Heisman.

#3 Drake Maye - North Carolina Tar Heels

Maye is touted as the second-best quarterback in college football, with only Caleb Williams ahead of him.

His nine interceptions and a QBR of 79 that ranks 14th at the FBS level would say otherwise, though. At one point in the season, the Tar Heels were ranked as high as No. 10 and considered outside contenders for the CFP. They eventually ended unranked and with an 8-4 record.

#2 J.J. McCarthy - Michigan Wolverines

At the start of the season, the Michigan signal-caller was the prime candidate to take the trophy home.

While he's still on the watchlist, his performances haven't been up to par with expectations. His QBR is excellent, but his yardage is too low for a true contender. At one point, he even led the watchlist, but he now has +3000 odds to win.

#1 Caleb Williams - USC Trojans

Williams is already a Heisman winner, but many expected him to become the second person to win back-to-back trophies. However, the second half of the season was a disaster for the Trojans, with Williams being unable to repeat his performances from last year.