College football ’18: Heisman watch

It’s one week before the 2018 Heisman Trophy will be presented in New York City. It appears to be a two-man race, with both Heisman watch front-runners in action today, playing for their respective conference championships.

The Game Haus now provides its final weekly rankings of the top five candidates for college football’s most prestigious award. Here’s a look at this week’s version of the Heisman watch with the current contenders as we see it.

Previous week’s Heisman watch rankings in parenthesis. All times eastern.

1. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, No. 1 Alabama (1)

Photo by sports.yahoo.com

This week: vs. No. 4 Georgia, 4 p.m., Saturday

The Breakdown: As the Crimson Tide look to claim the SEC title this weekend and secure the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff, Tagovailoa has a chance to cement the Heisman. He actually may have done it already after going 25 of 32 for 324 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a rushing touchdown to boot in the Iron Bowl rout of Auburn last weekend.

2. Kyler Murray, QB, No. 5 Oklahoma (2)

This week: vs. No. 9 Texas, Noon, Saturday

The Breakdown: Murray’s passing numbers were far from gaudy in the Sooners’ 59-56 victory over West Virginia last week, but the 114 rushing yards on nine carries were special. So is Murray, and that’s why he’s making a late push to catch Tua in the Heisman watch. He’ll get one more opportunity in the Big 12 title game where Oklahoma will try to avenge its regular-season defeat to rival Texas.

3. Dwayne Haskins, QB, No. 6 Ohio State (NR)

This week: vs. No. 21 Northwestern, 8 p.m., Saturday

The Breakdown: The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year is back in the Heisman watch after throwing six touchdowns – for the second time in 2018 – in last weekend’s rout of Michigan. Haskins has already set Big Ten records for single-season passing yards (4,081) and touchdowns (42). He will add to those numbers as the Buckeyes try to win back-to-back Big Ten championships.

4. Will Grier, QB, No. 15 West Virginia (3)

This week: Regular season complete

The Breakdown: Even in a losing cause, Grier was fun to watch in the play-lot-style game against Oklahoma last week. He threw for a career-high 539 yards plus four touchdowns. Grier needs 136 more passing yards to reach 4,000 for the season and should get there in the Mountaineers’ bowl game. He’s thrown 71 touchdowns in two seasons at West Virginia.

5. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin (5)

Photo by sportingnews.com

This week: Regular season complete

The Breakdown: With a bowl game on the horizon for the Badgers, Taylor has one more chance to crack the 2,000-yard rushing mark. The nation’s leading rusher is 11 yards shy of the feat and averaging 165.8 yards per contest. The Heisman is not in Taylor’s future this season, but should he return for his junior year, then he would certainly be among the front-runners.

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