TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Dalvin Cook did not mince words when asked where he feels he should stand in the Heisman Trophy race. The Florida State sophomore thinks he should win it.

"I feel like I'm one of the great running backs in collegiate football," Cook said.

Those comments came Saturday after Cook's latest 100-yard performance, his sixth in nine games this season. For the year, he's rushed 170 times for 1,369 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding another 202 yards and a score as a receiver.

Cook was sixth on ESPN.com's latest Heisman Watch, garnering only one third-place, fourth-place and two fifth-place votes and was soundly trailing the six players in front of him. Alabama's Derrick Henry received all 10 first-place votes.

A loss two weeks ago to No. 1 Clemson -- a game in which Cook rushed for 194 yards and a 75-yard score -- might have ended any realistic opportunity for the star running back to win the coveted award. It gave the Seminoles two losses on the season and knocked them from ACC and playoff contention. Eleven of the last 15 Heisman winners (including Reggie Bush's vacated award in 2005) qualified for a national championship game or the playoffs that season.

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said he thinks Cook deserves the award despite the Seminoles being out of championship contention because Cook is "one of the best players in the country." Fisher made mention of former Notre Dame player Paul Hornung, who won the Heisman in 1956 despite the Fighting Irish finishing 2-8.

"It's a shame to me because it's supposed to be an individual award. You're punishing the guy because he didn't go to a school that wins the national championship or played for it," Fisher said. "That's where I think we've gotten out of whack with it."

Friends of Cook remain in his ear about the Heisman Trophy, but Cook said he rarely thinks about the award as unlikely as it might sound. He said he doesn't feel disrespected he's not among the favorites despite leading the country in yards per rush among Power 5 running backs with 80 carries or more. He also is No. 1 in rushes of 30 (11), 50 (6) and 70 (4) yards and is second in yards per game.

He's put those numbers up with a left hamstring and ankle injuries hobbling him since Week 5, costing him a game and three quarters of another in October.

"When he gets banged and bruised, I know guys that when they do you see them go lay down and don't come back," Fisher said. "But this guy, it's whatever he has to do to be successful. He loves to play."

If Cook does not make it to New York City as a Heisman finalist in 2015, he said it won't become a goal of his in 2016. The Seminoles should be among the contenders for a playoff spot in 2016 with their entire starting offense and the majority of the defense returning, but Cook said that means his lone goal is a national championship.

"New York City would be a good thing for the university and for the guys around me, but it's nothing I'll set myself to go get," Cook said. "I want a national title and an ACC championship."