Heisman stock report – Week 4: Who’s rising and who’s falling?
Entering Week 4 of the college football season, who are the Heisman Trophy candidates helping their cases and who are the players falling out of contention?
It’s still September but that isn’t stopping me from talking about the Heisman Trophy. You can’t really win the Heisman in September, although Lamar Jackson, made a pretty good case for that last year. But you can certainly put yourself in position to contend for it later in the year with your play in the opening month. Conversely, a dud early in the season, especially in a marquee game or a nationally-televised loss can leave that a sour impression for the remainder of the year. Entering Week 4 of the season, here are the Heisman hopefuls whose candidacy is on the rise and the players whose chances are falling.
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Stock Rising: Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State
Mason Rudolph was often overlooked when mentioning the game’s top quarterbacks. Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield all get the attention, but don’t sleep on the Pokes senior starter. After throwing for a career-high 496 yards and five touchdowns in the win against Pitt. Rudolph has officially announced his candidacy for the Heisman. Rudolph ranks fifth in the nation in passing and is tied for second with 11 touchdowns.
Stock Rising: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
Baker Mayfield is the top Heisman candidate if he wasn’t already after the comeback win against Ohio State two weeks ago. With 331 more yards and four more touchdowns in the win against Tulane and other top candidates struggling, Mayfield is the unquestioned front-runner to join Sam Bradford and Jason White as Heisman-winning quarterbacks from Oklahoma.
Related: Visit the FanSided college football page for more news, opinion and analysis
Stock Down: Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
Josh Rosen is the nation’s leading passer but he is officially out of the Heisman race after throwing two game-breaking interceptions in the 3-point loss to Memphis. Rosen threw a pick-six and another interception in the end zone to cost the Bruins on the road. Rosen will continue to put up huge numbers but his UCLA just isn’t good enough to win enough games to keep him in the Heisman race.
Next: Heisman Rankings: Week 4
Stock Down: Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
Lamar Jackson was the favorite after racking up 1,000 yards in the first two games, but his bid to join Archie Griffin as the only two-time Heisman winners came to an early end against Clemson. The defending national champions proved to be too tough defensively and made Jackson look rather human instead of the most athletic quarterback since Michael Vick. Further hurting his case is that he only has a game against a weakened Florida State team to make a statement. He had his chance but Clemson took it from him.