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Stanford’s McCaffrey Among Three Heisman Finalists

The victor will be named on Saturday, when the Heisman Trophy is presented in NY to the top vote-getter.

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The last time there was real suspense at the Heisman presentation was 2009, when Ingram received only 1 percent more of the vote than Stanford’s Toby Gerhart.

Both Henry and McCaffrey have also shattered the records of former Heisman winners.

If LSU sophomore running back Leonard Fournette is feeling a tinge sad because he wasn’t among the three players invited to NY for Saturday’s Heisman Trophy ceremony, he shouldn’t be.

Henry seems to be the front-runner in a race that tightened over championship weekend. His 1,986 yards is a SEC and program single-season record and his 23 rushing touchdowns ties Florida’ Tim Tebow and Auburn’s Tre Mason for most in conference history. He had 207 rushing yards and 105 receiving yards along with two touchdowns.

Deshaun Watson will fly to NY on Friday, but he has to finish finals first. College football fans will be holding their collective breaths Saturday night as the victor of sports’ most recognizable trophy is announced.

As we have noted in the past, the number of finalists are determined by hitting an unspecified voting threshold. And he’s deserving too, accounting for 30 passing touchdowns and 11 rushing scores. “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.

No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama will move to the College Football Playoff semifinals. His 4,399 yards of total offense was fourth-best nationally while his combined 41 touchdowns running and passing was second-best among Power 5 conferences.

PULLING RANK: If your measure of a player’s Heisman worthiness is how battle-tested they were against top competition, it’s hard to ignore the gauntlet of ranked teams that Henry faced this season.

Henry, McCaffrey and Watson have clearly separated themselves from the field for college football’s highest honor. He previously won the award in 2011 and 2012.

Henry will likely be considered the favorite after breaking Herschel Walker’s SEC single-season rushing record.

Saban said he hasnt coached “many players that actually set a better example to affect other people.”.

McCaffrey’s all-around excellence was so undeniable that Trojan players were even campaigning for him to win the Heisman after the game.

“I think he’ll look at next year a little bit differently”, Miles said. Needless to say, he is the nation’s leader in terms of all-purpose yards, but Henry is the nation’s leading rusher.

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PRO POSPECTS: Watson is locked into college for one more season as a 6-foot-2, 210 pound sophomore.

Deshaun Watson Headed to New York Can He win It