Contender or Pretender?: Heisman Stock Watch Week 11
Brendan Smith
Another exciting week of college football has come to an end, but don’t worry, we’ll have some MACtion to spice up our typically boring Tuesday nights. 3 of the top 4 teams lost, a couple in heart-breaking fashion. There were some crazy upsets, most notably Pittsburgh upsetting Clemson on a late field goal. Pretty cool to watch the Pitt team mob Chris Blewitt, who missed an extra point and a field goal earlier in the game. Of course, can’t forget about my USC Trojans upsetting previously unbeaten Washington, in Washington, and in prime-time. Great end to my Saturday. With that being said, here is my Heisman Stock Watch for week 11.
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
Just when all hope seemed lost, Lamar Jackson took over and lead Louisville to a thrilling 44-12 victory over lowly Wake Forest. I know 44-12 doesn’t sound very thrilling, but considering that the Cardinals trailed 12-3 at the half, this game was a lot closer than it seemed. Jackson was sloppy, with just 46 passing yards at the half, and amassing jut 145 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, and 153 rushing yards. Not quite what we have come to expect from the electric sophomore, but solid nonetheless. Jackson has lead the Cardinals to a 9-1 record, but is it enough to earn a playoff bid? Clemson losing surely helps, but still, Louisville does not control it’s own destiny just yet.
Stock: Holding
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
What an incredible performance by the junior quarterback. 580, no that is not a typo, passing yards, to set a new ACC record. Watson threw the ball a ridiculous 70 times in the defeat, completing 52 of those passes. The only concern stemming from this recent performance was Watson’s struggles in the red-zone. While completing 8 out of his 13 passes in the red-zone, Watson also threw two interceptions in that same area, which allowed Pitt to remain close, close enough to mount a comeback. Sporting News suggested this morning that while he has done wonders to keep Clemson in the playoff hunt despite a rocky start to the season, Watson is in turn destroying his draft stock. What was failed to mention was what he is doing to his Heisman stock. And after this game, his stock is rising, and pretty quickly. Any game where you set a new conference records will do wonders to your Heisman candidacy.
Stock: Rising
Jake Browning, QB, Washington
Much to my pleasure, Sam Darnold and the USC Trojans took down Jake Browning and the Washington Huskies. For the most part, USC kept Browning bottled up, limiting him to 259 passing yards, and 1 touchdown, while he was able to complete less than 50% of his passes, and also threw 2 interceptions. All that translates to a dreadful 30.4 QBR. I could not be happier about this. I loved watching my Trojans dominate both sides of the ball, and for a second, I was brought back to the USC teams of the mid-2000s, the teams that made me love the team. Still, Browning’s overall numbers are impressive, with 35 passing touchdowns, and 4 rushing touchdowns, against just 5 interceptions. Put Browning down as an early Heisman candidate for next year.
Stock: Falling slightly
Jabrill Peppers, DB/LB/WR/QB/RB/KR/PR, Michigan
Shout out to all the Iowa fans that read and write for this website, this was a gigantic win for the program. In a low scoring defensive battle in prime-time, Iowa was able to edge out Michigan, 14-13. The blame should not be placed on Jabrill Peppers or the Wolverine defense. Peppers, who had 5 tackles and 1 QB hurry, and the defense held Iowa to 230 total yards, and also forced a turnover. The problem is, Michigan’s offense ended the game with just 201 total yards while turning the ball over twice. In addition to his defensive efforts, Peppers added 11 rushing yards, 16 kick return yards and 19 punt return yards. I’m sure you are tired of hearing this, but this kid is gonna be a special playmaker on Sundays for a long, long time.
Stock: Holding
Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State
With his latest performance, which included 198 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground, Pumphrey has moved into fourth place on the all-time rushing list. And still, he is excluded from most national (cough, cough ESPN) Heisman stock watches. He has lead his San Diego State Aztecs to an impressive 9-1 record on the year, including an undefeated 6-0 in the Mountain West Conference. The more I watch Pumphrey, the more he reminds me of Darren Sproles. Actually, at 5’7″, Pumphrey is a whole inch taller than Sproles. For the sake of our entertainment, I hope that an NFL team will give him a chance to showcase his skills on a national level for once.
Stock: Rising
My top 5:
Lamar Jackson
Deshaun Watson
Jake Browning
Jabrill Peppers
Donnel Pumphrey
Outside looking in: Dalvin Cook, Leonard Fournette, Jalen Hurts
