It’s Lamar Jackson’s world and we’re all just renting space. It’s no secret that Jackson is the heavy favorite to win the Heisman but just as the No. 2, 3, and 4 teams all lost last week, mishaps do occur.
For Jackson, that could come in the form of an epic stumble the rest of the way, compounded by the rise of other contenders, and the Heisman Trophy voters being swayed into penciling another winner. That’s a mouthful. That’s also unlikely to happen altogether. But hey, in this crazy season of college football, anything can definitely happen.
Is there anything that hasn’t been said of Lamar Jackson? Jackson virtually has the Heisman Trophy in his bag and he’s probably in the process of choosing which tie and suit to wear when he accepts the award. Jackson, however, had an underwhelming performance by his standards the last time out, passing for only 145 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 153 more. He didn’t have to put up a herculean effort though, as Louisville nearly swept Wake Forest off the face of the planet with a 44-12 victory. Again, Jackson is the runaway leader so far in the Heisman race.
Let’s not pretend though as if there were no other notable names tugging on Jackson’s cape. Take for example Baker Mayfield, who became the nation’s leader in passing efficiency thanks to a magnificent performance in the Sooners’ 45-24 demolition of Baylor last Saturday. Mayfield passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns with an interception on 20 of 25 completions against Baylor’s pass defense that ranked second in Big 12. Betting a hundred bucks on Mayfield (or any other player besides Jackson) right now gives you a potential payout of $1,200.
If you’re looking for a non-QB to lay money on, you can try San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey. Pumphrey pumped out 198 rushing yards and a touchdown last week in a 46-16 road win over Nevada. That performance moves Pumphrey 221 rushing yards closer to becoming just the 27th player in FBS history to amass at least 2,000 rushing yards in a season. He’s likely to go over that mark with two games left on the Aztecs’ regular season schedule, which includes a date this Saturday with Wyoming and its defense that allows 164.7 rushing yards per game.
