LSU's Leonard Fournette has been widely viewed as the Heisman front-runner for much of the season. However, after being held to 31 yards on 19 carries in a loss to Alabama on Saturday (his previous season low was 154 yards vs. Western Kentucky), is a new leader emerging in the race for the award?
We asked our panel of experts to reveal the player who would receive their first-place Heisman vote if the season had ended after Saturday's games. Here are their answers.
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- Gil Brandt NFL.com
Head-to-head tiebreaker earns Henry the award
My vote goes to Alabama running back Derrick Henry over Leonard Fournette of LSU, based on their head-to-head matchup in which Henry outgained Fournette. In Alabama's 30-16 win over LSU on Saturday, Henry rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries; Fournette was held to 31 yards on 19 carries. I think both players deserve this award. Both have great character and skill levels, and both are the main reasons for their respective teams' success. Both also will be big-time NFL players. But Henry and Alabama came out on top in the head-to-head matchup.
The Heisman Trophy race is wide open after Alabama shut down front-runner Leonard Fournette on Saturday night. If I had to make a decision today, I'd reward Derrick Henry for the way he's carried the load for the Tide. He dominated in the biggest game of the season.
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- Chase Goodbread College Football 24/7
Fournette still in front
Despite being stonewalled by Alabama on Saturday, the Heisman Trophy is still LSU RB Leonard Fournette's to lose. TCU QB Trevone Boykin had a golden opportunity to seize the lead in the race Saturday with Fournette shut down on a national stage, but Boykin threw four interceptions in his first loss of the season to keep the Heisman race in Fournette's hands. Alabama RB Derrick Henry is like a racehorse closing in on the leaders down the backstretch. He might take over the lead in time, but it hasn't happened quite yet.
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- Lance Zierlein NFL.com
Henry gets the nod
It's human nature to swing back and forth toward whichever player had the best game most recently, but how can anyone overlook the season's worth of dominance that Leonard Fournette has doled out to his competition? Does one down game against a defensive front that dominated his offensive line supersede his overall body of work? Ezekiel Elliott continues to churn out yardage and touchdowns on a consistent pace for an undefeated team, but it's almost like the media has Elliot and Ohio State fatigue after their run last season. While Elliot and Fournette are deserving, I'm going with Alabama's Derrick Henry. Ultimately, Henry's performances against five ranked teams -- 10 touchdowns and an average of 173.6 rushing yards per game -- swings me in his direction.
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- Chad Reuter College Football 24/7
Clemson QB most deserving
Clemson is No. 1 in the polls, and to the victor goes the spoils. Quarterback Deshaun Watson nearly pulled off a "300/100" performance against ACC rival Florida State on Saturday afternoon with 297 passing yards and 107 rushing yards. An undefeated regular season for the Tigers should land the sophomore a trip to New York in December.
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