Week 8 Heisman Watch: No Movement

Welcome to another week of our Heisman watch list, with five weeks of the regular season to go. The top candidate, Bijan Robinson, and his team Texas were on a bye this week, but he remains the man to beat. Let’s dive into who is chasing him and how they performed.

1. Bijan Robinson, Texas

Bye week, next week will be a big test at Baylor. The Heisman race gets really serious now.

2. Matt Corral, Ole Miss

In an important test against LSU, Corral led Ole Miss to 31 unanswered points, including scoring on four consecutive drives. The Rebels quarterback ran for a three-yard score and found Casey Kelly for a 2-yard touchdown pass. Overall on the day, the sophomore was 18-of-23 passing for 185 yards. He now has 15 touchdown passes to just one ill-advised interception and nine rushing scores. Up next, Corral and the Rebels face off against Bo Nix and Auburn, who are coming off a bye week following their big win over Arkansas last week.

Matt Corral: big DIY guy. pic.twitter.com/5W37aP3ZqO

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 23, 2021

3. Bryce Young, Alabama

It was another dominant week for the Crimson Tide quarterback, as he and the offense ran the score up in the fourth quarter against Tennesse. In the 52-24 win, Young passed for 371 yards and two touchdowns on 31-of-43 passing, while he also ran for two more scores. The Tide scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to turn a close battle into a blowout. After a bye week, Young and Alabama play LSU at home before a cakewalk of a game against New Mexico State and a tougher one against Arkansas. Young’s best chance to prove his Heisman candidacy is their season finale against Auburn on the road.

The first player with 350+ passing yards and 2 rush TD in a game in @AlabamaFTBL history:@_bryce_young 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/hSGElhlTh5

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 24, 2021

4. Jerome Ford, Cincinnati

It was another dominant rushing day for the junior running back. Ford once again found the endzone in which he has done at least once six of the seven Bearcats games. In this game against Navy, he rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries, which is an average of six yards a carry. The Florida native has now averaged 6.8 yards a carry on the season and is one yard short of 800. The biggest test coming up for Ford and Cincinnati is SMU in the second to last week of the regular season.

Jerome Ford making it look too easy 😤 pic.twitter.com/oM5G9T6yQk

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 23, 2021

5. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh

Pickett lit it up once again as he threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns in Pitt’s 27-17 win over Clemson. The senior has thrown for at least two touchdowns every week, which he has done four times. In the other three games, he threw for four, five, and six touchdowns, respectively. With his performance on Saturday, Pickett eclipsed the 2,000 yards passing on the season, now at 2,236 air yards.