Heisman Trophy 2015 Stock Watch: Who Is Rising and Falling Post-Week 4

It's true—no one wins the Heisman just because of what he did in September.

But several of college football's top players have already gotten off to a great start this month on the road to winning the sport's most famous award.

Through the first four weeks of the regular season, the game has had a running back revolution, which has many thinking this could be the first year a non-quarterback will take home the Heisman since former Alabama running back Mark Ingram did it in 2009.

But several signal-callers, including two stars in Texas, made a strong push in the early Heisman race last weekend with some outstanding performances in close conference victories. A few others saw their early buzz take a hit in Week 4, including the nation's breakout star of the season's first two Saturdays.

Let's take a look at five players whose Heisman stock rose the highest and five whose stock dropped the most after Week 4's action. These rises and falls are mostly based on the Heisman odds from Odds Shark, which are updated and archived every week to show the biggest changes.

You'll notice top contenders such as Georgia running back Nick Chubb, Baylor quarterback Seth Russell and Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott aren't on this week's stock watch. That's because their odds didn't fluctuate too much from last week to this week.

Discuss the early-season Heisman race and tell us your favorite to win the award in the comments below.

Rising: LSU RB Leonard Fournette

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Previous Odds: 11-2 | Current Odds: 3-2

Leonard Fournette is literally running away with the early-season Heisman hype. 

One week after averaging 12 yards per carry in a highlight-reel performance against Auburn, Fournette set a new career high for rushing yards with 244 in LSU's 34-24 road win over Syracuse.

Fournette came close to breaking the 300-yard mark against the Orange, but his 87-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was called back for an illegal-formation penalty.

Even though the big run didn't stand, Fournette's performance was enough to strengthen his lead on the Heisman odds and the national rushing leaderboard. He's now averaging 210.33 yards per game, which is 41.58 yards more than the next man on the list.

Fournette might not get the same number of touches this weekend as he did against three straight Power Five opponents, but he should still put up ridiculous numbers. Eastern Michigan, LSU's Week 5 opponent, has by far the nation's worst rush defense in terms of yardage and touchdowns allowed.

Rising: TCU QB Trevone Boykin

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Previous Odds: 17-2 | Current Odds: 7-1

After a slow start in Week 1 against Minnesota, TCU's Trevone Boykin has reclaimed the momentum that made him such a popular preseason Heisman favorite.

In Week 4, he threw for 485 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in TCU's 55-52 victory at Texas Tech. His fourth touchdown was a wild one, as a deflected attempt to Josh Doctson somehow landed in the hands of an outstretched Aaron Green to preserve an undefeated start for the Horned Frogs.

Boykin has now thrown for 1,224 yards, 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the past three weeks. He ranks third nationally in both passing yards and touchdowns.

While his jump in the odds wasn't even as large as the one from Russell, he gets special recognition as a rising candidate this week because he's moved even with Chubb as the No. 2 names behind Fournette.

As injuries continue to mount for TCU—especially on the defensive side of the ball—the Horned Frogs will have to rely on Boykin even more as they move through their Big 12 slate. With the way he's playing right now, Boykin looks like he could single-handedly keep TCU in the national title conversation. 

Falling: Alabama RB Derrick Henry

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Previous Odds: 10-1 | Current Odds: 20-1

While Alabama rebounded from its close loss to Ole Miss with a shutout victory over UL-Monroe, Henry didn't exactly stuff the stat sheets like he did in his first three games of 2015.

H ran for a season-low 52 yards and scored one touchdown against the Warhawks on 13 carries—the same number of touches he took for 147 yards and three scores in a season-opening win over Wisconsin.

According to John Talty of AL.com, Henry had battled tonsillitis earlier in the week, and head coach Nick Saban decided not to "wear the guy out" against an overmatched opponent.

"Henry looked sluggish and winded at times against the Warhawks on Saturday," Talty wrote. "He showed the strength that makes him one of the SEC's best on his punishing three-yard touchdown run but didn't have his usual burst."

But Henry has a great opportunity to get his Heisman campaign rolling again this weekend in a highly anticipated matchup at undefeated Georgia. If he can return to form and have a huge day against the Bulldogs defense, his stock will shoot up once again.

Rising: Texas A&M QB Kyle Allen

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Previous Odds: 33-1 | Current Odds: 20-1

For the second straight season, it took overtime for Texas A&M to knock off Arkansas in AT&T Stadium. But this time, a different star quarterback was leading the way for the Aggies offense.

Texas A&M sophomore Kyle Allen had a masterful performance against the Razorbacks, completing 21 of 28 passes for 358 yards and two touchdowns. Both of his scoring passes went to dynamic true freshman Christian Kirk, including what turned out to be the game-winner on the second play of overtime.

"You've seen his play elevate in tough times," Texas A&M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said, per Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News. "The fourth quarter and overtime, he was making such mature decisions that he probably wouldn't get to last year."

Saturday's big win was the first 300-yard performance for Allen, who took over Texas A&M's starting quarterback duties for the now-transferred Kenny Hill late last season. So far in his first full season as the No. 1 quarterback in College Station, Allen has thrown for 952 yards, 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Allen will have some huge stages coming up to build his Heisman resume. Undefeated Texas A&M faces Mississippi State this weekend before an off week and back-to-back matchups against Alabama and Ole Miss.

Rising: UCLA RB Paul Perkins

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Previous Odds: 50-1 | Current Odds: 25-1

Running back Paul Perkins, UCLA's preseason Heisman dark horse, is looking more and more like a legitimate contender as the season continues.

He only had a modest 85 rushing yards in UCLA's big road win over Arizona last weekend, but his three touchdowns against the Wildcats elevated his Heisman stock. 

