Heisman rankings Week 8: Tua injury changes everything

10. Shane Buechele, QB, SMU

Don’t look now but the SMU Mustangs are now 7-0 on the 2019 college football season. And it’s no coincidence that the arrival of quarterback Shane Buechele, a transfer from Texas, has coincided with the Mustangs coming alive in ways that we haven’t seen since the NCAA handed the football program the “death penalty” in 1987. At some point and with the numbers he’s putting up, Buechele needs to start getting love for the turnaround he’s helped spearhead.

On Saturday in Week 8, Buechele had his most productive game of the year against a good Temple defense, going 30-of-53 for 457 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. For the season now, Buechele has 2,122 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions, also adding two rushing touchdowns to his totals as well. The former Longhorn has been downright great and, at the helm of an exciting, unbeaten upstart SMU, he deserves a nod to get into the top 10.

9. Chase Young, DE, Ohio State

Another week, another productive game from the defensive players’ only hope at winning the 2019 Heisman Trophy. Chase Young is likely going to be a top-five pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and, every week, the Ohio State defensive end goes on the field and shows everyone that’s around to witness why that’s the case. That was again the case in a win over Northwestern as he accrued two tackles, one sack and an additional quarterback hurry.

Young has a sack in all seven games the Buckeyes have played this season, including four games with multiple sacks. On top of that, the junior pass-rusher now has 9.5 sacks overall on the season, which has him on pace to set the single-season record in Columbus. He’s truly been an unstoppable juggernaut coming off the edge and, frankly, it’s hard to imagine any team being able to slow him down.