John Raoux/Associated Press

Heisman Watch 2020: Ranking Top Favorites in the Race Ahead of Week 15

Joe Tansey

The two apparent Heisman Trophy favorites have one more regular-season game in which to bolster their resumes before they go head-to-head in the SEC Championship Game.

Florida Gators quarterback Kyle Trask and Alabama Crimson Tide signal-caller Mac Jones should pad their respective stat totals against two of the weaker sides in the SEC on Saturday.

Trask gets to face a LSU Tigers defense that was torched by Jones and his teammates in Week 14. The Crimson Tide take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, who were involved in a 98-point shootout last time out.

Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be watching from home Saturday as he prepares for the ACC Championship Game.

The only other Heisman contender is Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith, but even though he has had a spectacular season, it has been hard for non-quarterbacks to capture the Heisman recently.

In the past decade, only one player who did not play quarterback was awarded the Heisman: Alabama running back Derrick Henry in 2015.

1. Kyle Trask, QB, Florida

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Trask could put up his best numbers of the season against LSU's putrid passing defense.

LSU's secondary was torched by the Jones-Smith combination a week ago, as Alabama racked up 385 of its 650 total yards through the air.

Since the Gators do not have a dominant run game, like Alabama, they could rely more on Trask and tight end Kyle Pitts to produce a high number of points against the reigning national champion.

In the past four games, Trask has been on a tear against unranked SEC teams. He lit up the Tennessee Volunteers for 433 yards and four touchdowns in Week 14. In three of his past four contests, he eclipsed the 300-yard mark, recording 16 passing touchdowns in that stretch.

If that run continues, Trask should eclipse 40 passing scores for the season and inch closer to the 4,000-yard threshold. He enters Week 15 with 3,243 passing yards and 38 touchdowns.

If Trask plays at that high of a level against Alabama, he could secure the Heisman with a win or loss, but a victory in the SEC Championship Game should lock up the most prestigious individual honor in college football.

2. Mac Jones, QB, Alabama

Matthew Hinton/Associated Press

In the past two weeks, Jones has made a strong push to prise the Heisman from Trask at the SEC Championship Game.

The Alabama quarterback turned in back-to-back 300-yard performances and produced nine passing touchdowns in wins over LSU and the Auburn Tigers.

At one point this season, Arkansas could have been viewed as a potential dark horse to upset the top team in the country. But during their ongoing three-game losing streak, the Razorbacks have conceded 140 points, including 63 in a loss to Florida on November 14. Arkansas allowed 157 points in its first six contests.

If Jones torches the Arkansas secondary through Smith and his other talented receivers, he could produce similar totals as Trask had against the SEC West side. Trask threw for 356 yards and six scores in a matchup in which he did not have Pitts available because of an injury.

Since Jones has his best target in the lineup, the damage could be worse to the Arkansas defense, and it could give him the extra jolt of confidence needed ahead of the SEC Championship Game.

3. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

Ken Ruinard/Associated Press

The ACC's schedule realignment helped Clemson and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish get closer to the College Football Playoff, but it may have hampered Lawrence's Heisman campaign.

The conference announced before Week 14 that Clemson and Notre Dame would be off in Week 15 to make sure its three best teams played the same number of games to maintain competitive integrity.

While Clemson and Notre Dame avoided any potential upsets this week, Lawrence does not have a chance to pad his resume that Trask and Jones do.

Lawrence was already at a disadvantage because he missed two games because of a positive COVID-19 test and Clemson's meeting with the Florida State Seminoles was cancelled. He did the best he could to make up ground in the past two weeks, with five total touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Panthers and Virginia Tech Hokies.

The Clemson junior still has a chance to earn first-place votes if he blows out Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game and the SEC Championship Game becomes a defensive struggle. In that scenario, Lawrence would have the best championship game numbers and could make the case that he played the best in a meaningful contest.

But even then, Lawrence would not have the overall passing numbers to be better than Trask. He has 2,431 passing yards and 20 touchdowns from eight starts.

                 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.

   

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