How Todd Gurley's Suspension Will Impact 2014 Heisman Race
The 2014 Heisman Trophy race has completely changed following the news that Georgia's star running back Todd Gurley has been suspended.
National college sports writer Bryan Fischer reported Thursday that Gurley, who was certainly among the Heisman favorites, is suspended indefinitely:
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Head coach Mark Richt commented on the situation, via a University of Georgia release: "I'm obviously very disappointed. The important thing for our team is to turn all our attention toward preparation for Missouri."
Gurley had just catapulted to the top of the 2014 Heisman race after a week of chaos in college football, thanks largely to his 773 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns and kick return touchdown on the season.
He ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns against Clemson, 208 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee and 163 yards and two touchdowns against Vanderbilt. In fact, the only game in which he failed to reach the triple-digit plateau in rushing yards was against Troy because he was only given six carries in a blowout win (which he turned into 73 yards).
Gurley was among the Heisman front-runners before the season started, and everything he has done on the field since kept him in that discussion.
Before the news of his suspension, six of the seven predictions offered by CBSSports.com on the Heisman race had Gurley on the top, and the other had him in second. ESPN.com's Heisman Watch had him first overall entering Week 7.
This is just the latest in a long list of shakeups to the 2014 Heisman race. It all started when potential Heisman front-runner Braxton Miller went down with a season-ending injury before the year even began. BYU quarterback Taysom Hill was also lost for the year to injury, and the number of upsets and losses we just witnessed in Week 6 certainly changed the discussion as well.
Players like Marcus Mariota, Brett Hundley, Melvin Gordon, Amari Cooper, Kenny Hill and Ameer Abdullah are all coming off losses, some of them in stunning style.
Losing a game is certainly not enough to disqualify any of these talented players from Heisman consideration, especially given the incredible amount of upsets we have already seen in the first half of the season. Gurley’s suspension only reinforces the notion that anything can happen in college football and keeps the door open for someone like Mariota to play his way back to the top of the race.
For now, Gurley’s suspension also opens the door for dark-horse candidates who weren’t on many people’s radars heading into the season.
Dak Prescott has led Mississippi State to the No. 3 position in the Associated Press Poll after dazzling against Texas A&M to the tune of 268 passing yards, 77 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. If he continues to produce in the brutally deep SEC West, Prescott will be among the Heisman favorites.
Everett Golson has his Notre Dame Fighting Irish undefeated after throwing for a fourth-down touchdown pass in the waning minutes of a victory over Stanford. Even Miller’s replacement at Ohio State, J.T. Barrett, is fourth nationally in passing efficiency (186.34) and has thrown for 1,354 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Gurley's suspension opens up another finalist spot in New York, and any of these candidates are capable of playing their way into the discussion.
It may seem strange, but defending Heisman winner Jameis Winston has to be considered a dark horse at best at this point, even with Gurley’s suspension.
Winston himself was suspended for the Clemson game, which certainly didn’t help his case, and only has eight touchdown passes to five interceptions.
Sure, the suspension of the front-runner opens the door for Winston to get back in the race just like everyone else, but he is also fighting voter fatigue and the incredibly high bar he set for himself on the field a year ago. Still, if the Seminoles win out and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, Winston will be under consideration, especially now that one of his biggest competitors appears to no longer be a viable candidate.
You want the short answer to what Gurley’s suspension does to the Heisman race?
It makes it as wide open as any in recent memory. Now someone has to go out and win it.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
