Heisman Trophy rankings: 3 favorites plus 6 long shots as College Football Playoff nears

Another week of college football action has moved us one week closer to the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Let’s take a look at how SB Nation ranks the contenders after Week 12, along with how the candidates moved in relation to where they stood last week.

The task ahead for Fernando Mendoza when it comes to the Heisman race?

Approach each game like David Simms in Tin Cup. Fairways and greens.

Mendoza turned in another efficient performance in Indiana’s 31-7 over Wisconsin, completing 22-of-24 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns. The win saw the Hoosiers reach the 11-0 mark for the first time in school history, and with only 2-9 Purdue left on their schedule, 12-0 is certainly in play.

That game moved Mendoza into true favorite status at a number of betting outlets. ESPN Bet now has him listed at -125, while FanDuel has him at +100.

What’s left for Mendoza when it comes to the Heisman? Play it safe. Do no harm. Barring a meltdown against Purdue or in a Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State, Mendoza is in great shape in the Heisman race.

Carnell Tate was sidelined for the second consecutive game, and Jeremiah Smith was limited against UCLA, but quarterback Julian Sayin kept the Buckeyes on track for a date with Indiana in a 48-10 win over the Bruins. Sayin connected on 22-of-31 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown, and he’ll have a big stage in two weeks when the Buckeyes take on Michigan in the Big House. A command performance in that game, coupled with a win over Indiana the following week, is his path to the hardware.

Where you rank Marcel Reed in the Heisman Trophy chase this week likely depends on whether you are a “glass half-full” person, or a “glass half-empty” person.

Or which half against South Carolina you watched.

Was it the first half, where Reed threw a pair of interceptions as the Aggies trailed 30-3 at the break? Or the second, where the Texas A&M passer threw three touchdowns as the Aggies stormed back for a 31-30 win?

Voters have a few weeks to sort out their answers to that question, but for now Reed slides back a spot.

Vanderbilt was on a bye week this past weekend, but results around the college football world see Diego Pavia slide up a spot. He has been essential to the team’s success this year — Pavia has accounted for 54.9% of Vanderbilt’s total touchdowns and 40.9% of its total yardage —and with a trip to Knoxville looming, the stage is there for him to have a Heisman moment of his own.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson put himself into the Heisman Trophy mix as the Crimson Tide ran through a tough stretch of their schedule, including a win over Georgia in Athens. But Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma not only put a dent in Alabama’s record, but also his Heisman campaign. He threw just his second interception of the season in the loss but it was costly, as the Pick-Six staked the Sooners to an early 10-0 lead.

Simpson will have a chance to win votes back starting with the Iron Bowl after Thanksgiving. But with a spot in the SEC Championship Game now a question mark, his hopes of a Heisman have taken a big hit.

Georgia is moving up in the rankings, and that opens the door for Gunner Stockton to make his debut in these rankings. Stockton accounted for five touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 35-10 win over Texas, and he will get at least one more showcase game on Thanksgiving weekend when Georgia takes on Haynes King and Georgia Tech.

What could hurt him is if Georgia misses out on the SEC Championship Game due to tiebreakers, denying him another big stage on the final week of voting. Saturday’s game against Texas was Georgia’s last SEC contest, and they can only secure a spot in the title game if Alabama loses to Auburn, or Texas A&M loses to Texas. There is also a complex, three-way tie scenario where Georgia can get in over Ole Miss and Alabama, for more on that scenario you can read this breakdown.

The lore continues to grow around Jacob Rodriguez.

As we outlined last week, a linebacker has never won the Heisman Trophy, nor has a pure defensive player.

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire tried to erase that blemish on Jacob Rodriguez’s Heisman resume last week, putting Rodriguez under center for a quarterback sneak. The result? A two-yard touchdown for the former walk-on quarterback in the Red Raiders’ 48-9 win over UCF.

Rodriguez added another nine tackles, and a critical interception, in the win.

As well as a Heisman pose in celebration after that touchdown.

Things remained steady for Notre Dame and Jeremiyah Love last Saturday, as the Fighting Irish knocked off Pittsburgh to improve to 8-2 on the season. Love set the tone early with a 56-yard touchdown run to open the scoring, and finished the day with 147 yards on the ground and another 20 receiving.

As we outlined last week, Notre Dame finishes their season with Syracuse and then Stanford, and the Irish will be home watching the games along with the rest of us on Conference Championship Weekend. Love’s opportunities to impress voters are running short, but two big games could earn him an invitation to New York.

Haynes King completed 26-of-34 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown, while adding another 53 yards on the ground, as Georgia Tech improved to 9-1 last week.

However, they needed a last-second field goal (as well as 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter) to come back against one-win Boston College.

His Heisman hopes are slipping, but a massive game against Georgia after Thanksgiving could vault him back into contention.