Quick, name the player that is the clear favorite for the Heisman Trophy this season?
Still waiting…..
OK, seriously, give up guessing already because through three weeks of the college football season we haven't seen anyone break out ahead of the pack in the race for the Heisman Trophy.
Well, then let us suggest one name people probably didn't have on their radar to start the season and now should—Wisconsin's very own Melvin Gordon.
It's not nearly as far-fetched as you would think either considering the last three winners all came out of nowhere to win the most prestigious individual trophy given out in the college football world.
Cam Newton in 2010, RGIII in 2011, and Johnny Football in 2012—all three weren't on the conference player of the year radar, let alone the best player in the nation radar when they went on to win the Heisman Trophy.
So, we submit the name of Melvin Gordon for serious consideration in 2013.
After three weeks is there a better running back in college football, let alone the Big Ten? The numbers certainly suggest he is the best of the bunch to start this season off.
Gordon is 2nd in the nation with 477 yards on the ground with 4 touchdowns already to his name. Even more impressively, the Badger back has done it on just 37 carries. That's 8 fewer carries than teammate James White and he's got 180 more yards on the season than the senior Badger back.
Nationally, Gordon's 37 carries are 14 fewer than the next closest amount inside the Top 10 rushers.
As if those numbers weren't impressive enough, Gordon is averaging a crazy 12.9 yards a carry, which is the best average of anyone in the country with more than 20 carries on the season so far. In fact, Gordon is the only running back in the country with an average in double figures with more than 20 carries to their name so far this year.
He's also just one of three people period (the others being BYU QB Taysom Hill and Utah QB Travis Wilson) to average double figures with over 20 carries.
Those are incredible numbers, but there's more. He's also averaging 10 yards a carry for his career and has rushed for a 50 yard or longer TD in each game so far this season.
193 yards, Gordon's season high so far, also just so happened to come against the vaunted ASU defense this past weekend too.
As for his career? Gordon, who's rushed the ball 119 times as a Badger has SEVEN rushes for 45 yards or longer. He also added 37 yard TD run this season as well.
Simply put, he's the most explosive running back the Badgers have ever seen and the most explosive running back in college football in 2013. It's not even close.
Now, of course it is early in the season and we have a long way to go, but as we stand here after three weeks complete, it is hard to argue that Gordon's performances haven't been Heismanesque.
Could Gordon be the third Badger back to win the prestigious honor? The start to his 2013 season suggests that certainly could be a possibility, especially if the numbers he is putting up now continue for a few more weeks at a minimum.
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