Who leads the race for the Heisman Trophy after six weeks in the season?
It may be hard to believe, but we are nearing the halfway point of the college football season already. That being said, as we get further into the season, it has become clearer who the true contenders and pretenders are in the race for the Heisman Trophy. Here is how the race stacks up to this point:
Honorable Mention
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State
Last week at Texas Tech: 34 rushes| 156 yards| 4.6 ypc| 3 TD| 22 Long| 1 reception| 1 yard| 0 TD
Season Stats: 162 rushes| 1,094 yards| 6.8 ypc| 13 TD| 84 Long| 5 receptions| 22 yards| 0 TD
Chuba Hubbard is the only Heisman contender on a team that has lost more than one game on the season. This causes him to be overlooked a little bit, but that should not be the case. He leads the nation in rushing yards (by nearly 300 yards to be exact) while also leading the country in rushing touchdowns. Even against Texas Tech, where he was largely bottled up compared to his normal production this season, Hubbard still accounted for over 150 rushing yards and three touchdowns. It doesn’t matter what team they play for, a running back putting up those types of numbers deserves to be mentioned in the Heisman conversation.
Sam Ehlinger, QB, Texas
Last week at West Virginia: 18-for-33 (54.5%)| 211 yards| 2 TD| 1 INT| 9 rushes| 45 yards| 2 TD
Season Stats: 120-for-173 (69.4)| 1,448 yards| 17 TD| 2 INT| 51 rushes| 236 yards| 3 TD
Sam Ehlinger struggled for the most part against the good secondary of West Virginia. He completed under 55% of passes while also throwing a pick on the day. He was still able to lead his team to a convincing win in Morgantown while accounting for four total touchdowns. Ehlinger has been on the fringe of the Heisman conversation all season and whether he stays there or not will largely depend on his performance this week in the Red River Rivalry versus Oklahoma.
JK Dobbins, RB, Ohio State
Last week vs. no. 25 Michigan State: 24 rushes| 172 yards| 7.2 ypc| 1 TD| 67 Long| 2 receptions| 2 yards| 0 TD
Season Stats: 116 rushes| 826 yards| 7.1 ypc| 6 TD| 67 Long| 7 receptions| 44 yards| 1 TD
JK Dobbins is tough to rank in regards to the Heisman Trophy. On one hand, he has the second-most rushing in the nation. He also just had his third 170+ yard rushing game of the season on Saturday against the notoriously tough Michigan State defense. On the other hand, he shares the backfield with teammate and fellow Heisman hopeful Justin Fields. Fields actually has more rushing touchdowns than Dobbins at this point in the season. While definitely one of the best players in the country, it will be tough for Dobbins to put himself truly in the thick of the Heisman race while sharing the backfield and touchdown production with his quarterback.