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The top 5 Heisman candidates to watch in the final weeks of the season

This year’s Heisman Trophy race has drastically changed from the beginning of the year to now. It was Leonard Fournette’s award to lose, and then he lost it when he couldn’t run against Alabama’s defense. Next man up was TCU’s Trevone Boykin, but injuries hampered his campaign.

With two weeks left before all votes are in, here are five candidates very much in contention for this year’s coveted trophy.

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

1. Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama

Derrick Henry emerged as a front runner when he rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns in Alabama’s 30-16 win over LSU. By comparison, his Tiger counterpart Leonard Fournette ran for 31 yards. Henry is averaging 144.8 yards and two touchdowns a game against Top 30 run defenses this season. Maintain this type of performance in the Crimson Tide’s final two games against rival Auburn and Florida, who has the eighth best rush defense in the country, the Heisman is his.

The last time a running back won the award was Alabama’s Mark Ingram in 2009 and the Tide won the national championship.

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

2. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

Deshaun Watson has been gaining momentum over the past several weeks. In the last three games, the dual-threat quarterback has amassed 1,264 total yards, which is 77% of top-ranked Clemson’s total offense. This has boosted him higher into the conversation as previous contenders have been injured or taken out of the conversation due to lack of productivity.

Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

3. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford

Running back Christian McCaffrey has made the biggest moves of all candidates. Not truly in the discussion at all until the last week or so, the sophomore set a school record with 389 all-purpose yards last week in a 35-22 win over California. He has a chance to boost himself deeper into the conversation depending on his performance against No. 6 Notre Dame this weekend and in the Pac 12 championship game next Saturday.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

4. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

Though it might take stumbles from the aforementioned candidates for the Oklahoma quarterback to get into the top 3, Baker Mayfield could catch voters’ eyes this weekend with a stellar performance against Oklahoma State. A win clinches the Big 12 title — and potentially a Playoff spot — for the Sooners. Ever since losing to Texas in early October, Mayfield has been a spark that’s helped Oklahoma win and climb in the Playoff rankings each week. In the Sooners’ 44-34 road win over Baylor, he ran for 76 yards and passed for 270, then rushed for 42 yards and passed for 127 against TCU before leaving the game with a head injury. He is expected to play against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

5. Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy

Keenan Reynolds would be the first Navy player to win the Heisman since Roger Staubach in 1963. Earlier this season the senior quarterback became college football’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and currently has Navy sitting at No. 15 in the College Football Playoff ranking with a shot at contending for the American Athletic Conference Championship and a New Years Six bowl game. Reynolds is considered more of a dark horse candidate for the Heisman, but his 19 rushing touchdowns this season rank only second behind Derrick Henry (21) for most in the nation.

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