Heisman Watch: Can Justin Fields catch Joe Burrow?
QB Joe Burrow throws for 352 yards and three touchdowns in LSU’s win over Texas A&M while also setting the SEC record for passing yards in a season and tying the league’s TD mark. (2:18)
Joe Burrow remains No. 1 in our latest rankings. Justin Fields checks in at No. 2, but he has a steep hill to climb to catch Burrow.
Throughout the season, ESPN.com writers will vote for their top Heisman candidates.
To get the final rankings, we use the following methodology: 10 voters, five votes each. Points system: five points for first-place votes, four points for second-place votes, three points for third-place votes, two points for fourth-place votes and one point for fifth-place votes.
Voters: Andrea Adelson, Edward Aschoff, Kyle Bonagura, Bill Connelly, Heather Dinich, David M. Hale, Chris Low, Ivan Maisel, Adam Rittenberg, Mark Schlabach
Total points: 49 (first-place votes: 9)
Notable: Burrow threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s win over Texas A&M, and this season has broken the LSU single-season record for yards and touchdown passes. Burrow’s 44 TD throws tied the SEC’s single-season mark, too.
Quotable: “Joe’s meant a lot to Louisiana and Louisiana is very proud of LSU football,” LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said. “The guy’s been phenomenal.”
Total points: 30 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Fields came up big against Michigan, tossing four TD passes and coming back into the game after briefly leaving due to a knee injury. On the season, he’s thrown for 37 TDs and just one interception.
Quotable: “You talk about tough, wow. I’ve never been around a tougher quarterback than [Fields],” OSU head coach Ryan Day said.
Total points: 26 (first-place votes: 1)
Notable: Young had two QB hurries against Michigan, and has 16.5 sacks this season — which leads FBS and is an Ohio State single-season record.
Quotable: “He’s having a phenomenal season and is the clear top prospect in the class.” — ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.
Jalen Hurts does it all, as he runs in for a 28-yard touchdown, hauls in a 4-yard TD and throws a 3-yard score as the Sooners win Bedlam.
Total points: 23 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Against rival Oklahoma State, Hurts threw for a TD, rushed for one and caught another in the Sooners’ win Saturday. He also threw for 163 yards and rushed for 63 more.
Quotable: “Now Hurts has made progress with his arm. There’s no question he has improved as a passer.” — Mel Kiper Jr.
Total points: 8 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Taylor ran for two TDs and caught another in a win over Minnesota, and now has 25 touchdowns this season and is second in the FBS in rushing yards.
Quotable: “Taylor is instinctive between the tackles, and he displays patience and then makes defenders miss with his burst.” — ESPN’s Todd McShay
Total points: 6 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Against Oklahoma, Hubbard rushed for 104 yards, his 10th straight game rushing for more than 100 yards. His 1,936 yards this season are the second-highest total in Oklahoma State history.
Quotable: “I thought he had a little room early,” OU head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We made some adjustments as the game went on. I thought our defensive line was very disruptive cleaning running lanes. The few times he did get loose, I felt we did a good job of bringing him down to the ground, and we didn’t let him pop a big one.”
Trevor Lawrence throws for 295 yards and three touchdowns in Clemson’s 38-3 victory over South Carolina.
Total points: 5 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: In a blowout win over South Carolina, Lawrence threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns. He also completed an ACC record-tying 18 straight throws, and rushed for 66 yards.
Quotable: “Man,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said he told Lawrence, “it’s just so much fun watching you play quarterback.”
Total points: 2 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: In a big win over Michigan, Dobbins ran for four TDs and 211 yards, and inched closer to 1,700 yards rushing this season.
Quotable: “Dobbins is a home run hitter.” — Mel Kiper Jr.
Total points: 1 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Huntley threw for two TDs and 165 yards to help Utah improve to 11-1 going into the Pac-12 championship game.
Quotable: “We started out slow, but we handled business.” — Huntley