College Football

FSU Football: Dalvin Cook Still Have A Shot At The Heisman Trophy?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:06 p.m. ET

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Sep 24, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) runs the ball in the second quarter as South Florida Bulls linebacker Danny Thomas (53) defends at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

FSU football running back Dalvin Cook is having another great year. Does he still have a shot at winning the Heisman Trophy?

FSU football running back Dalvin Cook is 792 yards shy of breaking the FSU rushing record he set just last season.

He’s currently rushed for 900 yards through seven games with FSU football facing the second toughest schedule in the nation.

Cook has already surpassed his receiving totals from a season ago and has five games remaining to add to that total.

This season he has proven that he’s a complete running back. A back that can still break a long run for a touchdown, or run with power and carry defenders three or four yards and now consistently catch passes out of the backfield.

Will it be enough for his name to be called as the Heisman Trophy winner by season’s end?

Oct 1, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles running back Dalvin Cook (4) runs the ball past North Carolina Tarheels linebacker Jonathan Smith (7) during the game at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Stats

As we mentioned, Cook has rushed for 900 yards through his first seven games, and has 356 receiving yards on 21 receptions.

He’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry and 17 yards per reception. Cook is averaging 128 rushing yards per game and is averaging 7 yards every time he touches the ball while scoring 8 total touchdowns on the season(7 rushing and 1 receiving).

He is the national leader in yards from scrimmage with 1,256 yards, and the next closest Power 5 player has 930 yards.

If Cook averages 150 yards from scrimmage over the five remaining games, he’ll finish the year with over 2,000 yards. He’s currently averaging 179 yards per game.

The slate of games coming up could see that average rise as Cook has done well historically against those teams.

Sep 17, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) avoids the tackle of Florida State Seminoles linebacker Dontavious Jackson (5) during the second quarter at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Competition

Cook is currently +4000 to win the Heisman Trophy. That means if you bet $100 you would win $4,000.

The odds on favorites are as follows (Sportsbook.ag):

A lot of time the Heisman Trophy doesn’t go to the best player per se. It has to do with if your team is in the playoff hunt, undefeated and the player’s stats/value to the team.

Lamar Jackson has been putting up ridiculous numbers all season, but that loss his team suffered against Clemson could come back to haunt him unless FSU or someone else can upset Clemson.

Deshaun Watson would be a good bet. He’ll likely finish the season with gaudy numbers, and will likely have Clemson undefeated and in the playoff hunt.

I don’t see Jabril Peppers winning the Heisman.

I don’t see Jake Browning winning the Heisman either. His TD/INT ration is nuts, but he doesn’t have near the production that Jackson or Watson have yardage wise.

JT Barrett and Jalen Hurts are both in the same boat. Both will probably be undefeated going into their conference championship games, but neither have eye-popping stats like Lamar Jackson.

Sep 10, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles fans cheer prior to the game against Charleston Southern at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Beil-USA TODAY Sports

How Dalvin Cook Could Win The Heisman

Obviously, Dalvin’s chances of winning the Heisman are slim. However, this is what would have to have happen to have a legitimate shot.

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He would need to have a monster game against Clemson, and the ‘Noles would need to pull off the upset. He blitzed last season for 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and would need a similar effort October 29th.

He would then need to continue or surpass his 180 yards from scrimmage average, and get in the end zone a bit more to bump up his touchdown total.

Lamar Jackson would need to come back to earth just a bit, similar to his performance against Duke last week. That’s unlikely though as Louisville’s schedule is cake the rest of the season aside from Houston.

If Houston were to beat Louisville, that probably knocks Jackson out of Heisman race(although that would be crazy).

That would improve the chances of Barrett and Hurt though.

Basically, Cook needs to go into beast mode, hope the ragged FSU offensive line can open up holes for him to run through and hope a lot of these top teams lose.

The S&P+ defensive ratings for the defenses FSU faces next are below:

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