Contender or Pretender?: Heisman Stock Watch Week 1
Brendan Smith
What an opening act. 7 ranked teams were defeated, with ninth-ranked Tennessee barely avoiding becoming the 8th ranked team to lose after a 20-13 comeback victory over Appalachian State. From Thursday to Monday, great college football was on our televisions once again, something we have been craving since Alabama defeated Clemson in January. What has been lost among all the upsets is the beginning of what has the chance to be one of the best Heisman races in recent memory. Realistically, there are seven players that can win the award this year. That being said, here are how my 5 preseason favorites fared in their first week of competition.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
Watson, the unquestioned leader of a vengeful Clemson team, did not have a good showing in his season debut, a closer-than-expected 19-13 road victory over Auburn. Watson totaled just 269 total yards (248 passing, 21 rushing), and 1 touchdown in the game. In addition to his pedestrian offensive numbers, Watson also threw an interception, and completed only 19 of his 34 pass attempts, leading to a shaky 53.8 QB rating. Now, one week will not make or break his position as the Heisman favorite, but it surely does tighten the race. Clemson coaches and fans alike hope that the poor performance against SEC-foe Auburn is just a bump in the road, rather than the first of repeated poor performances against upper-tier defenses. Last year, Watson did not have any issues picking apart top defenses (see his stats from the National Championship). The more likely explanation is that Auburn and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele had all off-season to prepare for a Watson-lead attack, something teams did not have the opportunity for last year, and developed a scheme to limit Watson’s productivity. Watson desperately needs a bounce-back game, not just for his stock to improve, but for the sanity of the Clemson fan base.
Stock: Holding steady
Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
Cook was surprisingly underwhelming running the ball Monday night against Ole Miss’s “Landshark” defense. Rather, Cook surprised as a receiver, snatching 7 catches for 101 yards. Despite not scoring a touchdown, Cook garnered 192 yards on 30 touches (23 rushing attempts), for an average of 6.4 yards per touch. Cook’s overall presence, and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield eased the pressure on redshirt-freshman QB Deondre Francois, who made his first career start for Florida State. Between Cook and Francois, Florida State was able to gain a signature win against the eleventh-ranked Rebels. Cook’s added versatility as a receiver only enhances his Heisman candidacy. Still, he needs to score touchdowns. 192 all-purpose yards a game is a nice stat, but on this race, less than 12 touchdowns on the ground will not cut it.
Stock: Slowly rising
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
Nobody saw their Heisman stock dimension quite like Fournette did. Fournette gained just 176 total yards (138 rushing), and did not score a touchdown. He could not will his team to a victory when it most mattered, as 5th-ranked LSU was upset by unranked Wisconsin, 16-14. Fournette was never much of a receiver, his career highs being just 19 receptions for 253 yards and 1 touchdown. Fournette’s main weapons are his legs, as he totaled 1953 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground last year, still only good enough for a sixth place finish in the voting. What else can a man do?? Well, for starters, score more touchdowns, become more versatile, oh, and rush for over 2,000 yards. Barring a string of a few otherworldly games, Fournette seems to be another long shot for the award this year. Not that these numbers are all his fault. Fournette is LSU’s only legitimate playmaker. Teams will stack 8 or 9 defenders in the box and dare LSU to throw, until Brandon Harris proves that he should be taken seriously. So, 176 total yards doesn’t look too bad when you consider what he is facing and the lack of help he will be given.
Stock: Falling
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
Despite what he will tell the media, Baker Mayfield was not to blame in Oklahoma’s loss to Houston Saturday afternoon. Oklahoma’s defense couldn’t stop Houston, en route to a 33-23 upset loss. Greg Ward, Jr. put on a show for the Cougars, as he lead the offense to 410 yards on the day, 321 of those through the air. Not to be overshadowed, Mayfield totaled 323 passing yards and distributed 2 touchdowns, earning an outstanding 65.7 QBR (50 is considered average). Mayfield did not do much on the ground, carrying the ball 13 times (including 5 sacks) for -1 yards and no touchdowns. 322 total yards is more than my preseason favorite DeShaun Watson gained (whoops). Still, a win against a quality opponent would have done wonders to Mayfield’s stock.
Stock: Rising
Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
Last year’s Heisman runner-up began the season with high expectations, coming off a sophomore campaign where he was named the AP College Football Player of the Year after gaining 2019 yards on the ground, and 645 receiving yards, to go with 17 (8 rushing, 5 receiving, 2 return and 2 passing) total touchdowns. In his first game since racking up 368 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns in a 45-16 Rose Bowl victory over Iowa, McCaffrey and Stanford opened their season against Kansas State. McCaffrey piled up 210 yards, including 123 running the ball, and 2 rushing touchdowns to lead Stanford to a rather unimpressive 26-13 victory. McCaffrey and his Stanford team will be tested in the upcoming games, facing fellow Pac-12 foes USC, UCLA, Washington, and Washington State in the next four games, with their fifth opponent being Notre Dame. It is time for McCaffrey to take over and lead his team through this difficult stretch. Senior QB Ryan Burns made his first career start on Saturday, and was serviceable, but he will need McCaffrey to continue to be a human Swiss Army Knife to alleviate any pressure he feels during his first real tests as a starting quarterback.
Stock: Rising
Heisman Race after Week 1
Deshaun Watson
Christian McCaffrey
Baker Mayfield
Dalvin Cook
JT Barrett
Outside looking in: Nick Chubb, Leonard Fournette, Greg Ward, Jr.
