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Heisman hopefuls: The finale
Brett Deering/Getty Images

Heisman hopefuls: The finale

No more numbers, no more chances — the Heisman Trophy is going home with someone on Saturday. Since August, thousands of college football players have statistically jostled for the right to be named the best player in the country. Now there are only a trio of quarterbacks left who may hoist the most coveted individual trophy in the sport.

All three of these golden-armed passers have powered their teams to an elite level. Each has a unique case for the trophy, whether it's utter dominance in less than four quarters or eye-popping passing numbers that carry an entire team.

Here are the cases to be made for the three Heisman Trophy finalists:

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama Crimson Tide Forget the numbers. Who was the best player powering the best team in the country? It was the southpaw signal-caller.

Tagovailoa was one of the most dominant offensive forces in college football, and it usually took him only three quarters to send his opponent packing. He played a fourth-quarter snap in only one game and still piled up 3,353 passing yards with 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions in 13 games. Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins might have gaudier numbers, but the Hawaiian native faced five top-25 defenses and still ended up second in the nation in passing yards per attempt and passing efficiency rating.

Many are saying Tagovailoa lost the Heisman following his poor performance at the SEC Championship, but bombing an entire season of dominance for the star of the top team in the sport wouldn’t be fair. He proved he was the best college football player most of the season, and he deserves to be honored with the trophy on Saturday.

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma Sooners Part of being a Heisman Trophy winner is putting up numbers, but it’s also about the value you bring to the team. The Sooners would be nothing without Murray.
Oklahoma gave up 36.4 points per game, good for 96th in the country heading into bowl season. Good thing Murray dons his cape every Saturday. The Oakland Athletics draft pick is making the most of his time in football, amassing 4,053 passing yards with 40 touchdowns through the air. Through 13 weeks, he finished with the highest passing efficiency rating in the country. But that’s only half of the story.

Murray flexed his dynamic skill set often, gaining nearly 900 yards for the season and finding the end zone 11 times. His 51 total touchdowns are tied for the most in the nation, and the Sooners needed every one of those to finish the season with only one loss and a Big 12 Championship.

Alabama made it to a National Championship Game with Tagovailoa riding the bench for most of the 2017 season. So the team obviously found success with and without him. But Murray is the alpha and omega of Oklahoma, and that’s why he should be getting the Heisman.

Dwayne Haskins, Jr., Ohio State Buckeyes It must be nice facing the Swiss cheese defenses like Murray has done all year. It’s easy to put up numbers when there are nothing but matadors on the other side. But Haskins faced superior teams and still has the stats to win the Heisman.

The sophomore quarterback lit up Northwestern in the Big 10 Championship game, throwing for nearly 500 yards and five touchdowns. Not only did he secure the conference title, but he also may have won the Heisman.

Haskins finished the year with an NCAA-high 4,580 passing yards and is tied at the top with Murray for the most total touchdowns in the sport. While their numbers are similar, the scarlet-and-gray signal-caller has the advantage because of the competition he faced. The man rewriting the record book at Ohio State faced three top-25 defenses, while the Sooners quarterback faced only one.

The Buckeyes may not be in the College Football Playoff, but Haskins should be walking out with the hardware on Saturday.

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