Will LSU RB Leonard Fournette Be a 2015 Heisman Finalist?

In a crowded Heisman Trophy field, November momentum matters most. 

LSU running back Leonard Fournette is stuck in neutral and could even be going in reverse.

The superstar sophomore, who was not only the front-runner for the most prestigious individual award in the sport but the shoo-in, has suffered a November fade and allowed other contenders to jump into the conversation.

At this point, he's no longer a lock for the Heisman and isn't even necessarily a lock to make the trip to New York as a finalist for the award.

Fournette finished the day with a decent stat line—25 carries for 108 yards, along with 72 receiving yards—but was rendered as an afterthought due to Ole Miss jumping out to a 24-0 lead in the first half, which led to the 38-17 win.

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For the third straight week, a defense came in with the specific game plan of slowing Fournette down, doing just enough to force LSU into a shootout, and the Tigers couldn't hang.

As Ben Love of 103.7 The Game in Lafayette, Louisiana, noted on Twitter, Fournette simply can't carry the Tigers on his back for a full season:

That's enough to knock him out of the top spot on the Heisman rankings, and considering the field that's also in the mix, it will make it difficult for the New Orleans native to get an invite as a finalist.

The ability to vote online allows people to wait until the bitter end to cast their votes for the Heisman, and even a stellar outing next weekend against a hit-and-miss Texas A&M defense won't be enough to reignite Fournette's Heisman flame.

Especially not with Alabama's Derrick Henry getting a national stage during the Iron Bowl against Auburn next week—and perhaps an even bigger stage the following week in the SEC Championship Game—and the emergence of Florida State's Dalvin Cook on the Heisman scene.

Cook ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 52-13 win over Chattanooga, which bumps him up to 1,475 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season. Henry is likely going to get the majority of the running back love from voters down the stretch due to his production and exposure, with Fournette and Cook likely splitting the leftovers.

There's only so much running back love to go around, and that doesn't even factor in the Midwest vote—some of which will go to Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott, who had his streak of 15 straight 100-yard games snapped in the 17-14 loss to Michigan State.

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With Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson a near-lock to go to New York, the resurgence and feel-good story of Oklahoma quarterback and two-time walk-on Baker Mayfield, and the ridiculous season Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman is putting together, there simply won't be enough room for Fournette. 

The number of people invited to New York as Heisman finalists varies from year to year. Last year, only three people were invited to New York—Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon. That's half as many as were invited the previous year, when Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston took home the trophy over the other five finalists.

Fournette is now the underdog who's not only going to split running back votes but regional votes with Henry, Cook and Watson.

That's a no-win situation.

At this point, simply getting an invitation to New York would be a surprise for Fournette based on how this year's Heisman race has evolved over the final month of the season.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.