Fansided

Heisman Watch 2017: Is the race already over?

By Cody Williams

(Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 25: Jacob Huff #2 and Antonio Shenault #34 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers tackles Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the third quarter of the game on November 25, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Badgers defeated the Golden Gophers 31-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 25: Jacob Huff #2 and Antonio Shenault #34 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers tackles Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the third quarter of the game on November 25, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Badgers defeated the Golden Gophers 31-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

4. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin

Unlike Saquon Barkley and Penn State, freshman running back Jonathan Taylor and the Wisconsin Badgers will indeed be playing on Championship weekend as they’ll face the Ohio State Buckeyes for the Big Ten title. Also unlike Barkley and why the freshman ball-carrier leapfrogs him after last week’s rankings, Taylor has been an absolute bastion of consistency and productivity throughout the season en route to their 12-0 overall record.

In the season finale against rival Minnesota, Taylor shined as he has throughout the season. He toted the ball 20 times on the day and scampered for an impressive 149 yards with those touches, finding the end zone once. While that brings his season totals to an impressive mark of 258 carries for 1,806 yards and 13 touchdowns, it’s how Taylor has accrued his stats to this point that rings the most impressive and has him in this spot in the Heisman Watch.

Taylor has only failed to eclipse 100 yards in three games this season. In fact, he’s only failed to rush for 120 or more yards in three games in the 2017 campaign. And for good measure, of those three games, two of them saw him carry the ball only 12 or fewer times. He’s been a workhorse in the truest sense and the shoulders that the Wisconsin offense rests on. For that, he deserves to be getting this type of recognition.

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