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NCAA Football

Heisman Trophy Picks: Week 13 – 2014/15 NCAA Football Candidate Tracker

NCAA Football Heisman Predictions

This past week has seen one major mover up the Heisman leaderboard in my mind, thanks to an otherworldly performance. The rest of the gang mostly held steady, with a loss for one elite QB possibly tarnishing his candidacy.

2014-15 Heisman Trophy Favorites

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Let’s look at the top candidates for this year’s Heisman Trophy in Week 13.

Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin

Gordon shoots to the top of the list thanks to an historic performance this past weekend against Nebraska. The game – against two of the Big Ten’s elite teams, no less (whatever that means these days in the diluted conference) – was billed as a showdown between the games two best RBs, Gordon and Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah.

Gordon mopped the floor with him. The Wisconsin junior set an FBS single-game record with 408 yards rushing. He broke a record set by TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson (we all know what career “LT” went on to have) in 1999.

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The do-everything back now has 1,909 yards rushing and 23 TDs on the campaign, almost ensuring that he’ll touch 2,000 and 25 TDs on the season. A stupefying statistical season like this deserves to be recognized, and it’s not like Wisconsin is bad, either – the 8-2 Badgers are ranked #16 in the AP Top 25.

Crown him.

Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon

Mariota has held steady for weeks now, and it’s because he’s truly one of the best players in college football. Another 343 total yards and four total scores against Utah last week further fuels a season that’s seen the junior rack up 2,780 pass yards and a crazy 29-2 TD/INT ratio to go with 524 rush yards and eight majors.

Crucially, Oregon is also an elite ballclub. The 9-1 Ducks are ranked #2 in the nation and, barring something strange happening, should get a spot in the FBS Championship Playoff. They would probably be nowhere without Mariota, and the Heisman committee loves giving the hardware to the QB of the best team.

Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama

‘Bama’s huge 25-20 victory against top-ranked Mississippi State last week has Cooper back on the map. The Crimson Tide had their loss to Ole Miss, and I thought Cooper was scuppered when he had a couple of drops in a narrow victory at LSU, but both the junior WR and the Tide have showed that they aren’t going anywhere.

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Cooper has amassed 87 receptions for 1,303 yards and 11 TDs. He combines enough size (6″1, 210 lbs) with next-level explosiveness and great hands. It’s only a matter of time until he’s a star on Sundays, but we’ll see if he can earn the nod over Gordon or Mariota.

Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU

The junior Dallas native has been at the helm for Texas Christian’s video game-like offense; 3,021 passing yards and 24-5 TD/INT is evidence of that. TCU is also in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 Conference, with its 9-1 record and huge wins over Oklahoma and Kansas State.

Boykin and the Horned Frogs have Texas up next – a game that for years a NCAA fan would assume would go the Longhorns’ way. How the balance of power can shift quickly – the Frogs are scrapping for a playoff spot and UT is 6-5.

With a strong finish to the season in the last two games (Texas, Iowa State) Boykin will surely have a valid case.

Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State

Prescott has been the lovely storyline in college football this year, but last weekend shows that Cinderella stories seldom have happy endings.

The logic-defying MSU Bulldogs finally lost a game to Alabama last Saturday. Mississippi State could still get a spot in the playoff (it is currently in the fourth and final vacancy) and its season is still historic, but the loss took some of the lustre off Prescott’s bag-it-and-tag-it Heisman case.

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The stocky junior has 2,521 pass yards on the year and has thrown twice as many TDs as picks and his 861 yards and 11 TDs are impressive, but he looked rattled by the vaunted Alabama defense for the first time this season.

DARKHORSE: J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State

Barrett and the Buckeyes had that one disappointing loss to Virginia Tech much earlier in the season. Since then, Ohio State has been awesome. It’s been primarily thanks to the freshman Texas native.

Without Ohio State finding some way to squeak into the playoff picture, I don’t see Barrett’s candidacy making enough noise to rocket him up the leaderboard. If Michigan were still a top-10 team like years past, it might make the difference. But the Big Ten is a wasteland, and unfortunately Barrett and the Buckeyes are suffering for it.

Check out our Updated College Football Week 13 Odds.

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By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!