Heisman Watch 2019: Ranking Top Favorites in the Race Entering Week 13
Saturday starts a three-game stretch for Ohio State's Justin Fields that could move him up in Heisman Trophy voting.
The quarterback might slide into second place on a good chunk of ballots if he turns in a trio of impressive performances against three ranked teams.
Fields' first turn in the spotlight comes in the home clash with Penn State. The Buckeyes then visit Michigan and play either Minnesota or Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game.
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At the moment, Fields and Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts are the top candidates for second place behind front-runner Joe Burrow in a race that was trimmed by Tua Tagovailoa's season-ending injury.
Heisman Trophy Favorites
1. Joe Burrow, QB, LSU
A combination of epic LSU collapses and Heisman moments from Hurts and Fields is the only scenario keeping Burrow from winning the prestigious award.
In four Top 25 contests, the senior has 1,478 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Hurts can't match the number of ranked foes on his schedule, and Fields may have trouble achieving that much success against Big Ten defenses.
Regardless of what occurs in the next three weeks, Burrow has set a high standard for Heisman contenders with his performances against Texas, Florida, Auburn and Alabama.
LSU is expected to produce a large offensive sum versus Arkansas in Week 13, which should bring Burrow closer to 4,000 passing yards.
He also has one more opportunity to showcase his skills to voters on a big stage in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.
If he continues his trend against ranked opponents, Burrow could solidify the majority of first-place votes December 7.
2. Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma
Hurts has been the best dual-threat quarterback of the Heisman contenders.
He has 3,039 passing yards, 983 rushing yards and 43 total touchdowns in 10 games as an Oklahoma Sooner.
Because of Burrow's heroics in his former conference, the Alabama transfer likely will not become the third straight Oklahoma quarterback to take home the award.
Although he led a 25-point comeback in Week 12, Hurts was directly at fault for the turnovers that led to Baylor's incredible first half.
Since he was not perfect against his team's second Top 25 opponent, Hurts likely did not close the gap to Burrow.
Oklahoma should face Baylor a second time in the Big 12 Championship Game if it gets through TCU and Oklahoma State in the next two weeks.
While Lincoln Riley's team will be on a national stage for those two clashes, the magnitude of the games will be smaller compared to Ohio State.
Even if Hurts continues to rack up large stat lines, Fields could take second-place votes from him if he shines in higher-profile matchups.
3. Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
The Ohio State quarterback enters Week 13 with 2,164 passing yards, 377 rushing yards and 41 total touchdowns.
In his last four games, Fields has 866 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions against Northwestern, Wisconsin, Maryland and Rutgers.
Ohio State's recent lackluster schedule is one of the reasons why he is not neck-and-neck with Burrow and Hurts just yet.
That could change with a controlling outing inside Ohio Stadium in front of a national audience Saturday.
The Buckeyes' meeting with Penn State is the lone Top 25 matchup of Week 13, and with most SEC squads playing weaker foes, most of the discussion entering Saturday has been about the Big Ten clash.
The Georgia transfer has 373 passing yards and 89 rushing yards against Michigan State and Wisconsin, and those totals versus ranked foes are expected to drastically increase with the way the Buckeyes are playing.
If Ryan Day's team earns its 11th win of 20-plus points against a defense with the seventh-best points per game mark, it should cause a stir among Heisman voters.
In fact, Fields could thrive against a trio of Top 11 defenses if he takes on Michigan and Wisconsin in Weeks 14 and 15.
Success against some of the best defensive units in the FBS should be another factor that boosts him over Hurts on some ballots.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com
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