8) Lamar Jackson, Louisville Cardinals- The fact that he has already won the Heisman hurts his chances, and the fact that the Cardinals are not as good as last year also hurts him. When you take into account that Jackson is basically a one-man show, you then realize he at least belongs in the conversation. If you don’t believe me, just ask Jimbo Fisher.
7) J.T. Barrett, Ohio State Buckeyes- People still doubt Barrett off the end of last year and if you watched the Clemson playoff game you know why? With Penn State up next, he has a chance to silence all doubters.
6) Jalen Hurts, Alabama Crimson Tide- Hurts doesn’t have mind blowing stats, except for the one where he has only lost one game as a starter in the last two years.
5) Josh Adams, Notre Dame Fighting Irish- Adams rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns against USC on prime-time TV on Saturday night. He is 33 yards from 1,000 yards on the season. The only backs at Power 5 schools with more yards are Stanford’s Bryce Love (1,387), Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor (1,112) and Colorado’s Phillip Lindsay (1,093). So why can’t Adams get any love?
Adams is getting it done against the likes of Georgia (103 scrimmage yards), Boston College (229 rushing yards) and now the Trojans. And he can’t even squeeze into the conversation.
4) Will Grier, West Virginia Mountaineers- Grier has to start getting noticed after last week’s performance against Baylor. The junior has tossed 10 touchdowns to just one interception in victories over Texas Tech and Baylor. Grier also leads the nation with 26 Touchdown passes.
3) Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Sooners- His Heisman chances will be defined against Oklahoma State and TCU.
2) Bryce Love, Stanford Cardinal- Missing a game won’t hurt him that much, especially when you consider that he still has a huge lead for rushing yards this season. I look for him to go well over 2,000 yards this season.
1) Saquon Barkley, Penn State Nittany Lions- Barkley is just a more complete running back than Love as his 32 receptions for 448 yards and three touchdowns can attest. The big showdown with Ohio State on the road this week will tell us if it will be possible for anyone to catch him.
