Joining the Cardinals rusher as a favorite candidate for the Heisman Trophy are Alabama running back Derrick Henry and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, while Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Florida State running back Dalvin Cook are also in the shuffle.
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“It is a very special honor for me to be selected as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy”, Henry said in a press release. He ran for 189 yards and a touchdown on 44 carries in the Alabama’s Southeastern Conference championship game victory against Florida on Saturday. “Yes, yes, he does”, USC coach Clay Helton said after McCaffrey blistered the Trojans for 461 all-purpose yards in the Pac-12 championship game. A qualifier for the College Football Playoff, Oklahoma (11-1) will meet Clemson (13-0) in the Orange Bowl on December 31. He ranks eighth nationally in passer rating, completing 69.2 percent of his passes for 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
His 2015 season will go down as one of the best seasons ever for an Ohio State running back: 1,672 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. If he wins the award, he would be just the second Stanford’s second player to do so joining Jim Plunkett in 1970.
Derrick Henry led the nation this year with 1,986 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns on 339 carries for Alabama. But keep in mind Heisman ballots only have three spots, as Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News explains.
What I will do, since Henry is a Yulee High product and could become the second area player (Tim Tebow, 2007) to join the Heisman fraternity, is explain why going into Herschel Walker beast mode over the second half of the 2015 season might tip the scales in his favor. McCaffrey broke Barry Sanders’ 27-year-old record for all-purpose yards during the contest. The award will be presented in NY on Saturday, Dec. 12. Ingram is the school’s lone Heisman victor (2009). Gerhart came in second to Mark Ingram, Jr.by 28 points – the closest vote in Heisman history. The players that are invited to NY are the ones who have separated themselves from the rest of the field by collecting the most votes.
Over the past few weeks, though, Clemson has utilized Watson’s legs more with four 100-yard rushing efforts in the last five games.
Shaw is one of eight finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award.
The Heisman Trophy announced three finalists Monday.
Washington State’s Luke Falk, who hasn’t played since sustaining a concussion in the third quarter against Colorado Nov. 21, remains the passing yards leader at 387.8 yards a game, well ahead of Bowling Green’s Matt Johnson (361.5). To me that seems like both players are more of system RBs than anything else.
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“You win the Heisman in November, got to win 10 games”, Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com’s national college football reporter, said earlier this year.
