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Just three weeks remain before College Football Bowl season for the top players in the country to make an impression on the Heisman Trophy voters. While the favourite to win the award appears to be beginning to run away with it, there are still plenty of players battling for positions as finalists. Who is in a good spot after Week 11?
#5 Saquon Barkley, running back
Until Penn State lost their first two games of the season, Saquon Barkley looked like the runaway favourite to win the Heisman Trophy. Now, however, he is just fighting to be a finalist, which he should still definitely be even though Penn State's recent misfortunes have directly resulted in three consecutive games of less than 100 scrimmage yards for him.
Through 10 games so far this season, Barkley has totalled 1,423 scrimmage yards, 14 scrimmage touchdowns, 1,846 all-purpose yards and 16 all-purpose touchdowns. So, while Barkley, who is arguably the nation's most explosive running back, has just 899 rushing yards and a yards per carry average of 5.4, it's what he does to opponents in other ways that make him so lethal and, yes, still a Heisman Trophy contender.
#4 Lamar Jackson, quarterback
Not given much attention since Louisville have not had a great season in 2017, Lamar Jackson is still arguably the most explosive player in the country. In an attempt to become just the second player in college football history along with Archie Griffin to win the Heisman Trophy twice, Jackson has not disappointed those who have spent the time watching him perform, despite the fact that Louisville are not even ranked.
With his 3,003 passing yards and 1,176 rushing yards, Jackson became the first player in college football history to pass for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in two consecutive seasons. He won last year's Heisman Trophy with 3,543 passing yards and 1,571 rushing yards, and both his completion percentage and his rushing yards per carry average are better this season than they were last season.
While his current total of 36 touchdowns may not reach his total of 51 from last year, it is clear that he hasn't missed a beat from 2016.
#3 Jonathan Taylor, running back
Jonathan Taylor has been in the shadow of Saquon Barkley for much of this season as the Big Ten conference's top running back. But with Wisconsin controlling their own destiny, Taylor, one of the top freshmen running backs that the Badgers have had in years, can no longer be ignored -- he was initially not in the Big Ten discussion for best running back, not in the Big Ten discussion for best player, not in the national discussion for best running back, and not even in the national discussion for best player, also known as the Heisman Trophy winner.
Taylor has rushed for 1,525 yards on 219 carries with 12 touchdowns, giving him a yards per carry average of 7.0, which is the second-best among Power Five conference running backs with over 140 carries to only the running back listed on the next slide.
Yes, Wisconsin's defence gets a lot of the attention as far as how good the team is, and deservedly so, but Taylor can no longer be slept on.
#2 Bryce Love, running back
When analysts said that the Stanford Cardinal had nothing to worry about following the departure of star running back Christian McCaffrey, who is now playing for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL, they were right. There has been absolutely no stopping Bryce Love this season. Even though he did miss one game, his numbers still warrant serious Heisman Trophy discussion.
Love has played in nine of Stanford's 10 games so far this season, and he has rushed for a nation-high 1,622 yards on just 181 carries, giving him a yards per carry average of 9.0, the best yards per carry average among all running backs with more than 80 carries and all players with more than 120.
His 15 rushing touchdowns are tied for the lead among Power Five conference running backs. All but one of his nine games have resulted in him rushing for over 140 yards.
#1 Baker Mayfield, quarterback
Baker Mayfield continues to do what no quarterback should be able to do against defences which allow literally no one except Baker Mayfield to do what Baker Mayfield has been able to do against them (say that 10 times fast). Mayfield was a Heisman Trophy contender in both the 2015 and 2016 seasons as well, but this is the season during which he looks poised to take that next step and finally win the sport's top award.
With a 71.2% pass completion percentage, Mayfield leads the country, and his 3,559 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns, rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively. While he is not really considered a running quarterback, he hasn't shied away from the opportunity to get the job done on the ground with 231 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns as well. Because of him, Oklahoma can beat anybody, and they may get the chance to do so with their second College Football Playoff appearance in the last three years on the horizon.
