Heisman rankings: Joe Burrow pads resume, Tua injury opens door for new finalist

Tua Tagovailoa’s heartbreaking injury ultimately opens the door in the Heisman race for another finalist to be invited to New York, but who will it be?

What transpired in Starkville on Saturday was something no college football fan should want to see. Alabama star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a devastating hip injury that led to him being carted off the field. The surefire Heisman Trophy finalist (for the second-straight year) was diagnosed with a dislocated hip with a fracture involved, ending his season and putting his football future in jeopardy.

That type of career-threatening injury is something you don’t want to see any college athlete suffer but it stings a bit more to see someone in Tagovailoa’s position go down in that manner. The Crimson Tide signal-caller is a superstar, built for the spotlight and made to put up ridiculous numbers. College football is worse off without him.

And yet, the cold truth of the matter is that Tua’s injury effectively ends his 2019 Heisman Trophy bid. Though he was not likely to win, he was surely going to get an invite to New York City as one of the three (or more) finalists for the award. Now, that allows another player or players to step into his place.

The race for who those players will be, joining Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts, is likely going to go down to the wire. Ohio State’s tremendous offensive duo of quarterback Justin Fields and running back J.K. Dobbins have their claims. At the same time, though, running backs Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin), Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State) and Travis Etienne (Clemson) will have their chance.

Everyone in that group stated their case, to varying degrees, with their Week 12 performances that they should be a 2019 Heisman Trophy finalist. Of course, they can’t all earn that honor — so who will?

Let’s try and figure that out as we go through the top 10 once again with the Heisman rankings after Week 12.