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Who are the top five Heisman Trophy candidates after the opening week of college football?
Week one of college football is in the books. It’s hard to believe that the first slate of games is already over with, but they definitely did not disappoint and many players stepped up to the big stage and made names for themselves. The Heisman Trophy race got off to a fantastic start over Labor Day weekend.
Upsets took place just about everywhere you looked. Wisconsin toppled No. 5 LSU at Lambeau Field, making a statement in favor of the Big Ten. Texas shocked No. 10 Notre Dame and it looks like Charlie Strong is moving the Longhorns in the right direction after years of basement dwelling in the Big 12.
Some mid-majors even took down Power Five opponents such as Northwestern losing to Western Michigan and Appalachian State nearly pulling off a mammoth upset over No. 9 Tennessee on the road. It was a crazy opening weekend of college football and fans have a good idea of how the season will go based off the first set of games.
This season could be crazier than any in recent memory. An underdog team like Wisconsin or Houston or even Texas could rise through the ranks and make a run at the College Football Playoff.
Players from those squads, such as Texas’ Shane Buechele, Wisconsin’s Corey Clement and Houston’s Greg Ward Jr., could be in the Heisman race before the season is over.
However, there were some clear front-runners for the coveted award after week one, and I will dissect the top five.
Sep 5, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Deondre Francois (12) drops back to throw the ball in the second quarter against the Mississippi Rebels at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Deondre Francois
QB, Florida State
Call me crazy, but Deondre Francois showed the poise necessary to make a name for himself at this level. The redshirt freshman quarterback for Florida State earned the starting job this week because of his tremendous leadership and ability to lead the offense.
Taking the field against No. 11 Ole Miss to begin his career, Francois faced a tough test against an SEC defense like the Rebels’. He started a little shaky because of the constant pressure he faced due to an inconsistent offensive line, but he settled into a nice groove at the end of the second quarter.
Florida State was down 28-6 in the Monday night contest before Francois took over with his arms, and legs, passing for 420 yards and two touchdowns on 33-of-52 completions while rushing for another 59 yards.
Jameis Winston came in and started for the Seminoles as a redshirt freshman back in 2013 and ended up winning both the Heisman Trophy and national title. Francois has the talent to follow in those footsteps and become the second Florida State quarterback in four years to win the sport’s top individual award.
Downing Ole Miss was a good start as he leaped from unknown into my top five.
Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) carries the ball past Texas Longhorns safety Kevin Vaccaro (18) at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
DeShone Kizer
QB, Notre Dame
Yes, DeShone Kizer lost his first game of the season at Texas, but that doesn’t really speak to how well he played against the Longhorns. The junior quarterback was set to split snaps with fellow dual-threat Malik Zaire in the season-opener in Austin, but took over the game after a strong start.
The Zaire era looks to be over before it ever really started, and it’s likely the former highly-touted gunslinger will switch positions before the season is over or just come in for running packages — although Kizer can run just as well.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound quarterback from Toledo took over as the starter last season when Zaire went down and never looked back. Leading Notre Dame to a 10-3 record in 2015, fans were beginning to believe in the then-sophomore.
Starting the 2016 season with a bang, Kizer nearly overcame a flawless performance from the Longhorns on the road to get the win, but ended up losing 50-47 in double overtime.
Kizer was excellent, though. He passed for 215 yards and five touchdowns with a completion rate of about 63 percent. Heck, a third of his completions were for scores — that’s what you call efficient play. His QB rating was a phenomenal 206.5 and he added 77 rushing yards and another score on the ground.
Many are debating whether he is college football’s best quarterback.
September 2, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) runs with the football past Kansas State Wildcats defensive back Dante Barnett (22) and defensive back Donnie Starks (10) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Christian McCaffrey
RB, Stanford
It was tough to pick between Oklahoma gunslinger Baker Mayfield or Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey for this spot, but I had to go with the latter based on his team’s record after week one. Mayfield did have a solid game against Houston, passing for 323 yards and two touchdowns, but his team faltered, falling 33-23.
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Stanford, on the other hand, won 26-13 against Kansas State even though it wasn’t pretty. If you looked at McCaffrey’s numbers, you’d think he doesn’t belong in the Heisman conversation this early. However, racking up 126 rushing yards and two scores while catching seven passes for 40 yards is impressive.
The Cardinal arguably couldn’t have won without him, especially with a senior first-year starting quarterback in Ryan Burns getting the nod. McCaffrey provided a huge spark offensively, accounting for 61 percent of Stanford’s yardage and about 50 percent of the scoring. He led the team in receptions and kept the Cardinal’s playoff hopes alive.
Last year, people were arguing that McCaffrey should have won the Heisman with his unreal all-purpose yardage, but he might be on the right track yet again this year. His 210 all-purpose yards from week one is a good start to a junior Heisman campaign.
Sep 3, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) passes the football against the Bowling Green Falcons at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
J.T. Barrett
QB, Ohio State
J.T. Barrett’s junior season did not get off to the start he was hoping for. It was the first drive of the Buckeyes’ season and Barrett got Ohio State into Bowling Green territory, but threw a poor pass into heavy coverage and it was returned to the house for a 7-0 Falcons lead. Fans were a little worried that this would be a sign of things to come.
However, he rebounded and showed everyone why he was named the starter at the end of the year over current Buffalo Bill Cardale Jones. Heck, Barrett’s rise is the reason Cardale left Ohio State early for the NFL and why Braxton Miller went from quarterback to receiver.
The junior quarterback put together a nice start, leading the Buckeyes to a laughable 77-10 victory, going on a 77-3 run after the opening drive pick-six. He passed for 349 yards and six touchdowns with that one interception, completing 68 percent of his passes. Barrett also ran for 30 yards and added another score on the ground.
With nearly 400 all-purpose yards in a shortened week one win, Barrett has taken over as college football’s top quarterback performer from week one, in my opinion. While I was thoroughly impressed with Francois and Kizer, I believe Barrett is the most trust-worthy and consistent of the bunch.
Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) runs for a touchdown against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the fourth quarter of the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Nick Chubb
RB, Georgia
Nick Chubb might not be human. It’s hard to believe the junior running back underwent season-ending knee surgery in week six last year and is already back at 100 percent — or at least close to it. Chubb is pulling an Adrian Peterson, looking like a superhuman by putting up gaudy numbers at the expense of North Carolina in week one.
The junior running back’s career has been injury-plagued, but Kirby Smart knows that he can rely on his workhorse, when healthy, to carry the ball often. He got 32 carries against the Tar Heels in the season-opener, rushing for a video game-like 222 yards and two touchdowns.
Chubb does not go down easily with that 5-foot-10, 228-pound brick house of a frame and he is quick for his size. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry in the first game, which is surprisingly below his previous season totals of 7.1 as a freshman and 8.1 as a sophomore.
No, he’s not regressing as a runner, he’s just becoming more of an every-down back who can run between the tackles and pick up five or six yards, which is still incredibly effective and above average.
Breaking out in his first game back from the knee injury is impressive and he tops my list of Heisman candidates after week one. Let’s see if he can repeat that type of performance in week two against Nicholls State.
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