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There are only three weeks left on the schedule, but the SEC is further out of the Heisman Trophy race than ever.

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley has been held under 100 yards rushing in four of his last five games. Stanford running back Bryce Love sat out a nationally televised Thursday night tilt two weeks ago due to a minor injury.

Even with some of the leading contenders for the Heisman stumbling a bit down the stretch, the SEC still doesn’t have a legitimate candidate at this point. In ESPN’s latest Heisman Watch — a poll of 12 experts done each week — Georgia running back Nick Chubb is tied for ninth with a single fifth-place vote. That’s it.

Considering what he did to Oklahoma State last Saturday, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield seems to be the frontrunner.

The senior signal caller for the Sooners completed 24-of-36 passes for 598 yards with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in a 62-52 shootout victory on the road over the Cowboys. He also accounted for a sixth TD as a rusher.

The Heisman might be Mayfield’s to lose, as he’s the No. 1 passer in the land with an efficiency rating of 201.6 — according to Sports Reference, that would be the highest figure in the history of college football dating back to at least 1956. The previous mark of 196.4 was set just last season by, you guessed it, Mayfield.

Because he finished fourth in the Heisman voting in 2015 and then third in 2016, Mayfield could finally walk off with the hardware.

That being said, there’s some Mayfield fatigue among voters. He’s been terrific, no question about it, but he’s essentially the same player we’ve seen for three seasons. His TD-to-INT ratio of 28-to-5 is similar to last year’s 40-to-8 and the year before’s 36-to-7.

Additionally, the Big 12 has a dubious reputation — and rightfully so — for being glorified flag football. Defense looks to be optional for some of these programs. Mayfield has played only one team in 2017 (Ohio State) ranked inside the Top 40 for total defense. Four are 102nd or worse. The average ranking for his nine foes is 80th.

Mayfield has played only one team in 2017 (Ohio State) ranked inside the Top 40 for total defense.

Mayfield still has TCU, Kansas and West Virginia left. While the Horned Frogs are now No. 6, the Jayhawks and Mountaineers are 115th and 112th, respectively.

Ohio State running back Archie Griffin is the lone two-time winner of the Heisman, doing so in 1974-75. Even if Mayfield has never won before, voters know who he is and what he can do. There’s nothing new to his game this time around.

It’s natural to search for the next great thing, which partially explains why Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was the Heisman winner a season ago. Not only was he a pinpoint passer — much more gifted than some still realize — but he was arguably the most electrifying running QB since Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick a decade and a half earlier.

Jackson (below) started stronger than he finished, but he was so good in September and October that November almost didn’t matter.

Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

And who finished a distant second and third behind Jackson? Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and, as mentioned previously, Mayfield. Both Watson and Mayfield were sensational in 2015, too. Still, neither was a shiny new toy like Jackson in 2016.

Even Jackson is being somewhat ignored this season — he’s presently sixth on the aforementioned Heisman Watch at ESPN. Statistically, he’s been nearly identical. In 2016, he had a rating of 148.8 and a ratio of 30-to-9. In 2017, it’s 147.3 and 18-to-6. In 2016, he averaged 120.8 yards per game rushing and 6 yards per carry. In 2017, it’s 114.3 and 6.3.

If the SEC has any chance of getting back into the mix, then Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts has to not only keep his team undefeated, but he must start filling up the box score more liberally with both his arm and legs.

What’s the difference? We expect this. Jackson may still be the premier player in America, but this is Short Attention Span Theater.

Proving my point, Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate is up to fourth in the latest ESPN poll. Not even the starter in September, he’s done a Jackson impression since the calendar flipped to October with five straight games of 146 yards rushing or more.

He’s nowhere near the passer that Jackson is, though. Only once has he been asked to throw more than 17 passes, plus he was intercepted four times — including twice in a loss to USC the last time we saw him — in his last three outings. Tate has 5 INTs this year on 98 attempts. Jackson has more than three times as many attempts through the air (326) but just one more pick (6).

Mayfield swept all 12 first-place votes on the ESPN panel, but he’s yet to run away and hide. The door is far from shut.

If the SEC has any chance of getting back into the mix, then Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts has to not only keep his team undefeated, but he must start filling up the box score more liberally with both his arm and legs.

Because the Crimson Tide have blown out most of their opponents this year, Hurts hasn’t needed to make a lot of game-changing plays in the fourth quarter. There’s no doubt that he was the difference in the win over LSU in Week 10 — the Bayou Bengals put together a spirited effort defensively — but he still only had 227 yards of total offense.

With Mississippi State next in Week 11 and then Auburn in the Iron Bowl come Week 13, the stage is set for Hurts to steal the Heisman.

Believe it or not, but not every voter across the country sits down and watches four full quarters of ‘Bama football Saturday after Saturday. With 1,406 yards passing and 616 more rushing in nine games, Hurts doesn’t have the numbers.

But the field general for an unbeaten team ranked No. 1 in the polls — the Tide have very good odds of writing that script once it’s all said and done — tends to get some consideration. Maybe Barkley and Love will continue to fade. Perhaps Mayfield gets trampled by TCU. Chaos at the top can certainly work in Hurts’s favor.

While winning may prove to be too steep of a hill to climb, Hurts can at least earn himself an invite to New York for the ceremony.