It was only a couple of weeks ago that LSU running back Leonard Fournette was considered the shoe-in favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. However, the last two weeks have completely wiped away his incredibly dominant start to the season. The Heisman outlook has been shaken up with Alabama’s star running back Derrick Henry moving up the ranks past Fournette as the favorite.
Here is a look at the best bets to win the Heisman trophy award based on the updated happenings.
Derrick Henry, Alabama Crimson Tide
Running Back
It was less than three weeks ago that Fournette was listed as the obvious betting favorite to win the Heisman trophy while Henry a 10/1 long shot. Fast-forward to this week and following a pair of absolutely dominant performances, Henry has moved past Fournette as the betting favorite. Alabama’s junior running back has rushed for 414 yards and five touchdowns over his last two games including a 210-yard, three-score performance in the Tide’s 30-16 win over LSU. Him and Fournette matched up against one another and he rolled while Fournette stumbled. Henry has averaged a ridiculous 6.1 yards per carry for 1,458 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns this season and it’s now clear at this point he is the best bet to win the Heisman.
Leonard Fournette, LSU Tigers
Running Back
As good as Henry has been for Alabama of late, Fournette has struggled equally as much for LSU as the second part in the last two weeks. Fournette has averaged under 4.0 yards per carry while being limited to 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns over the last two games. In order to put that number in perspective, consider that Fournette had not been held under 150 rushing yards in any one of LSU’s first seven games.
Nobody expected the star sophomore to maintain his incredible pace all season but they also didn’t expect his production to drop off as much as it has. With just two games left to turn things around in order to make a final push for the award, it seems like he’s fading at the wrong time.
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Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State Buckeyes
Running Back
Henry has played his best football of the season over the last two weeks and there is no reason to expect him to slow down the rest of the way. One name that has remained in the Heisman conversation all year and who could still make a late push is the junior Elliott. Ohio State’s star running back has rushed for 1,425 yards and 16 touchdowns to help the Buckeyes stay undefeated as their most consistent offensive weapon all season and he can give his Heisman stock another boost with a strong finish as the defending national champions. He’ll have a couple of national spotlight opportunities to shine against Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Michigan to close out the regular season.
Deshaun Watson, Clemson Tigers
Quarterback
Clemson remains at No. 1 in the College Football Playoff following a 37-27 win over Syracuse and with a favorable schedule that includes Wake Forest and South Carolina to close out the regular season, there isn’t much reason to expect them to drop off the rest of the way. The Tigers’ defense has shown signs of dominance this year but their best player all year has been their sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson. He remains the dark horse candidate to win this year’s Heisman at 7/1.
Watson has completed 70.1% of his passes for 2,593 yards and 23 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions and he has topped the 100-yard rushing mark in each of the last two weeks to show off his amazing ability as a dual-threat quarterback that can do it all. Watson is still considered a long shot to win the award but he is certainly in the conversation. If he can finish strong and lead Clemson to an undefeated season, then he could very well shake things up again and win this year’s Heisman trophy award.
