Top 5 Heisman Moments of 2015

The finalists for the Heisman Trophy were announced Monday, and on Saturday night we'll find out whether Alabama running back Derrick Henry, Stanford all-purpose back Christian McCaffrey or Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson will take home the award given to college football's top player. The ballots are closed, so there's no more need to campaign for a winner.

When voting was still open, though, the best players in the country did plenty of politicking in the best way they know how: with Heisman-worthy performances.

The term "Heisman moment" gets thrown about a lot during the course of a season, often far too early for a particular play to make a difference.

LSU's Leonard Fournette had a seemingly endless supply of such moments in September and October, but when both he and his team hit a wall in the final month of the campaign, his mentions quickly dissipated. So, too, did the plays that had previously defined his Heisman campaign.

As for those who are still in the running, each had at least one moment recently that typified his play and persona, a video bite that likely will get played at some point during Saturday night's telecast of the Heisman ceremony, defining his season.

We've ranked the five best Heisman moments of 2015, including one from a player who won't be in New York City but deserved to be. They're ranked by how important the moment was to the game itself as well as how unlikely it was for the play (or plays) to have happened.

5. Baker Football?

Judging by some of the reactions on Twitter, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield not receiving an invite to the Heisman Trophy ceremony was the snub to end all snubs. What it really means is he will finish no better than fourth place in the voting, and the early ballots that had been counted indicated he wasn't close enough to the top three to warrant a trip to New York.

It didn't mean he wasn't worthy of Heisman consideration, though, not after a masterful season in which he's led the Sooners to an 11-1 record, the Big 12 title and a spot in the Orange Bowl for the College Football Playoff. The junior, a former walk-on and transfer from Texas Tech, threw 35 touchdown passes and ran for another seven scores.

His ability to keep plays alive with his feet, either using them to turn upfield and gain yardage or elude defenders long enough for a receiver to get open, was fun to watch—except if you were aligned with one of Oklahoma's opponents, who could only watch as Mayfield would scamper and scramble before either bolting for a touchdown or firing in a scoring pass.

Mayfield isn't a Heisman finalist, but plays like the one above—which was very reminiscent of 2012 winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M—were among his many Heisman-level moments.

This play featured Mayfield connecting on a 3rd-and-goal with Sterling Shepard from seven yards out. The touchdown strike helped put the Sooners ahead of rival Baylor, 27-20, a lead they wouldn't relinquish in a crucial win on their way to winning the Big 12 and a playoff berth.

4. McCaffrey Takes One to the House

Christian McCaffrey didn't just break the FBS record for all-purpose yards in a season. He obliterated it. His 3,496 yards are 246 more than previous record-holder Barry Sanders had in 1988, and though McCaffrey's tally happened over two more games, it came via fewer touches.

And those touches came in every manner imaginable. The sophomore ran for 1,847 yards, second-most in the country this season, and had 540 receiving yards. He also picked up a large chunk as a return man, averaging 28.9 yards on kickoff returns, including a key touchdown against rival California last month.

McCaffrey's 98-yard return helped give Stanford a 21-6 halftime lead, one it would not relinquish.

Had McCaffrey not scored on the play, odds are he would have stayed on the field and either been handed off to or went out to catch a pass on the ensuing snap.

3. Deshaun Does the Dab

Say what you want about the Dab, its origins and its ascension to Harlem Shake levels in terms of how everyone and their grandmother seems to be doing it, but it makes for a nice, quick post-score celebration. And it's one that's quick enough to avoid risking a costly celebration penalty from the college football fun police.

Deshaun Watson dabbed after scoring the first touchdown of Clemson's win over rival South Carolina last month, and he deserved to. The designed run to the right didn't seem like it was going to produce anything until the sophomore quarterback made something happen, quickly cutting upfield and splitting several Gamecocks defenders before diving into the end zone.

That was the first of three rushing touchdowns for Watson against South Carolina, and with two more the following week in the ACC championship win over North Carolina, he sits with 11 scores on the ground. Seven of those came in Clemson's final four games, all of which were while the Tigers sat at No. 1 in the playoff rankings and were drawing every opponent's best shot.

2. Derrick Henry, SEC Rushing King

From a numbers standpoint, there's never been better season from a running back in the SEC than Alabama's Derrick Henry. And that's saying something, since the league has produced studs like Bo Jackson, Darren McFadden, Emmitt Smith and Herschel Walker. It was Walker who held the conference's single-season rushing record for 34 years until Henry came along and bulldozed that mark last weekend.

The junior passed Walker midway through the SEC Championship Game win against Florida, during which he ran for 189 yards to give him 1,986 yards for the season. His tally has come in 13 games, compared to 11 when Walker ran for 1,891 yards in 1981, but Walker needed 385 carries and Henry has done it in only 339.

Henry may well surpass Walker's carries before the 2015 season is out, since in his past two games he's run the ball a combined 90 times. Alabama has at least one more game left, possibly two if it can get past Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

Toppling the Spartans likely would happen because of the number of touches given to Henry, who has been the epitome of a workhorse the last month of this season.

1. A Heisman-Worthy Throw?

Christian McCaffrey is his team's best running back by a mile and arguably Stanford's most reliable receiving option. When the Cardinal need a big special teams play, he's the guy as well.

It made you wonder: What can't McCaffrey do? Throw a nice pass isn't on that list, as we found out during the Pac-12 Championship Game against USC.

Hoping to beef up McCaffrey's Heisman resume—as well as build an early lead in the conference title game—Stanford reached into its bag of tricks on the first play of the second quarter. Quarterback Kevin Hogan tossed the ball to running back Barry Sanders, who headed to the left and then quickly lateraled to McCaffrey on a reverse. A few steps later McCaffrey released a perfect pass to Hogan for an easy 11-yard touchdown.

McCaffrey was Stanford's leading passer for a good portion of the game because of that lone throw, but it wasn't his only touchdown pass of the season. In November he threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Austin Hooper during a 42-10 win at Colorado.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.