The college football landscape was hit with a major earthquake last week with five of the top eight teams suffering their first loss of the season—each in upset fashion. The Heisman race also saw a major shakeup in the process.
Heisman Trophy campaigns are fed in September when star players feast on less-than-impressive non-conference competition, but true contenders often start to shine down-the-stretch in conference play in October and November. That was the case for the last three winners—Jameis Winston, Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin III.
Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson moves up to fifth in our latest Heisman rankings.
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Photo Credit: notredame.247sports.com
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Despite mediocre numbers (20-of-43 for 241 yards with an interception and a fumble), the Irish’s redshirt junior got the job done in a hard-fought win over Stanford and kept their national championship aspirations alive when five of the eight teams ranked in front of them fell to upsets.
It’s also worth noting that unlike some of the other Heisman contenders (like Texas A&M’s Kenny Hill), Golson was particularly efficient downfield, connecting on 65 percent of his throws from at least 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, including the game-winning 23-yard touchdown pass to Ben Koyack.
His 15-1 record as a starting quarterback (93.8) is also the best in school history. And for the first time since 1943, the Irish scored at least 30 points in each of their first four games of the season under Golson’s guidance.
Do you disagree with Golson’s spot on our list? Sound off in the comments!
Check out a series of interesting videos below related to Golson and the Fighting Irish.
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