Heisman hopefuls: Week 8

Purdue’s monumental upset in Week 8 didn’t just shake up college football. The race for the Heisman Trophy temporarily lost a strong contender in Dwayne Haskins, allowing for other names to take his place on this list. While one bad game might not define a season, the margin for error to hoist the most prestigious trophy in the sport is so slight that it may prevent him or anyone else who slips from winning the award. That will be something to watch as the season builds toward its fever pitch, and the stakes are only raised.

Here are some players who improved their cases for the Heisman the most in Week 8.

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama Crimson Tide 

Tagovailoa is proving he is a force to be reckoned with, even on only one good leg. After leaving the game last week with a strained knee, the lefty’s pace toward a Heisman Trophy remains unhindered as he lit up the Tennessee Volunteers. He threw for four touchdowns to four different receivers and 306 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter following a big hit.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban said his star quarterback was good to go if the team needed him but was planning to take him out anyway. The Hawaiian native now has 27 touchdowns, no interceptions and has yet to throw a pass in the fourth quarter. It’s difficult to say there’s a runaway Heisman winner in any given year, but it looks like only an act of God will stop Tagovailoa from grabbing the award.

Travis Etienne, Clemson Tigers 

Coming off the bye week can be tough when you have to shake off the rust, but Etienne found a way to put his team in position to win. He gained only 39 yards on the ground, but he contributed three rushing scores to Clemson’s 41-7 romp of No. 16 NC State. He has piled up nine touchdowns in the last three games, setting a Clemson record with three straight games with three house calls. 

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence might be the hot name on the Tigers, but the team continues to ride the hot hands of the running back out of Louisiana.

Brett Rypien, Boise State Broncos 

The Boise State Broncos thrived under the Friday night lights, and Brett Rypien was leading the charge. The senior quarterback recovered from his three-interception game last week, completing 84.6 percent of his passes for 308 yards and four passing strikes in the end zone.

Rypien has fallen off the Heisman pace in recent weeks, but he has shown some explosive ability that could put him in right back in the thick of the action to be named the best player in college football.

Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin Badgers 

Taylor shook off a subpar performance by his standards last week to contribute to a big win against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Fellow Badgers running back Taiwan Deal might be on all the highlight reels, but it was the Salem High School (NJ) alum who churned and burned his way to 159 yards on the ground and continued to build on his resume.

The sophomore back is on pace to gain over 2,000 rushing yards for the year, which would look really good to voters in December. With weaker rushing defenses in Northwestern and Rutgers on the docket, expect Taylor to chew up more yards in the coming weeks.

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma Sooners 

TCU put up a good fight, but another great performance by Kyler Murray helped the Sooners to another victory. The junior gunslinger went 19-of-24, piling up 213 passing yards with four touchdowns, including a 37-yard dime on the run to CeeDee Lamb.

The two-sport star now has 25 passing touchdowns to put him in the top five in the country in that category. With no world-beating defenses on the schedule, Murray might have a chance to take the top spot by the end of the season.