Matt Leinart names the Heisman Trophy candidate who benefits the most from Tua Tagovailoa's injury
As he has throughout the season, former USC Trojans quarterback and current CFB on FOX analyst Matt Leinart released his top-five Heisman Trophy candidates on Thursday.
Here’s video of the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner’s top-five:
5. Jonathan Taylor
4. Justin Fields
3-1. ??@MattLeinartQB breaks down his top 5 Heisman candidates through week 8 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/A3agJr33bN— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 24, 2019
Occupying the No. 3 spot on Leinart’s list, Alabama Crimson Tide junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will miss Saturday’s game vs. Arkansas with an ankle injury.
“I think the player who benefited the most this past weekend in the Heisman race is Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts,” Leinart observed.
“Two reasons: One, you talk about opportunities and games on the schedule, and I said it last week, ‘Does he have enough of those, and can he be perfect and dominant every single week?’ Well, he was perfect – nearly perfect – he was 16-17 in that game (a 52-14 victory over West Virginia on October 19), five total touchdowns, the only incomplete pass was a drop. So those are the performances that he’s going to have to have every single week to keep pace with Joe Burrow.
“The second thing are the opportunities. Are they there? Well, if you look at this schedule, they get Iowa State in a couple of weeks that should be ranked at that time if they can win this weekend. After that, it’s Baylor, and Baylor had the big win last week against Oklahoma State, they should be 9-0 when they play Oklahoma. Talk about how big of a game that will be. Not to mention the bedlam at the end of the season and then potentially a Big 12 Championship Game.”
While Leinart spoke glowingly of Hurts, an Alabama transfer, he did not give him the No. 1 spot in his rankings; that honor belongs to LSU redshirt senior quarterback Joe Burrow.
In his second season as the starter in Baton Rouge, Burrow has thrown for 2,484 yards, 29 touchdowns and just three interceptions this year.
With five games still remaining in the regular season to add to his total, Burrow’s 29 touchdown tosses are already a program record.
Sans Tagovailoa, the No. 1 Tide (7-0) will host the Razorbacks (2-5) at 7:00PM ET on Saturday on ESPN. No. 2 LSU (7-0) draws No. 9 Auburn (6-1) in a pivotal west division showdown at 3:30PM ET as part of the SEC on CBS.