The UCLA running back, who led the Pac-12 in rushing last season, is No. 10 nationally in total rushing yards through the first four weeks of 2015. Though his numbers aren't quite as eye-popping as the ones from Fournette or Chubb, Perkins' rising stock is directly tied to UCLA's status as a serious contender for the College Football Playoff.

"UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen will grab plenty of attention as the program’s profile rises, and for good reason," Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated wrote. "But Perkins shouldn’t be ignored as a game-changer for the Bruins. ... With a repeat performance on a potential College Football Playoff-bound team, Perkins could challenge Fournette, Chubb and other runners in the Heisman race."

This week, Perkins and the Bruins go up against Arizona State, which is coming off a lopsided home loss to USC. Last season, he averaged a season-high 9.79 yards per carry against the Sun Devils.

Rising: Notre Dame RB C.J. Prosise

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Previous Odds: N/A | Current Odds: 25-1

After his third straight 100-yard performance, Notre Dame running back C.J. Prosise has gone from off the radar to one of the top dozen Heisman contenders in the early season.

He took 15 carries for 149 yards and two touchdowns in Notre Dame's home win over Massachusetts, marking his third straight game in which he has recorded at least nine yards per touch. He's ranked fifth nationally at an even 150 rushing yards per game.

The rise of a player who was playing wide receiver last year to one of the nation's best running backs has surprised many in the college football world—even Prosise, who became the Irish's No. 1 running back after Tarean Folston's early-season injury.

"I always knew I could be a great player here and make big plays for us," Prosise told Bleacher Report's Mike Monaco. "But never did I think I’d be playing running back and be one of the top rushers."

Prosise will face his toughest test of the season this weekend as Notre Dame travels to Clemson, which has allowed less than three yards per carry on defense this season. If he has a big day in Death Valley, this Notre Dame star's Heisman hype will go through the roof.

Falling: Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly

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Previous Odds: 20-1 | Current Odds: 33-1

Chad Kelly and Ole Miss were riding high after their huge road win against Alabama, but they hit a bump in the road last weekend against a much-improved Vanderbilt defense.

Kelly threw his second and third interceptions of the season and only had one touchdown against the Commodores. Although his completion percentage improved from the Alabama game, the 27-16 home win over the SEC cellar-dweller hurt his early Heisman stock.

The former JUCO star struggled with some bad reads, especially on his interceptions. While he finished with his third straight 300-yard game, Kelly definitely wasn't on the same level he was at in the Rebels' first three wins of the season.

"Chad Kelly made some plays for us, but he really just had an average game," Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said, per Jim Holder of WTVA.com. "He’ll be the first to tell you that he did not live up to his own expectations and that he will be hungry to get back and prepare this week."

Kelly will need to tighten up his passing and decision-making this Saturday as Ole Miss travels to undefeated Florida. The Gators have one of the most talented pass defenses in the country, led by ball-hawking All-American corner Vernon Hargreaves III.

Falling: Michigan State QB Connor Cook

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Previous Odds: 16-1 | Current Odds: 40-1

Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook wasn't realistically going to put up the same kind of numbers of a Trevone Boykin or Kyle Allen this season.

But Cook wasn't at his best last weekend in an easy victory over Central Michigan, and his Heisman odds fell sharply as a result.

Cook went 11-of-19 for just 143 yards and one touchdown against the Chippewas. That yardage was his lowest since early last season, when he only had 126 yards on eight completions in a rout of Wyoming.

The Michigan State quarterback has done a great job this season of protecting the football—he has nine touchdowns to just one interception through four games—but his numbers aren't enough to keep his Heisman buzz going at the moment.

That can change, though, if the Spartans keep winning games as one of the nation's best teams. But Cook will need to start producing more of those 250-yard, multi-touchdown passing performances like he's had in the last couple of seasons.

Falling: Arizona QB Anu Solomon

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Previous Odds: 20-1 | Current Odds: N/A

This week featured a hard-luck fall for Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon, who broke the 100-yard mark in total offense before suffering a concussion in the second quarter of a lopsided home loss to UCLA.

Solomon went 4-of-10 for 55 yards and a touchdown and added 47 rushing yards against the Bruins, who smacked Arizona by a score of 56-30 in Tucson. Due to his head injury, there's a chance Solomon won't play this weekend against Stanford.

"His status for the game is certainly in question right now, and we will see how he responds every day. They will do tests every day," Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez said, per Bob Hille of Sporting News. "If he can’t go, it will be up to Jerrard Randall and Brandon Dawkins to run the offense. We will work with them all week based on what Anu’s situation is."

Solomon was on a tear to start the season, passing for 778 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions against three straight nonconference foes.

But with his injury status up in the air after a tough loss for his team, he's fallen way behind in the early Heisman race. 

Falling: BYU QB Tanner Mangum

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Previous Odds: 20-1 | Current Odds: N/A

Even though he couldn't help BYU hold onto a Week 3 upset over undefeated UCLA, freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum still entered Week 4 with decent Heisman odds in the eyes of those out in Las Vegas.

That all came to an end, though, at the Big House last weekend.

Mangum struggled mightily against Michigan, completing just 12 of his 28 passes for a mere 55 yards and zero touchdowns in a disastrous 31-0 loss. In his two starts immediately after coming off the bench to record a wild last-second touchdown over Nebraska, Mangum had thrown for 553 yards and three touchdowns.

"Tanner is going to be great player, but people probably forgot too quickly that he's just a freshman," said BYU senior defensive end Graham Rowley, according to Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune.

The potential Heisman hype for Mangum was overblown after two famous victories over Nebraska and Boise State. Now the buzz is gone, and the Cougars have to pick themselves up after an ugly loss away from home.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. 

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.