Heisman Watch 2014: Breaking Down Race Front-Runners After Week 12

One of the most devastating weekends in recent college football history has shaken up the Heisman race in a major way. 

No. 1 Mississippi State and Heisman favorite Dak Prescott went down at the hands of Alabama, but that was just the beginning of the madness on the way to the inaugural College Football Playoff.

While Prescott and Jameis Winston—the latter of whom looked shaky at best while hardly surviving against Miami—are certainly not out of the running entirely, a down week came at the worst possible time, while other stars continued to craft impressive resumes and others shockingly entered the race outright.

Once again, the Heisman watch needs a massive overhaul.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

Chatter about Heisman moments never ceases this time of year.

Breaking an historic record certainly qualifies.

Wisconsin junior back Melvin Gordon ran his way into the record books Saturday against Nebraska with 25 carries for 408 yards and four scores, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrates:

"Yeah, I didn't even know I was close to the record," Gordon said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "I was kind of just running away."

The globe certainly knows about Gordon now. Before the outburst, he was just another back who piled on elite numbers against up-and-down competition but never really distanced himself from other backs who were doing much of the same thing. 

No back is going to top what Gordon did Saturday.

It may not be enough to steal the Heisman outright, but Gordon now has 1,909 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns on an 8.6 per-carry average. Heisman moment in hand, Gordon is head and shoulders above the other backs on the watch list at this point.

Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Already an NFL draft darling and perhaps the most important player in the country to his team, all Amari Cooper did in Saturday's upset of the No. 1 Bulldogs was play his game. 

In short, Cooper made highlight-reel grabs and wound up with eight catches for 88 yards and a score. Cris Carter was one of many to throw his support behind Cooper after yet another elite performance:

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller joined the fray as well:

It is difficult to stress just how much the Crimson Tide need Cooper. The next leading receiver Saturday caught just four passes for 40 yards. No other receivers scored.

That proved a microcosm of the season as a whole. Of his team's 2,742 total receiving yards and 21 scores this season, Cooper now has 1,303 and 11.

As far as actual Heisman moments go, go ahead and pick a week and bask in Cooper's play. Taking down the No. 1 team in the land, though, certainly does not hurt.

J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State

It would be wise to take the Heisman bid by Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett very seriously. 

Barrett was the guy nobody wanted to see take the field this season, but he is what the Buckeyes were stuck with after a season-ending injury to Braxton Miller. All Barrett has done since then is lead the Buckeyes on a 9-1 war path that might just end with a trip to the CFP.

This past Saturday saw Barrett put on one of his more impressive performances to date as the Buckeyes took down No. 25 Minnesota, 31-24. Barrett threw for 200 yards and a trio of scores, but he was far from a one-trick quarterback, as he also found his way to 189 yards and a score on the ground.

In total, Barrett's season has been quite extraordinary:

OPP	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	TD	INT	ATT	YDS	TD
@Navy	12	15	226	80.0	2	1	9	50	0
Virginia Tech	9	29	219	31.0	1	3	24	70	1
Kent State	23	30	312	76.7	6	1	8	6	0
Cincinnati	26	36	330	72.2	4	0	14	79	0
@Maryland	18	23	267	78.3	4	0	16	71	1
Rutgers	19	31	261	61.3	3	0	7	107	2
@Penn State	12	19	74	63.2	1	2	20	75	2
Illinois	15	24	167	62.5	2	0	7	38	0
@Michigan State	16	26	300	61.5	3	0	14	86	2
@Minnesota	15	25	200	60.0	3	1	17	189	1

Some may knock the schedule as a whole, but keep in mind that Barrett has shown well against the best of the best, too. Take that win over Michigan State for example. He managed five total touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the nation to get his team the win.

Barrett finishes against a soft schedule that includes Indiana and Michigan, so expect the gaudy stats to only continue to pile up.

Honorable Mentions

Name	Pos.	Team	Week 11 Stats
Jameis Winston	QB	Florida State	304 Pass Yds, 1 TD
Trevone Boykin	QB	TCU	330 Pass Yds, 1 TD
Dak Prescott	QB	Miss. State	290 Pass Yds, 2 TD, 82 rush Yds
Marcus Mariota	QB	Oregon	N/A
Duke Johnson	RB	Miami	130 Rush Yds, 1 TD

Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.