Heisman Watch 2016: Week 5 players to watch
By Jack Crosby
The Heisman race is heading into the month of October with Week 5 action coming up this weekend
We waited so long for the 2016 college football season to get here, and now here we sit, getting ready to enter the month of October and Week 5 of the campaign. But all that means is that it’s time to start separating the pretenders from the contenders, not just in the national title picture, but in the race for the Heisman Trophy as well.
Really, though, when we look at the Heisman landscape after one month of the season, there has been one Cardinal –the bird, not the tree– that has separated himself from everyone else in this race. This young man has a stranglehold on the most coveted prize in all of college sports, but that by no means indicates that he’s completely locked up the trophy after four weeks of the year.
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This weekend, we’ll get to see the 2016 Heisman race and these candidates continue to not only reach for glory for their teams, but for that bronze statue as well.
Right off the bat here, we’re gonna start off with the obvious player to keep an eye on in regards to the Heisman race in Week 5 of the college football season. Without a doubt, were the regular season to end today, there’s a good chance the young sophomore from Louisville would walk away the unanimous winner of the Heisman.
Really, it’s hard to argue that he shouldn’t be the unanimous winner after four weeks of the season. All the Cardinals signal caller has done to open the season is throw for 1,330 yards with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Oh, yeah, and he’s also added in 526 yards on the ground with 12 scores. Those numbers are just — well, they’re astonishing.
However, this coming weekend as we enter the month of October, Jackson will face his toughest test yet in the form of that Clemson Tigers defense. In their win over Georgia Tech last week, the Tigers defensive front made life a nightmare for the Yellow Jackets, and that talented group will be looking to do much of the same against Louisville and Jackson Saturday night.
You never want to give out the Heisman in the month of September, as we’ve learned time and time again, but if Jackson can put on a show against the Clemson defense in front of a national audience, then he might want to start writing up his speech just to get ahead of the curve before December.