Top 5 Heisman Moments of 2016

When did we know? Looking back, when was that instance where college football's top players did something so spectacular that it basically became a foregone conclusion they would be a candidate for the Heisman Trophy?

They all had that "moment" that stood out from the rest, and now that we know the five players who have been named Heisman finalists, it's sure to be something that will be part of their highlight reel during Saturday's ceremony in New York City.

We've selected a signature performance or play that lifted each of the five finalists to another level in terms of Heisman worthiness. Check them out, and see if one of them sways you toward picking a winner.

5. Jabrill Peppers: Multiple Michigan State Stops

Despite constant clamoring to invite as many finalists as possible to New York for the Heisman ceremony, that larger number tends to come with a price. One of those extra invitees seems to always bear the label of being unworthy of such an honor, and this year that player is Michigan all-purpose star Jabrill Peppers.

"Don’t blame Peppers," SB Nation's Alex Kirshner wrote, noting the redshirt sophomore may have benefitted from nostalgia over a former versatile Heisman winner from Michigan and the desire to expand beyond the typical candidates at quarterback, running back and receiver. "He didn’t do anything other than play great football. Blame everyone who just wanted to be reminded of Charles Woodson."

But since Peppers is a finalist, we're still going to provide evidence of how that happened. What he did to help Michigan beat in-state rival Michigan State for the first time since 2012 and just the second time in a decade was the perfect example.

He had only 45 all-purpose yards in that 32-23 road win, which included a three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but he also had seven tackles including a sack and a tackle for loss. And after MSU scored with one second left to pull within seven, Peppers prevented any thought of a miraculous comeback by scooping up a fumble on the two-point conversion and returning it for two to provide the final margin.

4. Deshaun Watson: Another ACC Championship

After more or less destroying nearly every opponent during a 14-0 run to the national championship game in 2015, Clemson lived far more dangerously this season on its way back to the playoffs. The Tigers had seven games decided by one score and trailed in many of them, and though junior quarterback Deshaun Watson usually ended up being the one to lead them to victory, he had his share of mistakes along the way.

But when Clemson needed him at his very best, in the ACC title game against Virginia Tech, Watson had one of his most mistake-free performances of the season. Not surprisingly, the Tigers' 42-35 win saw them take the lead a few minutes into the first quarter and never trail.

Watson was 23-of-34 for 288 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 85 yards and two scores. It was his second-largest rushing number of 2016 and only the second time he'd scored multiple times on the ground. The previous season, he had 12 rushing TDs and became the first player in FBS history to throw for 4,000 and rush for 1,000.

He did throw an interception on Clemson's first possession of the second half, leading 21-14, but the Tigers defense forced a three-and-out. Then, Watson was 5-of-5 for 67 yards and ran for another 11 before Wayne Gallman's TD run put them up by two scores.

3. Baker Mayfield: The Shootout in Lubbock

Though he officially wasn't a finalist in 2015, Baker Mayfield was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting and worthy of being included on this list a year ago. At that time, we highlighted his gunslinger mentality and similarities to recent Heisman winner Johnny Manziel due to his tendency to scramble and improvise.

The 2016 season saw a more mature Mayfield, one who was less willing to take unnecessary risks with his body in an effort to preserve himself. The junior quarterback had only 74 carries in the regular season, including 18 as the result of sacks, compared to 141 runs (and 39 sacks) all of last year. He still ran for six touchdowns but, for the most part, left the running to Oklahoma's stable of capable backs and focused more on getting the ball to an equally strong group of receivers.

Nowhere was this more prevalent than in his tremendous Oct. 22 performance at Texas Tech. The Sooners defense had no answer for Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who ended up throwing for 734 yards and tallied an FBS-record 819 yards of total offense, but because of Mayfield, it didn't matter. He didn't get as many yards, going for only 545, but that was on just 36 attempts and 27 completions, and he produced seven touchdowns.

Mayfield staked Oklahoma to an early 14-0 lead with TD passes of 56 and 49 yards, added another just before halftime and then three more in the third quarter. A 15-yard TD strike to Joe Mixon with 9:15 left in the fourth gave him the school single-game record. The fact it came against his former school, where Mayfield played in 2013 before transferring, only added to the moment.

2. Dede Westbrook: Stiff Arm in the Snow

A wide receiver's numbers can be skewed by the kind of offense they're in, whether the stats are a product of going deep and having an accurate quarterback find them or if the passes are short and require the pass catcher to do the rest of the work. Dede Westbrook's 74 catches for 1,465 yards and 16 touchdowns came via a mix of both.

According to Pro Football Focus, Westbrook averaged 4.22 yards of offense for every route he ran (which includes all the times he didn't get thrown to or couldn't make the catch), and that led all power-conference receivers. He also had 695 yards and 11 TDs on deep routes, benefitting from an accurate QB but also showing the ability to race down the field to haul in the target.

Westbrook had plenty of games where he showed off his field-stretching ability, as he had eight 100-yard receiving games in 2016, but in many instances, a lot of that yardage was earned by what he did after pulling in a short reception. Just ask West Virginia linebacker Justin Arndt, who tried to take down Westbrook after the senior had already gone 15 yards following a catch behind the line of scrimmage on Nov. 19.

Arndt held on for a few yards before Westbrook shoved him into the snowy turf while never breaking stride on his way to a 75-yard score.

1. Lamar Jackson: The Florida State Beatdown

Lamar Jackson first jumped onto the Heisman radar via massive offensive displays against Charlotte and Syracuse in early September. The latter game saw him amass 610 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns with more than 200 yards and three scores coming in the first five minutes of play.

Those results were impressive but also dismissed because of the competition. Until the sophomore quarterback could do something like that against a real defense, there were plenty of skeptics out there.

It just so happened Louisville's third game of 2016 came against an ACC blue-blood in Florida State, though you wouldn't have been able to tell by the way Jackson ran and threw all over the Seminoles in a 63-20 win. He wasted no time, scoring rushing touchdowns on the Cardinals' first and third drives of the game, but that was just the start of his tremendous afternoon.

Jackson would end up with 362 yards of total offense on just 37 snaps, throwing for 216 yards and a TD on 13-of-20 passing and rushing for 146 and four scores on 17 carries. That included a 47-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter in which Jackson wove through FSU defenders like he was working through dance partners at a hoedown.

All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.