Jameis Winston's Updated Heisman Stock After Being Suspended vs. Clemson

Jameis Winston is now officially out against Clemson, and as a result, he may have removed himself from serious consideration in the Heisman Trophy race.

The reigning Heisman winner was initially suspended for the first half after yelling an obscene phrase on the Florida State campus earlier in the week. On Friday night, the school announced that Winston will miss the entire game, per ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy:

Interim FSU President Garnett S. Stokes and Athletic Director Stan Wilcox released a joint statement, per ESPN.com.

"Based upon the results of our continuing investigation of Tuesday's incident involving Jameis Winston, we have decided to not play him for the entire game against Clemson on Saturday night," it read.

ESPN's Chris Fowler was surprised that the school would amend its decision after doing little to signal that it was planning to do so:

CNN's Rachel Nichols reported that the about-face stemmed from the fact that Winston wasn't forthright enough with school officials:

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde applauded the administration for making what he believed to be the right decision:

"First of all, I want to apologize to the university, my coaches and to my teammates," Winston said after the initial one-half suspension was handed down. "I'm not a 'me' person, but in that situation, it was a selfish act, and that's not how you do things around here. I want to apologize to my teammates because I have now made a selfish act for them. That's all."

Winston's bid to join Archie Griffin as the only other two-time Heisman winner has gotten off to an already muted start. Through two games, he has 626 yards passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Those numbers aren't bad, but they don't exactly move the needle when you're trying to argue somebody's the best player in college football.

Winston sits third in ESPN's Heisman Watch on 21 points. That's only one point better than Texas A&M's Kenny Hill.

According to Fox Sports South's Cory McCartney, only two Heisman winners since World War II have missed a game in the year they won the award: Charles White in 1979 and Charlie Ward in 1993:

Perhaps if the Seminoles were playing a weaker opponent this weekend, Winston's stock would largely be unaffected. Missing a game against the Citadel wouldn't lose a player the Heisman. Missing a game against a top-25 team could.

Clemson ranks 22nd in The Associated Press Poll and 24th in the USA Today Poll. The Tigers are one of the harder teams left on FSU's regular-season schedule, next to Notre Dame.

When he played Clemson last year, Winston threw for 444 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He outshone Tajh Boyd and laid a major marker down for his Heisman candidacy. Without that game, the then-freshman almost certainly doesn't win the award.

The Tigers are a worse team this time around—they're 20.5-point underdogs according to Odds Shark—but they're also one of the few measuring sticks Winston would've have this year if he wants to impress Heisman voters.

Steve Dykes/Associated Press

Marcus Mariota and Todd Gurley have both built much stronger resumes and look to be the guys to beat. Mariota has 806 yards and eight touchdowns through the air in addition to 156 yards and three TDs on the ground. Gurley's rushed for 329 yards and four touchdowns. He also has a 100-yard kick-return TD to his credit.

Neither player is showing any signs of slowing down, and both have a few statement games left with which to bolster their case.

It would be foolish to count Winston out completely in the Heisman race, but it will take a Herculean effort the rest of the way for him to repeat.