Oklahoma vs. Texas: 5 Reasons Landry Jones Is Now the Heisman Favorite

The race for the Heisman Trophy is always difficult to predict. Week-to-week, players rise and fall in the race with only a few managing to rise above the rest. This week one player has emerged as the top candidate for the prestigious award.

Here are five reasons why Landry Jones is now the Heisman favorite.

Big Game

One of the key components for winning the Heisman is the ability to perform well in the big games. For Oklahoma and Texas, it does not get any bigger. The third quarter was not even complete when Jones led the Sooners to a 38 point lead.

When the dust settled, the Sooners crushed the Longhorns in the biggest game of the year to date. This guy can handle the pressure and should be considered one of the top signal-callers in the league.

Play on the Field

If the Heisman race is a numbers game, then Jones has the edge. This guy has put up some stellar numbers on the year and there is still half of the season to play.

In the second quarter of the Texas game, the Texas defense became his personal crash test dummy. He beat them all over the field with his pin-point accuracy and elegant passing touch.

When it comes to quarterback play, Jones is the total package.

National Championship

The Heisman Trophy winner should be on a team that has a realistic chance of winning the national championship. With all due respect to Andrew Luck, the Stanford Cardinal plays in a weak Pac-12 conference and does not go up against the level of competition that Jones faces.

This is just one reason that he should be elevated to the status of favorite in the race for the Heisman.

Leadership

A trait that is often overlooked in college football is leadership.

This is a trait that should be evaluated by the Heisman voters because the winner of the award represents a fraternity.

With limited members and a very difficult screening process, the voters should evaluate members on other intangibles outside of their play on the football field. Landry Jones seems to possess every trait that a Heisman award winner should have.

After last year’s winner was surrounded by controversy, Jones would be a breath of fresh air.  

Stigma

Landry Jones has one weakness that almost every analyst covers when previewing a game that features the Oklahoma Sooners. That weakness is his inability to avoid mistakes on the road. Today’s game against Texas should be a prime example of why it is time to put that stigma to rest.

Jones has played so well in his career that analysts have to dig and try and find a problem. Stop digging, Jones is the real deal and should be recognized as one of the best players in college football today.  

James Brown is a B/R Featured Columnist. Feel free to contact James at [e-mail] and you can follow him at   Twitter @ jtsneaks