Let’s check in on the Heisman candidates, with odds updated to reflect Thursday night’s games (aka Oregon’s big loss and Baylor’s big win).
Heisman watch 2013: Jameis Winston beginning to run away with it
It looks like a freshman may win the Heisman for the second straight year.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Rising:
Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
Odds last week: 6/5
Odds Friday: 1/5
The freshman sensation continues to light it up for the Seminoles, and even though he had his worst game of the season (by a pretty wide margin) against Wake Forest, Winston is easily the favorite for the award. He completed 17-of-28 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns in Florida State’s 59-3 win, and now has 26 touchdowns on the season.
Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
Odds last week: 15/1
Odds Friday: 3/1
The reigning winner. There’s one main thing holding Johnny Football back: Texas A&M has lost twice, thanks in large part to one of the SEC’s worst defenses. Manziel has 39 total touchdowns this season (most in the country), and threw for five touchdowns in the Aggies’ win over Mississippi State this weekend. FOX’s Heisman Watch snubbed Manziel Saturday night, but Good Bull Hunting corrected the mistake, and took a longer look at Manziel’s Heisman chances this year.
Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor
Odds last week: 28/1
Odds Friday: 8/1
Petty may have the most impressive statistics of any Heisman contender, and certainly improved his stock with a Thursday night win over Oklahoma. Petty has thrown 21 touchdowns against just one interception (Winston has seven and Manziel has 11), averaging 13.2 yards per attempt and scoring eight touchdowns on the ground. Baylor’s offense wasn’t remotely as explosive as usual against Oklahoma, but Petty still managed to throw for three touchdowns and run for two more in the 41-12 win.
AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama
Odds last week: 16/1
Odds Friday: 10/1
Those Friday odds obviously do not reflect Alabama’s big win over LSU and McCarron’s impressive performance against the Tigers. The senior completed 14-of-20 passes (70 percent, just slightly above his season average) with three touchdowns and no interceptions. McCarron’s stats pale in comparison to the other Heisman contenders, but he helms the No. 1 team in the country, and is one of the most successful quarterbacks in college football history.
Falling:
Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
Odds last week: 2/3
Odds Friday: 20/1
As the season draws to a close and the Heisman field gets smaller, one bad game will knock you out of the race. Such is the case for Mariota, who had a wonderful start to the season (and has a still-perfect touchdown-to-interception ratio of 22:0) but was unable to find his game against the Stanford Cardinal, completing 20-of-34 passes for 250 yards and two scores in the 26-20 loss. The main difference between Manziel and Mariota? Johnny Football had the awareness to make sure his losses happened in the early season.
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