Players Who Will Start 2015 Heisman Campaigns This Bowl Season
When a quarterback or running back (or sometimes a wide receiver) plays well in a bowl game then returns the following season, a Heisman Trophy campaign might be born.
Last year, for example, Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight and Alabama running back Derrick Henry both enjoyed breakout performances in the Sugar Bowl and ended up at 25-to-1 or better to win the Heisman by February. This despite the fact that, prior to the Sugar Bowl, Knight had thrown just 90 career passes and Henry had received just 27 career carries.
Hooray for recency bias!
Neither Knight nor Henry took advantage of their Sugar Bowl momentum, but others who played well in the postseason parlayed that into the following year. The immediate name that comes to mind is Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott, who had 361 total yards and five touchdowns in a blowout win over Rice in the Liberty Bowl, landed on the February odds board at 33-to-1, then competed for the Heisman all season.
The list that follows includes players of all types: bigger names who are already considered "candidates" and smaller names who might burst onto the scene during bowl season.
The biggest factor here (besides talent) was strength of opponent. Georgia running back Nick Chubb, for example, will be a factor in the 2015 Heisman race. But his bowl opponent, Louisville, is one of five defenses allowing fewer than three yards per carry this season.
He is not a safe bet to launch his Heisman run in the Belk Bowl, and has thus been included from the list. If he was playing…say…Rice, on the other hand, he would have been as obvious inclusion.
Sound off below with whom else you would add.
Note: All recruiting info refers to the 247Sports composite rankings.
RB Javorius Allen, USC
1 of 8
2014 Stats
250 carries, 1,337 yards, 9 TD; 40 receptions, 442 yards, 1 TD
Bowl Opponent
Nebraska (Holiday Bowl)
Why He'll Make a Heisman Run
Quarterback Cody Kessler will have the lowest Heisman odds on the team next season, but running back Javorius Allen has a chance to place close behind if he shreds Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.
Allen is a big-bodied runner (6'1", 220 lbs) with surprising fluidity and great hands. He does everything well and gained more than 1,750 total yards in 2014, despite playing behind an offensive line that started three true freshman for most of the season.
The Huskers allowed Melvin Gordon to rush for a then-FBS-record 408 yards in three quarters when they hosted Wisconsin earlier this season and struggled to defend the run against Minnesota, too. The young Trojans line should open holes for Allen to run through, which means he might be in store for a big statistical game.
And that might just be the start of a trend.
QB Connor Cook, Michigan State
2 of 8
2014 Stats
188-for-323, 2,900 yards, 22 TD, 6 INT
Bowl Opponent
Baylor (Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic)
Why He'll Make a Heisman
Connor Cook said he plans to forgo the 2015 NFL draft and return for his senior year at Michigan State, per Noah Trister of The Associated Press, which is huge news for the Spartans' offense.
Cook is 6'4" and has the tools of a first-round pick but said he has "unfinished business" he wants to accomplish.
Baylor has an improved but beatable defense that led the nation with 32 passing plays of 30-plus yards allowed this season. In what may be his final game with left tackle Jack Conklin—and what will definitely be his final game with running back Jeremy Langford and receiver Tony Lippett—Cook is in a good spot to put up big numbers.
Beating Baylor in a shootout would land Cook toward the top of next year's preseason Heisman boards. Talent plus experience plus a defense good enough to make a playoff run is not the worst formula for a quarterback to win this award.
QB Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee
3 of 8
2014 Stats
96-for-156, 1,077 yards, 8 TD, 5 INT; 91 carries, 393 yards, 6 TD
Bowl Opponent
Iowa (Taxslayer Bowl)
Why He'll Launch a Heisman Run
Joshua Dobbs breathed life into Tennessee's offense after relieving Justin Worley (and playing pretty well) against Alabama.
The long-legged sophomore led the Vols to three wins in four games to sneak them into the postseason, combining for 812 total yards and nine touchdowns in back-to-back wins over South Carolina and Kentucky before petering off the final two weeks.
Iowa has what's billed as a stingy defense—and it can be, on occasion—but struggled at the end of the season. Minnesota hung 51 points on the Hawkeyes, and Wisconsin and Nebraska combined to average 6.68 yards per play in late-November trips to Des Moines.
Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee thinks Tennessee has a realistic shot at winning the SEC East and making a playoff run next season, and Dobbs is one of the biggest reasons why.
If it happens, he'll be a viable Heisman contender.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
RB Leonard Fournette, LSU
4 of 8
2014 Stats
176 carries, 891 yards, 8 TD; 7 receptions, 127 yards
Bowl Opponent
Notre Dame (Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl)
Why He'll Launch a Heisman Run
Leonard Fournette was the No. 1 overall player in the 2014 recruiting class and played like it during the second half of the season.
He is a 6'1", 230-pound bull with the power to run through tacklers, the speed to break long runs and the potential to be so much better than he already is—which is saying something.
