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Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below.
With the college football regular season stretching well into December this year, we’re still a few weeks from a conclusion. But it seems increasingly likely the Heisman winner will be determined in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Alabama quarterback Mac Jones and Florida quarterback Kyle Trask are neck and neck in this week’s USA TODAY Network Heisman survey, with their teams on a collision course to meet Dec. 19 in Atlanta.
Trask continues to hold the lead for now, named first by a majority of the official Heisman voters who work for USA TODAY Network properties. The Gators’ signal caller has 34 touchdown passes and has thrown for at least three scores in all eight of Florida’s games. He has 2,810 yards through the air, completing 71.4% of his attempts with just three interceptions.
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Jones isn’t far behind, named second by over half of the survey participants. He has amassed 2,728 yards and 23 TD tosses, also with just three picks.
A couple of his teammates, running back Najee Harris and receiver DeVonta Smith, also earned mentions.
Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence might still have something to say about the race. He checks in a distant third, but he saw his first action in over a month on Saturday and reminded everyone why he was the preseason favorite with a 403-yard day. He improved his career record as the Tigers’ starting quarterback to 32-1.
A new name found its way on to a few ballots following an eye-popping performance. Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson matched a Football Bowl Subdivision record with eight rushing touchdowns and ran for 409 yards in the Bulls’ 70-41 win against Mid-American Conference opponent Kent State. Through four games, he leads the nation averaging 230 yards per game on the ground.
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