Heisman Watch 2015: Breaking Down Top Candidates in the Race After Week 10

A handful of upsets shook up the playoff picture in Week 10, but that pales in comparison to the jolt the Heisman race sustained on Saturday. 

Convincing losses by TCU and LSU nearly knocked the two front-runners from the race entirely, opening the door for a slew of candidates who had been waiting in the wings. 

The following list features a handful of candidates who are on the rise, along with the notable candidates (Leonard Fournette and Trevone Boykin) whose Heisman resumes suffered major blows this weekend.

Player (Team)	Opponent	Notable Stats
Ezekiel Elliott, OSU	Minnesota	26 att, 114 yards, TD
Deshaun Watson, CLEM	Florida State	28-42, 297 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int
Corey Coleman, BAY	Kansas State	11 rec, 216 yards, 2 TD
Derrick Henry, BAMA	LSU	38 att, 210 yards, 3 TD
Christian McCaffrey, STAN	Colorado	23 att, 147 yards
Leonard Fournette, LSU	Alabama	19, 31 yards, TD
Trevone Boykin, TCU	Oklahoma State	35-57, 445 yards, 1 TD, 4 Int

Notable Candidates

Trevone Boykin, TCU

Brett Deering/Getty Images

Boykin was a legitimate candidate entering Week 10, but his Heisman hopes quickly evaporated during TCU's loss to Oklahoma State. 

"

Unfortunately for Trevone Boykin, there's no overcoming a 4-INT game in a 20-point loss to win the Heisman. Best-case is finalist.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 8, 2015"

While Boykin is certain to finish the season with Heisman-worthy numbers (he's already accounted for 37 touchdowns), his four interceptions against the Cowboys is a performance Heisman voters will not easily forget.

At this stage, it will be tough for Boykin to generate enough momentum to earn an invitation to New York for the Heisman ceremony, let alone be a viable contender to win the award. But if Boykin has one last run in him, it has to come in the form of an upset over Baylor.

TCU hosts Baylor the day after Thanksgiving, giving Boykin one last shot at a Heisman-worthy performance.

Leonard Fournette, LSU

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

On Saturday morning, Fournette was the heavy favorite in the Heisman race. By Saturday night, the nail had been firmly hammered into his coffin. 

In recent years, it has been nearly impossible for a non-quarterback to generate the type of Heisman hype Fournette has built up in recent weeks, but voters will be quick to throw out their early-season predictions after his 31-yard performance against Alabama. 

Heisman candidates can overcome a down game, but not one in a loss of this magnitude. 

"

Heisman voters thinking Fournette and Boykin are doing a lot of Steve Spurrier right now: "Welp..."

— Tim Cowlishaw (@TimCowlishaw) November 8, 2015"

The most recent running back to win the Heisman, Alabama's Mark Ingram, had multiple games in which he ran for fewer than 100 yards, but the Crimson Tide ran the table, thus avoiding any blame being placed on Ingram for any single outcome. 

In 2005, Reggie Bush also won the Heisman for an undefeated team, which allowed voters to forgive his four sub-100 rushing performances. 

All Fournette can do now is hope everyone else in the race slips up, forcing voters to circle back and reconsider his entire body of work.

Corey Coleman, Baylor

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Baylor could have used a more dominant performance to bolster its playoff hopes, but in terms of Coleman's Heisman campaign, Thursday night's game against Kansas State couldn't have gone better. 

Despite working with freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidman, Coleman turned in his best performance of the season with a season-high 206 yards on 11 receptions. 

Coleman also added two touchdowns, bringing his season total to 22. 

Oklahoma visits Waco next week, giving Coleman his first opportunity to shine against a formidable defense. 

Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State

Paul Vernon/Associated Press

Elliott hasn't had a signature performance yet, but he simply keeps chugging along and hanging around the Heisman picture. 

"

Ezekiel Elliott now has 14 straight 100-yard rushing games. Zeke is very much in the Heisman race, esp w/ games vs. MSU and at Michigan left

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 8, 2015"

The momentum swing in Elliott's favor may be coming in the next few weeks, as Elliott will close out the regular season against Michigan State and Michigan. 

It's also worth noting that if the Buckeyes run the table, Elliott will have one last shot to win over voters in the Big Ten title game. Meanwhile, his closest competition among running backs, Fournette, will likely be at home, as LSU is unlikely to advance to the SEC Championship Game.