Heisman rankings Week 7: Joe Burrow makes the case to be front-runner

2. Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma

There’s no doubt that Jalen Hurts’ performance against the rival Texas Longhorns was going to say a lot about his candidacy for the award. Not only was it a rivalry game but Texas was the best team that the Sooners have faced through seven weeks. As such, Hurts did have some lackluster moments, most notably a fumble and an interception, two uncharacteristic turnovers for the sure-handed quarterback.

Even with the turnovers, though, Hurts was highly impressive against his biggest test yet. The OU newcomer threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns while also leading the rushing attack with 131 yards and another touchdown. For the season now, Hurts has 1,758 yards passing with 17 touchdowns and only three picks while also having 630 rushing yards and eight more touchdowns. His rushing prowess makes him exceptionally impressive and keeps him in the top two of the rankings.

1. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

Facing viable competition for the first time in the 2019 college football season, Tua Tagovailoa actually looked quite human. Though he’s completing 73.6 percent of his throws on the year, he converted on only 61.8 percent of his attempts against Texas A&M. Furthermore, he threw his first interception of the season. Of course, he still threw for 293 yards and four touchdowns on the day as the Crimson Tide won against the No. 25 ranked team by 19 points.

Tagovailoa now has 27 touchdowns and just one interception on the season while topping the 2,000-yard mark already as well. And let’s not forget he already has two rushing scores on the year as well. With the way he and the Alabama offense are performing right now, he might be hard to catch in the Heisman race. However, he’s not running free of any competition, so he must keep up his performance against the SEC if he wants to avoid another runner-up finish.

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