Heisman rankings Week 8: Tua injury changes everything
Tua Tagovailoa’s ankle injury drastically changes the Heisman Trophy rankings as one of the top candidates now falls behind in a heated race at the top.
Entering the 2019 college football season, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was pegged as the Heisman Trophy favorite after finishing as the runner-up one year ago. And through the first seven weeks, he was doing his part to stay in the mix at the top but was joined by the likes of Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts in a crowded Heisman race at the top. On Saturday night in Week 8, though, things changed dramatically.
Midway through the second quarter of Alabama’s win over Tennessee on Saturday, Tagovailoa took a sack and his ankle got awkwardly bent under the weight of the tackler. After one more play, the star quarterback then went to the sidelines and ultimately did not return, ending his night with just 1.5 quarters played.
After the game, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban told reporters that his Heisman candidate at quarterback suffered a high-ankle sprain, an injury that will keep him out for next week against Arkansas and perhaps beyond that, though they are idle the week after before welcoming LSU to Tuscaloosa.
With Tagovailoa’s uncertain injury future, the 2019 Heisman Trophy race has ultimately gone from a three-horse race at the top to a two-man show. Make no mistake, Tagovailoa has been incredible this season. But with the numbers that Hurts and Burrow are putting up on a consistent basis this year, having at least two games where Tua can’t match that production is going to cause him to fall behind.
Given what he’s done already, Tagovailoa won’t drop out of the Heisman rankings altogether — he’s been that good thus far. Having said that, he’s now a large step back from where he previously was in the pecking order.
Taking this injury into account and looking at the rest of the college football landscape coming out of Saturday, these are the top 10 Heisman rankings after Week 8 of the 2019 season.