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Heisman forecast for top 6 contenders entering championship weekend

By Cory McCartney

Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith, Alabama Crimson Tide. (Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr/The Tuscaloosa News via USA TODAY Sports)
Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith, Alabama Crimson Tide. (Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr/The Tuscaloosa News via USA TODAY Sports) /
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NFL Mock Draft, Heisman Trevor Lawrence
Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence will face a Notre Dame defense that gave up 439 passing yards in the teams’ first meeting. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports /

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

For all the dissections into how many missed games take a player out of the race, we’re in the final weekend before ballots are due with the preseason favorite still a factor. At +1800 he holds nowhere near the sway he once did when he was +400 back in July.

But Lawrence is in the running for a third straight trip to the playoff and among Power 5 passers ranks seventh with 2,431 yards despite missing two games after a positive COVID1-19 test and is fourth at 323.3 yards per game against FBS opponents. The Tigers remain unbeaten this season with Lawrence at the controls and he has an opportunity to remind everyone of that by taking down Notre Dame.

Heisman Forecast: The Irish defense has been stout, ranking 14th overall, but they’ve susceptible to damage through the air, allowing 214.8 yards per game (41st), including 439 to Clemson freshman D.J. Uiagalelei in the first meeting. Give the Tigers the ACC crown and put them back into the playoff and Lawrence is going to show up on ballots, and he may make some regardless given his career impact.

Lawrence finished seventh in voting last season, and at a minimum, he seems well-positioned to surpass that before presumably taking off for the NFL; at a maximum, he’s fourth behind the SEC trio.

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