Heisman Watch 2015: Highlighting Race's Front-Runners After Week 11

Week 11 in NCAA football turned out to be a rough time for some of the top Heisman Trophy hopefuls. LSU, Stanford and Baylor all took losses, which was bad news for the likes of Leonard Fournette, Christian McCaffrey and Corey Coleman.

Their teams didn't fare well, and only McCaffrey could claim to have a superlative, and record-breaking, performance with 189 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. Then again, this was against Oregon's 117th-ranked defense, so the display might get lost in the shuffle considering the Cardinal lost 38-36.

TCU's Trevone Boykin couldn't finish his game against Kansas, leaving in the second quarter with an ankle injury that he apparently suffered in the first frame. The Horned Frogs did manage to hold on for a 23-17 victory, and head coach Gary Patterson is optimistic Boykin can play next week against Oklahoma.

"I think Trevone will be back," Patterson said, per ESPN.com's Brandon Chatmon. "We just couldn't take a chance. They said he shouldn't go, and I said, 'OK.'"

Saturday wasn't all bad for the young men who are chasing college football's most prestigious trophy. Let's highlight the three players who did the most to improve their Heisman chances in Week 11.

Rising Stock

Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

After easily outrushing fellow Heisman candidate Fournette in Alabama's big win over LSU in Week 10, Derrick Henry did not disappoint in his encore. Henry carried the ball 22 times for 204 yards and two scores against Mississippi State, providing the main conduit through which the Crimson Tide rolled over their SEC rival.

ESPN noted he's on an impressive scoring streak: 

Henry has vastly improved his stock in the latter half of the season. He now has 793 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in his last four games. In three of those contests, he's topped the 200-yard mark.

Bleacher Report's Christopher Walsh considers the Heisman Henry's to lose and noted he could set some records this year: "Overall, the 6'3" Henry has rushed for 1,458 yards and 19 touchdowns. If he continues at that pace he’ll finish the regular season with 1,750 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns, which would be school records (Trent Richardson had 1,679 and 21, respectively, in 2011)."

Henry's speed and size make him tough to tackle when he gets a full head of steam. He's liable to break off big runs at any given moment with his one-cut ability and physical gifts. He's truly coming into his own at the end of this season, having shared carries with T.J. Yeldon last year and playing at third string in 2013 behind Yeldon and Kenyan Drake.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

The good times are set to continue, with Alabama playing lowly Charleston Southern next week and then taking on Auburn's 93rd-ranked rush defense in the Iron Bowl to close out the regular season. 

Henry might not get a ton of touches against Charleston Southern as Alabama preserves him for more important contests. Then again, he might not need more than a few to rip off a big highlight-reel run that gets everyone talking about Henry taking home the stiff-arming trophy as a foregone conclusion.

Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

Nick Lisi/Associated Press

Deshaun Watson doesn't have the gaudiest passing stats at quarterback this year—those belong to Bowling Green's Matt Johnson and Washington State's Luke Falk—but he is the top player on the No. 1 team in the country and an excellent runner. On Saturday, he turned in another fine performance in Clemson's 37-27 win over Syracuse. He threw for 360 yards, two touchdowns and one pick while rushing for 105 yards and another score.

The ACC Digital Network passed along some of his highlights from the game:

Clemson needed a strong outing from Watson, as Syracuse hung tough with the Tigers for much of this contest. It should be of little surprise that the sophomore kept his wits about him in a nervy game. Last week, Clemson sports information director Tim Bourret pointed out he's been one of the best QBs in the nation in the fourth quarter: 

Like Henry, Watson has also been getting better as the season moves along, improving his numbers as both a runner and a passer.

Time Frame	CMP/ATT	YDS	CMP %	TD	INT	CAR	RSH YDS	RSH TD
First Five Games	89/129	990	69.0	11	5	45	202	1
Last Five Games	127/179	1603	70.9	12	3	63	396	4

As one of the few quarterbacks worthy of Heisman consideration—with Falk, Boykin and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield being the other contenders, though all three are long shots—Watson would seem to be a lock to at least make the ceremony, provided Clemson doesn't collapse down the home stretch. However, a strong running back contingent this year makes his status difficult to pin down.

Sports Illustrated's Zac Ellis had him as the front-runner coming into Week 11, while ESPN's experts poll had him eighth in their rankings, as of November 10.

If Clemson remains undefeated and rolls to an ACC title—which would also guarantee the Tigers a College Football Playoff spot—Watson might come away as the obvious Heisman choice when all is said and done. Not bad for a guy who is coming off an ACL injury.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State

BRADLEY LEEB/Associated Press

There's been no more reliable source of excitement on undefeated Ohio State than Ezekiel Elliott. The Buckeyes needed a few weeks to settle on J.T. Barrett as the main quarterback, and both he and Cardale Jones have struggled at times passing the football this year.

The defense has been stifling for much of the season, but players on that side of the ball rarely get Heisman consideration, and the standouts such as Joey Bosa and Tyquan Lewis don't have eye-popping numbers in any case.

So Elliot is the most obvious star of the team, with a wide gulf between him and the next best player in terms of all-purpose yards and several standout games to burnish his credentials. Elliott was huge against Illinois on Saturday, carrying the ball 27 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns. 

He's been nothing if not consistent, as this tweet from ESPN CFB illustrates: 

Elliott is, of course, chasing Henry in the Heisman race, as is every other running back except for perhaps Fournette, whose brilliant start to the season is fading in the memory after two straight games of less than 100 yards rushing. 

Even so, Fournette still has better numbers than Elliott and is excelling in an offense with fewer weapons than that of Ohio State's. Like Fournette and Henry, Elliott is seldom-used in the passing game, so there's no advantage there.

Still, a stumble from the other two players' teams might help his Heisman credentials, or perhaps another monstrous game like the one he had against Indiana on October 3 could propel him to the front of the trophy race. Elliott is certainly in the mix, but it's going to take something extraordinary to separate him from the likes of Fournette and McCaffrey, to say nothing of pushing ahead of Henry.