Heading into the fourth week of the 2018 college football season, the list of top Heisman Trophy hopefuls has had a bit of a shakeup.
For the first three weeks of the 2018 season, the top Heisman Trophy candidates were bunched together, with little separating them from top to bottom. But thanks in part to some more challenging matchups and curveball from mother nature, we are beginning to see some separation heading into Week 4.
ALSO READ: AP Poll Winners and Losers Entering Week 4
Hurricane Florence ended up canceling or postponing several games which featured Top 25 teams, as well as some Heisman hopefuls, including West Virginia quarterback Will Grier.
We have a very different look at the Top 10 candidates this week, with some new players entering the Top 10, and some shifting within the Top 5.
Coming in at 10-6:
10. Mecole Hardman: Wide Receiver, Georgia Bulldogs
9. Trace McSorley: Quarterback, Penn State Nittany Lions
8. Justin Herbert: Quarterback, Oregon Ducks
7. Drew Lock: Quarterback, Missouri Tigers
6. Jonathan Taylor: Running Back, Wisconsin Badgers
Starting off the top five this week, Ed Oliver takes a slight dip from the first two weeks.
2018 Stats: 24 tackles (12 solo), 5 TFL, 1 Pass Def., 6 QB hurries
Next Game: vs Texas Southern
Ed Oliver had a chance to really solidify himself as a serious Heisman Trophy contender against the high-powered Texas Tech offense. Although Oliver didn’t play badly – adding six tackles (4 solo) to his season total – he didn’t really disrupt things the way we’re used to seeing.
The Houston defense was gouged for 63 points against the Red Raiders, and the lack of pressure on Texas Tech quarterback Alan Bowman was a big reason why. Oliver didn’t come close to pressuring Bowman but did help in limiting the already feeble Red Raiders running game.
The upcoming game against Texas Southern won’t do much to help Oliver’s Heisman chances, even if he has a monster game. He’ll have limited chances to really become a serious candidate given the Cougars upcoming schedule, depending on how some of the future opponents seem to shape up over the next few weeks.
This may be the last time we see Ed Oliver in the Top 5 of this list.