Despite Four Turnovers, Grier Remains In Heisman Race

Tua Tagovailoa

At this point, the Heisman Trophy is Tua’s to lose. Tua is an extremely talented quarterback, playing on the most talented college football team. Against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback completed 10/13 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns. At this point, I’ve run out of ways to describe him. His numbers are NCAA 2008-esque played on freshman level. On the season, Tua has attempted 101 passes. There are at least 100 other quarterbacks who have attempted more. Despite that, Tua is 6th nationally in touchdown passes. He is also the highest rated passer by a mile in college football.

Season Stats: 76/101 (75.2%), 1,495 yards, 18 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 23 rushes, 122 yards, 2 TDs

Dwayne Haskins

The Ohio State quarterback had a great game that was slightly marred by some bad decisions but he still had some eye popping stats against another overmatched, inferior opponent. Haskins threw for 455 yards and 6 touchdowns, but did also throw 2 interceptions that helped keep Indiana in the game. Indiana refused to take advantage of the sloppy play of the Ohio Stay Buckeyes and squandered 3 turnovers. Haskins threw touchdowns on Ohio State’s last two possessions to help seal the game.

Season Stats: 142/198 (71.7%), 1,919 yards, 25 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 21 rushes, 43 yards, 1 touchdown

Will Grier

Grier has now had 4 very sloppy quarters of football and despite that, he continues to throw for 300+ yards and 3+ touchdowns. The West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback threw three redzone interceptions which allowed this game feel closer than it ever really was. Grier threw for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns. The most important part of this is that Grier kept the Mountaineers undefeated. Grier was never going to win the Heisman in September/October, he could just lose it by losing to a team he shouldn’t. So far he has avoided that part and keeps his name on the ballot.

Season Stats: 126/177 (71.2%), 1,819 yards, 21 touchdowns, 6 interceptions

Kyler Murray

This is a tough loss for Murray, who was brilliant in the Red River Rivalry, but the Oklahoma Sooners defense had no answer for Sam Ehlinger. As a result, the 48-45 loss by the Sooners put the future Oakland Athletic Heisman chances in doubt as the three other contenders remain undefeated. Murray saw his team fall behind 45-24 in the fourth quarter before engineering 21 points to tie the game. Murray would complete 19 of 34 passes for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns to go along with his 11 rushes for 92 yards and touchdown.

Season Stats: 96/135 (71.1%), 1,764 yards, 21 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 57 rushes, 377 yards, 5 touchdowns

Right now the Heisman would go to Tua. On the undefeated death juggernaut of Alabama, Tua provides a playmaker at quarterback that Alabama hasn’t had in the Nick Saban era. Despite the fact that Tua rarely ever has to make throws, the Tide’s offense is on a different level now. Alabama doesn’t have a real test on its schedule until maybe the SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Even then, it feels as if the Tide are unstoppable right now.

Will Grier continues to keep pace with the other players despite playing one less game. Below are Grier’s ranks in both cumulative stats and per game stats.

• Touchdown Passes - 21 (3rd)
• Touchdowns Per Game - 4.1 (2nd)
• Passing Yards - 1,819 (7th)
• Passing Yards Per Game - 363.8 (2nd)
• Passing Attempts - 177 (36th)
• Passing Attempts Per Game - 35.4 (23)
• Passing Completions - 126 (16th)
• Passing Completions Per Game - (4th)