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Heisman rankings – Week 12: Gardner Minshew makes his big move

By Cody Williams

PALO ALTO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Gardner Minshew #16 of the Washington State Cougars warms up during pregame warm ups prior to the start of an NCAA football game against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Gardner Minshew #16 of the Washington State Cougars warms up during pregame warm ups prior to the start of an NCAA football game against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Gardner Minshew’s seven touchdowns give him a massive boost in the 2018 Heisman Trophy race, but how close is he to the top now?

After leading 2018 Heisman Trophy candidate Tua Tagovailoa was forced out of action last week in Alabama’s win over Mississippi State, the race for the most prestigious individual award in college football seemed as if it could really heat up. With the Tide facing lowly The Citadel on Saturday in Week 12, the thought was that Tua might not see the field, but Nick Saban squashed that and for good reason.

Tagovailoa played on Saturday and was able to dominate in the 60-minute game, despite the Tide actually finding themselves in a close matchup after the first half. However, just because the leader of the race played doesn’t mean that the race as a whole didn’t still tighten up. And that’s largely because two quarterbacks in the top five had big days.

First of all, Washington State signal-caller Gardner Minshew had a day for the ages in a win over Arizona. Already the leading passer in yardage in college football and rising up the Heisman rankings, the senior quarterback threw seven touchdowns in the Cougars’ victory on Saturday. Not to be outdone too much, Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins had a day of his own, accounting for six touchdowns himself in the Buckeyes’ overtime win over Maryland.

Minshew and Haskins having monster days in victorious efforts certainly makes things more interesting at the top of these rankings, though they may not catch Tua at this point. Having said that, let’s look at how the race stands after Week 12 and see who the top 10 candidates are with just one week of the regular season remaining.

10. Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis

In a 28-18 win for the Memphis Tigers over the SMU Mustangs on Saturday, Darrell Henderson admittedly wasn’t that much of a factor in the victory, at least in comparison to some of the other games that he’s had in the 2018 season. In the victory, the junior running back took 16 carries for 75 yards on the ground and didn’t find the end zone once on the day. What’s more, he caught no passes in the game, as well.

However, Henderson’s overall production this season has been phenomenal. The running back has been a catalyst for the Tigers in an undeniable way. For the year now, Henderson has 174 carries for 1,521 yards and 17 touchdowns, made even better by his 15 receptions for 183 yards and three additional touchdowns. With that type of production, he at least deserves mentioning in these rankings.

9. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin

I’ve undoubtedly been critical of Jonathan Taylor’s Heisman Trophy chances in 2018 over the last few weeks, leaving him out of the rankings entirely. The reason as to why has been the disappointing nature of the Wisconsin Badgers as a whole. While the sophomore running back has submitted another great season, the team has been far worse than many thought that they would be.

Taylor’s performance in a win over Purdue on Saturday, however, made it too hard to fully ignore him for these rankings. In the triple-overtime affair, the running back ran 33 times for 321 yards and three touchdowns. That now gives him 1,869 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year, which is tremendous production. Put simply, if he had been more consistent — the same goes for his team — he’d  be much higher in the rankings.

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