Notre Dame imploded on defense during the second half of the season, allowing 39 points to Navy, 55 points to Arizona State, 43 points to Northwestern and 49 points to USC. Its run defense was not as bad as those numbers might suggest, but injuries did take a toll on the front seven and cost the Irish some push in the trenches.
Fournette can gain steam by playing well against a name-brand opponent, the same way Alabama freshman Derrick Henry did against Oklahoma last season. Only Fournette, unlike Henry, does not have T.J. Yeldon lurking around to steal the majority of the carries.
He has a clear path to a Heisman-worthy workload.
RB Royce Freeman, Oregon
5 of 8
2014 Stats
230 carries, 1,299 yards, 16 TD; 14 receptions, 139 yards, 1 TD
Bowl Opponent
Florida State (Rose Bowl)
Why He'll Launch a Heisman Run
Royce Freeman turned a change-of-pace power role into full-time starting running back duties on the best offense in college football.
And he did it as a true freshman.
Florida State ranks No. 60 in rushing yards allowed per game (160.1) and No. 50 in Football Outsiders' S&P+ run defense ratings. Its most important run defender, defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, left the ACC Championship Game with an ankle injury and didn't return.
Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher said Goldman is working with the scout team and will "be ready to roll" against Oregon, per Brandon Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel. But if he's anything less than 100 percent, Freeman should be the prime beneficiary.
And next season, once Marcus Mariota makes his inevitable leap to the NFL, Freeman will be the workhorse of this offense.
QB Brad Kaaya, Miami
6 of 8
2014 Stats
202-for-345, 2,962 yards, 25 TD, 11 INT
Bowl Opponent
South Carolina (Duck Commander Independence Bowl)
Why He'll Launch a Heisman Run
Brad Kaaya grew up quickly after injuries and dismissals forced him to start under center as a true freshman. He gained confidence as the year went on, and even though the regular season ended on a down note, he has a chance to finish on a high one.
South Carolina ranks No. 88 in the country in opposing quarterback rating (132.62) and No. 93 in points allowed per game (31.2). Its secondary has improved throughout the season but was so bad at the start of the year that it hardly makes any difference.
Kaaya can have his way through the air.
Miami will lose big-play receiver Phillip Dorsett, tight end Clive Walford and (most likely) running back Duke Johnson next season, but some interesting pieces return to Coral Gables. Braxton Berrios showed flashes as a true freshman, and Stacy Coley was so good in 2013 that it's hard not to see him breaking out of his slump.
The Hurricanes will give Kaaya everything he needs to make a Heisman run next season. And South Carolina will give him everything he needs to start that Heisman run in January.
QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
7 of 8
2014 Stats
211-for-345, 2,996 yards, 24 TD, 10 INT; 195 carries, 939 yards, 13 TD
Bowl Opponent
Georgia Tech (Capital One Orange Bowl)
Why He'll Launch a Heisman Run
Dak Prescott doesn't need to "launch" a Heisman run, per se, after ranking near the top of the field for most of this season.
However, he does need to get momentum back on his side after a poor month of November in which Mississippi State barely squeaked by Arkansas and lost to Alabama and Ole Miss. Prescott threw four touchdowns to five interceptions in those three games.
Georgia Tech, though, presents a tasty bowl opponent. The Yellow Jackets made the Orange Bowl on the strength of their offense, which ranks No. 1 in Football Outsiders' F/+ ratings, but are way down at No. 105 in defensive yards allowed per play (6.23).
Jameis Winston averaged 10.3 yards per attempt and posted a QB rating of 189.52 against Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game, and Prescott should find similar success (albeit with more of a rushing focus). If he does, he will remind us all why we considered him a 2014 Heisman candidate to begin with.
And that should carry over to next season.
QB Marquise Williams, North Carolina
8 of 8
2014 Stats
245-for-391, 2,875 yards, 20 TD, 9 INT; 178 carries, 732 yards, 12 TD
Bowl Opponent
Rutgers (Quick Lane Bowl)
Why He'll Launch a Heisman Run
At some point North Carolina will get the memo about the season starting in August—not October.
The Tar Heels are 3-9 in their first six games of the past two seasons but 10-3 in the games that follow. And when they win, it's almost always with offense. Larry Fedora and Seth Littrell know how to put a quarterback in position to succeed. And Williams is good enough to take advantage of that.
He's also good enough to take advantage of a cellophane Rutgers defense that finished No. 92 in points allowed per game (30.9) and struggled to stop the run all season. Williams is at his best when he gets going with his legs, which makes this a solid matchup.
UNC's five leading pass-catchers are all eligible to return next season. So are all eight players who recorded a carry. If Williams can exploit the Scarlet Knights in Detroit, start full time over Mitch Trubisky next fall and play as well as he does in the second half of the season in the first half of the season, he's a sneaky Heisman dark horse.
The numbers will be there regardless.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
