After a disappointing weekend by some of my last week candidates there will obviously be a shake-up in my top 5. JT Barrett threw 4 interceptions in a blow-out loss to Iowa. Barrett’s chances at Heisman have pretty much been thrown out the window because of this. Saquon Barkley put up 63 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Michigan State. Then Bryce Love put up 69 yards with atouchdown in a loss to Washington State. Then Baker Mayfield and Mason Rudolph combined for 1000 yards playing against one another! Put all of these things together, there has to be some new guys in the top 5. Remember this top five is not in any order.

Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma): Last week I had this guy on the outside looking in. This past week he proved why he deserves to be in the discussion and why he has been all year. Mayfield was two yards shy of 600 yards in the air with 5 touchdowns through the air and another touchdown on the ground. He might’ve thrown two picks, but his team still pulled out a critical win over rival Oklahoma State. Now Mayfield might benefit from the lack of defense in the Big 12, but Oklahoma is 8-1 with a college playoff appearance in sight if they win out. The fact of the matter is, Mayfield is living up to expectations set on him at the beginning of the year and this might lead to him earning a trip to New York City as a Heisman finalist. Josh Adams (Notre Dame): Adams wasn’t fully healthy this past week at Wake Forest only carrying the ball 5 times for 22 yards. Missing one game to a weak Wake Forrest team isn’t going to impactAdams too much. That could’ve been a game to rack up some easy yards, but that’s in the past now. Even after missing that game, Adams is still 9th in the country in rushing yards. With a big game this week against an undefeated Miami team, Adams has a chance to solidify his name on the Heisman ballot. The curious thing to watch would be if Adams has a good game and Notre Dame still loses, does Adams’ name still be put in the Heisman discussion. If that’s the case, I think he should still remain in the discussion, but some people like to have a Heisman that is on a top team. Rashaad Penny (San Diego State): Penny leads the NCAA in rushing yards with 1602 yards. Sand Diego State played against a weak team in San Jose State, but Penny still put up 234 yards with 3 touchdowns. Unfortunately for Penny, he doesn’t play for a top tier program and he plays out West so the East coast never really gets to see him play much. But nonetheless, the stats speak for themselves. Anybody that can put up those numbers and lead the nation in rushing deserves to be in the Heisman discussion. Penny has 2 games at the end of the year that might allow him to rack up more touchdowns and yards before the end of the year. Bryce Love (Stanford): Love put up an average of 69 yards with one touchdown in a loss to Washington State. Coming off a week where he didn’t play because of injury, Love didn’t put up a performance that really impressed. The good thing about Love is that he had racked up enough yards earlier in the year to have an average game at this point. Another bright side for Love is he still has Notre Dame left on the schedule. If he can go out there and lead Stanford to an upset over Notre Dame that could launch him back to the top for Heisman Candidates. And not even to mention, Love is still second in the nation in rushing yards at 1456. So, I would say he is still in a good spot. Lamar Jackson (Louisville): Once again, how can I not put the reigning Heisman winner in the talk when he is still putting up big numbers. Jackson didn’t play this past week, but in a way, that has helped him because he didn’t have a chance to have a bad game. This upcoming week against a solid Virginia team gives Lamar him one of his last chances to put up a good performance in front of a solid team before going to play against Syracuse and Kentucky to finish the year. In my mind, if Louisville wins out and Jackson has big games in each of those games, it will be hard for him not to be a finalist for the Heisman.

Guys on the Outside looking in: Mason Rudolph, Saquon Barkley

Now I understand. Saquon Barkley is a great player, but after two straight losses and two underwhelming performanceshis Heisman stock has gone down. He will need to put up huge numbers to finish the year if he wants to return to the conversation. Then Mason Rudolph. This guy has been putting gup numbers all year, but with your biggest win coming against an unranked West Virginia you aren’t really setting yourself up for the Heisman. Once again, this weekend will give players to distinguish themselves against others. Mayfield plays in another big game against TCU while Adams plays against an undefeated Miami team. With the year winding down, I’ll be looking for players to rise above others and make their case for why they deserve the Heisman.