Heisman Watch: Justin Fields rises to No. 3, Chase Young still in the hunt

Don’t look now, but there are just three weekends remaining in the college football regular season. Coming down the home stretch, teams are not only trying to position themselves to make a big-time bowl game and even the College Football Playoff, but players are continuing to dominate as well, helping their teams along the way. Along with that individual dominance also comes some national recognition, as the Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious individual trophy in college football.

With just three weeks to go in the regular season, the picture is becoming much clearer on not only who will win the Heisman this year, but which three players will be invited to New York for the ceremony as well.

The Ohio State Buckeyes may have essentially had a live practice against Rutgers this weekend, but that doesn’t mean members of the scarlet and gray didn’t impress, even if it was in a short time period. In just over one half of football, Justin Fields threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns while completing 15-of-19 passes. It was the first 300-yard game of his career. That, paired with the fact that Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending hip injury, is the reason the Ohio State quarterback jumped one spot to No. 3 in ESPN’s latest Heisman Watch.

Notable: Fields, who has put up video game-esque numbers all season, finally gets a chance to be taken more seriously in the race with Ohio State’s game against Penn State on Saturday. For now, though, he continues to beat up on the Big Ten’s bottom feeders, with Rutgers the most recent team to fall. Against the Scarlet Knights, Fields threw four TD passes and a career-high 305 yards.

Quotable: “Game by game, whatever the stats are, that’s what it is,” Fields said. “I’m just glad we got the W.”

Although he has not played the last two weeks, Chase Young will make his return from his two-game suspension on Saturday against Penn State. Defensive players winning the Heisman is tough enough, doing so while missing two games is damn near impossible. With that said, if anyone can do it, it’s the best defensive end and arguably the most dominant player in all of college football.

Even after missing the last two games, Young is still listed in the Heisman Watch, coming in at No. 5.

Notable: Young sat out the second game of his two-game suspension last Saturday. He still has 29 tackles, 13.5 sacks and five forced fumbles this season.

Quotable: “Excited to be back on the field next week! Thank you Buckeye Nation for all the love and support. I’m blessed to be a part of this team, this university, and this community. Lots of love to my family. God Bless and Go Bucks!” — Young on Twitter

Having two of the top-five players in the Heisman Watch is impressive. It proves just how dominant Ohio State has been all season. Fields and Young, along with the rest of the Buckeyes, having a huge test this weekend against No. 8 Penn State. They can either prove that they are the real deal or fold under pressure. I expect the former to take place.

Finally, we might just see the entire first-team offense and defense play all four quarters. If that happens, it might mean that it’s a close game, but it will also help the Heisman odds of the Buckeyes players that are fighting to win it. It’s a win-win for all.

Heisman Watch:

1. QB Joe Burrow, LSU (50 points, 10 first-place votes): 268-of-341, 3,687 yards, 38 touchdowns, six interceptions; 75 carries, 215 yards, three touchdowns
2. QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma (32, zero): 181-of-248, 3,039 yards, 28 touchdowns, five interceptions; 152 carries, 983 yards, 15 touchdowns
3. QB Justin Fields, Ohio State (25, zero): 159-of-230, 2,164 yards, 31 touchdowns, one interception; 84 carries, 377 yards, 10 touchdowns
4. RB Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State (13, zero): 259 carries, 1,726 yards, 20 touchdowns; 11 catches, 82 yards
5. DE Chase Young, Ohio State (nine, zero): 29 tackles, 13.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, 15 tackles for loss, one pass defended
6. QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama (six, zero): 180-of-252, 2,840 yards, 33 touchdowns, three interceptions; 23 carries, 17 yards, two touchdowns
7. RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (six, zero): 233 carries, 1,463 yards, 17 touchdowns; 20 catches, 162 yards, four touchdowns
8. QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (five, zero): 190-of-279, 2,575 yards, 27 touchdowns, eight interceptions; 63 carries, 317 yards, seven touchdowns
9. QB Justin Herbert, Oregon (four, zero): 220-of-316, 2,662 yards, 28 touchdowns, three interceptions

Bovada‘s top Heisman odds:

1. Joe Burrow: 1-to-12
2. Justin Fields: 6-to-1
3. Jalen Hurts: 11-to-1
4. Jonathan Taylor: 75-to-1
5. Trevor Lawrence: 100-to-1

Some key things to notice in the odds:

• Well, according to Bovada, there are just five players still in the running to win the 2019 Heisman Trophy, with Burrow as the clear favorite and Fields and Hurts having a huge lead over the fourth- and fifth-best odds.
• Chase Young is no longer listed (obviously).
• Due to the season-ending hip injury that he suffered on Saturday, Tua is also no longer in the running.
• Burrow deserves to win the award, but given the fact that Fields hasn’t played in many second halves this season due to Ohio State’s dominance, he deserves to be in the second spot, much like the odds are.