Over 75% of the college football season remains to be played, which includes a vast majority of major conference games. But with the admittedly small sample size of three weeks in the books, the notion that a transfer quarterback playing for Oklahoma could win the school’s unprecedented third consecutive Heisman Award has moved from the realm of speculation to high probability.

Jalen Hurts leads the first in-season USA TODAY Network Heisman survey, thanks to a fast start in which he’s put up numbers that in some cases exceed those of his award winning Sooner predecessors. In all, he has accounted for 1,253 yards of total offense, an average of 417.7 a game - good for second in the country. He leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing efficiency with a rating of 250.20, and is also averaging 9.82 yards per rushing attempt on his 38 carries.

In the survey of 21 official Heisman voters who work for USA TODAY Network properties, Hurts received a total of 55 points and 13 first-place votes.

It is worth noting, however, that Oklahoma’s three opponents to date (Houston, South Dakota and UCLA) have won a total of one game. But though the Sooners’ level of competition will increase, Hurts sounds a lot like Nick Saban, his former head coach at Alabama, when he says he thinks there’s still room for improvement for his offense. That’s a scary proposition for the rest of the Big 12.

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Speaking of Alabama, the Crimson Tide’s current quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is second in the survey with 37 points, including four first-place mentions. LSU QB Joe Burrow, who burst into the picture with an impressive prime-time showing at Texas, is in third place with 22 points with a pair of No. 1 nods.

And what of the preseason survey leader, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence? The Tigers have done nothing to loosen their grip on the No. 1 ranking. But Lawrence slipped to fourth place with just six points in the survey. He hasn’t been bad by any means. But he’s been overshadowed a bit by his team’s lights-out defense and by flashy running back Travis Etienne, who was also mentioned on a ballot. Lawrence hasn’t been at his sharpest, either. He’s been picked off five times through three games, already exceeding his total of four interceptions for the entirety of last season.

Sam Ehlinger of Texas and Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins of Ohio State also received votes from the panel.