Heisman Watch 2019, Week 3: Tua looks to feast on Gamecocks

The Heisman Trophy has no shortage of candidates after two weeks, including Tua Tagovailoa looks to have a big game in his first SEC contest of the year.

Week 2 featured two high-profile matchups that were great opportunities for Heisman moments. One player, in particular, took that opportunity and ran with and now finds himself on the national map.

Outside of that, many of the other Heisman front-runners took care of business but conference play is looming.  There are a few early roads test for some quarterbacks and a huge opportunity at home for a leading running next week.

There is still a long way to go until we get to New York, but even in Week 3 you can tell some guys will be in this discussion for the long haul.

Here is a look at the Heisman candidates to watch going into Week 3.

Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma quarterback at UCLA

• 34/41, 591 yards, six TD
• 24 attempts, 223 rush yards, three TD

Jalen Hurts and Oklahoma made quick work of South Dakota 70-14, and now they head to California to face the struggling UCLA Bruins. These two teams played last season, and it was a pretty lopsided matchup with the Sooners winning 49-21. And with how these teams have played the first two weeks, it could be a very similar outcome which means a chance at enormous numbers for Hurts.

Through the first two weeks, UCLA ranks 84th in yards per game allowed and is 104th in passing. Last Saturday, the Bruins gave up 312 scrimmage yards to San Diego State quarterback Ryan Agnew as he efficiently carved up their pass defense going 23 of 31. The Aztecs are not known for having a very exciting or productive passing offense, so this is not so good sign heading into this matchup.

As of Week 2, Jalen Hurts leads the nation with a 252.30 passer rating and is running this Lincoln Riley offense to perfection. Unless the Bruins have saved all their energy for Oklahoma, expect Hurts and the offense to continue moving the ball with relative ease.

Something else in the Hurts favor is just how poorly the UCLA offense has performed this season. They are 127th in yards per game and somehow have looked even worse than the numbers. This has added to the defensive woes as the Bruins can’t sustain drives, which leaves the defense on the field and exhausted. A troubled offense could lead to extra possessions for Hurts which will undoubtedly lead to more points.

Everything on paper and how these two teams have played to start the season spells a blowout in Oklahoma favors. With that, Hurts will almost certainly be in a position to put up big numbers and continue his march towards New York.

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama Quarterback at South Carolina

• 42/55, 563 yards, eight total TD’s

Alabama has rolled over their first two opponents as expected and finally get their conference schedule started on the road against South Carolina. People are probably waiting to see Tua and Alabama get tested, but it may not come this week.

The Gamecocks are coming off a 72-10 win over Charleston Southern, but in the week before against North Carolina, they looked very shaky on defense. The Tar Heels racked up 483 yards of offense with a freshman quarterback making his first start ever. Now compare UNC to Tua, and the Tide offense, and there could be a significant mismatch.

One huge advantage for Tua and the passing game this week is the youth in the South Carolina secondary. They are starting two sophomore corners plus a freshman at the nickel, and they’re about to face Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith. And with Alabama’s inability to break off big runs early this season with Najee Harris and Brian Robinson, the passing game has created most of the chunk plays. Tua is 12th in the nation in yards per attempt with 10.2 so expect them to attack these young corners early and often.

Alabama’s defense is also going against a freshman quarterback in Ryan Hilinski that’s replacing Jake Bently who sustained a season-ending foot injury. Hilinski did well against Charleston Southern, but the jump in competition may be too much for such a young quarterback. That inexperience could mean more drives for the Alabama offense and a more worn-out defense for South Carolina.

Combine all those factors and Tua looks primed for a big game through the air.

Justin Fields, Ohio State quarterback at Indiana

• 38/50, 458 yards, nine total touchdowns

Last week was meant to be a test for Justin Fields going up against Cincinnati who is one of the better group of five teams. That ended up not being the case as Fields, and the Buckeyes blew out the Bearcats 42-0. Fields and the offense showed a bit more of the playbook in week two and may have more in store for Big Ten foe, Indiana, this coming Saturday.

Indiana has been able to play the Buckeyes tough the past few seasons through at least three quarters so this is a decent test for Fields. Bloomington is not necessarily a tough atmosphere, but a road conference game is not something to take lightly. Fields will also be making his first start on the road, so we’ll see how he responds.

It is tough to get a read on what Indiana brings the table defensively because they haven’t played stiff competition. Their first two games were against the Ball State and Eastern Illinois. Such weak opponents could undoubtedly be a positive for Fields as Indiana is about to face a considerable uptake in talent with the Buckeyes coming to town. However, Indiana has an experienced defense and could be flying around early on at home. Last season against the Buckeyes, the Hoosier showed some ability to control the run game outside of one 20 plus yard run.

Fortunately for Fields, they had zero answers for the passing game last season and showed some similar problems week one against Ball State. Fields seemed more in sync with his receivers this past week and could get be in line for big passing numbers.

Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin running back (Michigan 9/21)

• 35 carries, 237 yards, eight total touchdowns (three receiving)

The Wisconsin Badgers have outscored their opponents 110-0, and Jonathan Taylor is on a complete rampage with eight touchdowns. They have a bye this week and get extra time to prep for a huge matchup against the Michigan Wolverines. Taylor will get a chance to make a serious move up the Heisman charts with a strong performance in that game.

It will be a top 15 matchup and will feature power against power with the Wisconsin run game and the Michigan run defense. The Wolverines escaped with a narrow victory over Army last week 24-21, and it was the defense that won the game. They held Army’s vaunted triple-option run game to only 3.3 yards on 61 carries, so they certainly pose a challenge for Taylor.

He has had some success against Michigan yardage wise running for 223 yards on 35 carries yet has been unable to score any touchdowns. It was a tough scenario for Taylor because Alex Hornibrook at quarterback did not strike much fear through the air. So Michigan devoted all their energy to keeping Taylor out the end zone.

New Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan is not a world-beater, but is efficient and has some decent weapons to throw to. Taylor will be the focal point for Michigan, but if Coan can make them pay for loading the box, then the run game will have more room to work.

Of course, Taylor has proven he can succeed even against a load box since he dealt with that all last season and still had over 2,000 yards rushing. But in games against opponents that finished with a winning record in 2018, he only scored two of his 16 touchdowns.

That has to change in two weeks against Michigan if Taylor and Wisconsin want to come away with a victory.

Joe Burrow, LSU quarterback vs. Northwestern State

• 54/66, 749 yards, nine touchdowns

This is probably not a name many would have included on their first Heisman watch list considering LSU’s past offensive woes, but here we are. Heisman moments come in the biggest games and Burrow put his name on the map big-time in LSU’s 45-38 win against Texas in Austin.

After such an emotional road victory, Burrow will be able to detox somewhat as he faces a far less intimidating opponent in Northwestern State. The demons are currently 0-2 and have not been very competitive in those two games. Their pass defense struggled last week against Midwestern State, so you can only imagine what Burrow can these Tiger receivers can do to them.

It’s unlikely Burrow puts up over 470 yards passing as he did against Texas because this game is not going to be competitive into the fourth quarter. Something similar to his week one game against Georgia Southern seems more plausible. Burrow was 23-of-27 for 278 yards and five touchdowns in that game.

Burrow will get plenty more opportunities to increase his soaring Heisman resume, but for this week he should make quick work of Northwestern State.