2015 Heisman Watch: Week 4

The 2015 college football season is in full swing. Throughout the season, we will look at the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. Thus far, the favorites (Leonard Fournette, Nick Chubb, and Trevone Boykin) have had nothing but success.

However, as conference schedules heat up the best will separate themselves from the others as they face tougher opponents. Here is a look at our top 5 favorite college players, through three weeks, to win the coveted Heisman Trophy.

5. Paul Perkins / #9 UCLA / RB – Paul Perkins has burst on the scene, in my mind. Through the Bruins’ first three games, Perkins has rushed for 429 yards (7.4 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns. He has also been a small threat catching the ball out of the backfield with seven receptions for 82 yards on the season. His best game was last weekend against 19th-ranked BYU. Perkins put the team on his back and rushed for 216 yards in 26 attempts while adding one touchdown. Perkins and the Bruins will have another tough matchup this week when they face 16th-ranked Arizona.

4. Jared Goff / Cal / QB – Goff’s Heisman chances have been hampered by the weak early season schedule (Grambling State, San Diego State) and struggling against a Texas team that they should have handled. Instead, Goff and his team scored one of the luckiest victories last week when the Longhorns missed an extra point to tie the game at 45 with less than a minute remaining in the game. Goff completed 27-of-37 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns against the Longhorn defense but the way the Bears won that game will hurt Goff’s Heisman chances. On the season, Goff has completed an amazing 73.1 percent of his passes for 1,132 yards, nine touchdowns and only two interceptions. The Cal Bears will begin their Pac-12 schedule this week when they travel to Washington.

3. Trevone Boykin / #4 TCU / QB – Boykin finished fourth in the Heisman voting as a junior in 2014. He has done nothing but meet and raise expectations during the young 2015 season despite playing the par-for-the-course easy early season schedule. Boykin was responsible for six touchdowns in the Horned Frogs’ last game against Southern Methodist. Boykin threw for five touchdowns (21-30, 454 yards, 1 interception) and rushed for 1 (11 rushing attempts, 50 yards). Overall, Boykin has completed 65.7 percent of passes for a total of 985 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Boykin has continued to prove he is a threat with his feet by running 32 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns. At this point, TCU does not play a ranked opponent until November 7. TCU’s weak schedule could really impact Boykin’s chances at the Heisman until their Big 12 schedule heats up at the end of the season with games against Oklahoma and Baylor in back to back weeks.

2. Nick Chubb / #7 Georgia / RB — Chubb has continued to impress after a stellar freshmen year at Georgia. Chubb has averaged a stellar 8.4 yards per rushing attempt on the season for a total of 468 yards. In the Bulldogs dominant defeat of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Chubb rushed 21 times for 159 yards. He hasn’t had much of a challenge as far as opposing defenses (UL Monroe, Vanderbilt, South Carolina) and will be able to pad his stats for one more game until the Southeastern Conference’s schedule heats up. Following this week’s game against Southern, Chubb and the Bulldogs will face an Alabama team that is bent on proving themselves and traveling to Tennessee to face the Volunteers.

1. Leonard Fournette / #8 LSU / RB – Fournette was one of the top recruits coming out of high school and he hasn’t disappointed. In fact, he has impressed many talent evaluators. Mike Farrell, the National Recruiting Director for Rivals, has recently stated the Fournette is NFL ready. He might be right. Fournette has rushed for 387 yards and six touchdowns in only two games. Those two games were against #25 Mississippi State and #18 Auburn. Granted, both teams have looked a lot worse than expected but Fournette has dominated. In the 45-21 drubbing of Auburn, Fournette rushed for 228 yards and only 19 attempts which calculates to a 12 yards per rush average. He also included three touchdowns and a highlight run. Fournette and the LSU Tigers will travel to Syracuse and face a 3-0 team that is hell bent on proving that they are the real deal. Fournette is the favorite to win the Heisman, as a sophomore, and I do not see this changing as we continue through the 2015 college football season.