Heisman Trophy Watch 2016: Top 5 candidates after Week 10

Week 10 is in the books and here is who stands out as top Heisman Trophy candidates heading into Week 11.

We are already heading into Week 11 of college football action, which is hard to believe since it seems like it was just yesterday that we saw the opening kick of the year in Australia between Hawaii and Cal. Now we are talking about serious Heisman Trophy candidates and the top five are becoming clearer.

Lamar Jackson has been our top Heisman Trophy contender all season long, but does he come in at the top spot on this week’s list?

If I was to include a receiver on this list, it would have to be Oklahoma’s Dede Westbrook who has broken out in place of Sterling Shepard as Baker Mayfield’s favorite target.

As for running backs, I wanted to include Texas’ D’Onta Freeman, but the fact that the Longhorns are just 5-4 on the season means he wouldn’t be considered a serious candidate. He did record over 330 rushing yards last week against Texas Tech.

Yes, the Jabrill Peppers hype seems to remain constant and he’s considered a top-four Heisman contender for some reason even though his stats don’t have quite the magnitude that some other guys’ do. He is an incredible athlete, probably the best in the country, but just not the best overall player.

This week’s Heisman Trophy watch is a little quarterback-heavy, but there aren’t too many running backs standing out on national contending teams. Same goes for receivers and defensive players.

Nov 5, 2016; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars quarterback Luke Falk (4) drops back for a pass against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half at Martin Stadium. The Cougars won 69-7. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Luke Falk

QB, Washington State

If you haven’t heard the name Luke Falk yet, you should tune into next week’s Washington State game against Cal. The Cougars have been one of the biggest surprises in college football this season despite having high hopes entering the year.

Washington State ended last season with a 9-4 record and it looked like it would be one of those dark horse contenders in the Pac-12. However, the Cougars opened the season with back-to-back losses to Boise State and Eastern Washington and all hope for a promising season went out the window like that.

Seven straight wins later and Luke Falk looks like the savior of this year’s team and a true Heisman contender. You wouldn’t normally think of a prolific Pac-12 passer from a program not named Oregon or USC contending for the Heisman, but Falk is breaking the mold.

Through nine games, he is one of the nation’s leading passers and he’s coming off his best game of the year. The junior has passed for 3,237 yards and 28 touchdowns on the season. He racked up 311 yards and four touchdowns on 32-of-35 completions in a 69-7 rout of Arizona last week.

Falk can put points on the board and limit turnovers with just five picks on the year and an incredible accurate 74 percent completion rate.

Nov 3, 2016; Ames, IA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) looks to pass against the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Baker Mayfield

QB, Oklahoma

Very quietly, Baker Mayfield is climbing back into the Heisman race. His Heisman Trophy aspirations were declared dead after the Sooners began the season just 1-2 with losses to Houston and Ohio State. He has rebounded nicely, and just like Luke Falk, has led the Sooners to a lengthy win streak.

Oklahoma was looking like a team suffering from a New Year’s Eve hangover after making the College Football Playoff last season. The Sooners lost to Clemson but returned enough talent to start the 2016 season at No. 3 in the AP Poll.

Mayfield was playing well, but not at a Heisman level, but boy, have things ever changed. He’s playing at the highest level of his career, arguably, and the Texas Tech transfer and Sooners’ second-year starter looks to be in the top-five range in terms of contenders right now.

The junior quarterback has completed over 70 percent of his passes since that 1-2 start with over 2,100 yards and 24 touchdowns. Only four interceptions have plagued him in this six-game win streak and the Sooners are back in contention.

If he can lead Oklahoma to a Big 12 title and a New Year’s Six bowl, Mayfield should definitely be considered a threat to take home the hardware.

Nov 5, 2016; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) outruns a Syracuse Orange defender on a quarterback keeper during the second quarter at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Deshaun Watson

QB, Clemson

Deshaun Watson suffered a scary injury in Week 10 when he was pulled down in the first half and landed on his shoulder. He signaled to the sideline that his shoulder was bothering him and people were worried that he either tore something, messed up his rotator cuff or even dislocated his shoulder.

However, he went to the locker room and was cleared to return in the second half, but Dabo Swinney took the safe route and sat him for the rest of the game as Clemson was up big on Syracuse. The Tigers ended up winning 54-0 and they will likely remain at No. 2 in the next edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.

Watson’s decent performance in one half of play — 13-of-16 for 169 yards and two touchdowns — shouldn’t move him down much in this week’s Heisman watch, but every good game counts at this point.

Even though he sat out the entire second half because of an injury, the voters aren’t going to give him any sympathy. They’re going to treat it like he finished the entire game with just 169 yards and two scores. It is a major positive, though, that he didn’t throw an interception.

Nov 5, 2016; Berkeley, CA, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Browning (3) warms up before the game against the California Golden Bears at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Browning

QB, Washington

If you’re not aboard the Jake Browning Heisman hype train yet, you’re missing out. This kid continues to impress as he’s easily one of the nation’s best pure passers. Actually, I’d argue that he is the best pocket passer in the entire country and he’s coming off his best performance of the season.

As long as Washington remains unbeaten and in the hunt for the College Football Playoff, Browning is going to be a top-three Heisman contender. The Huskies are coming off an impressive 66-27 victory over the Cal Golden Bears and they’re hoping that opened the eyes of the playoff committee to vote them into the top four this week.

Browning went off against Cal’s lackluster defense, passing for a season-high 378 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. He only needed 28 pass attempts to put those types of numbers up, completing 19 of them. This is the second time this year that he has passed for six touchdowns without a pick in a single game.

While his yardage total isn’t going to blow anyone away, looking at his overall stat line definitely will. On the year, he has 2,273 passing yards with 34 touchdowns to only three interceptions. Oh yeah, and he’s rushed for four scores as well.

Nov 5, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) rolls out of the pocket during the second quarter against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Lamar Jackson

QB, Louisville

Lamar Jackson and the Louisville Cardinals absolutely walloped the Boston College Eagles in Week 10 and the sophomore quarterback needed just 17 passes to get the job done. It was his lowest number of attempts on the season and yet he had arguably his most productive game since the Syracuse contest to open ACC play.

Just how good was Jackson on Saturday against the Eagles? He completed 12 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns and he also got the job done with his legs, running 15 times for 185 yards and another three scores.

Add seven more touchdowns to his increasing total this season and he recorded his second-highest completion rate of the year. While he might not be the most accurate passer week in and week out, you can count on him to be the most exciting.

On the season, Jackson continues to build his resume with multi-touchdown weeks like this and he has a total of 45 touchdowns. It’s incredible to see this type of production from a second-year player and a starting quarterback.

Could he be the nation’s most exciting player? We do know that he currently leads the race for Heisman.

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