[jwplayer 35fm0liC]
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below.
The truncated college football weekend created something of a conundrum for Heisman voters.
On one hand, it seemed unfair to demote a player who, through no fault of his own, was unable to get on the field. That was the case for Alabama’s Mac Jones and Ohio State’s Justin Fields, leaders in last week’s USA TODAY Network Heisman survey whose games were postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 issues for their opponents.
But Kyle Trask’s numbers are just getting impossible to ignore. A couple of weeks ago, he was getting minimal attention with just a single point. But Saturday with the stage largely to himself, the Florida quarterback lit up Arkansas for 356 passing yards and six touchdowns, bringing his season totals to 2,171 yards and 28 TDs through just six games.
As a result, Trask made a huge move in this week’s survey. Jones held on to first by a single point. Both Jones and Trask received nine first-place mentions from the 22 survey participants with official Heisman votes who work for USA TODAY Network properties. Fields is still in a strong third place with 30 total points, picking up the remaining four first-place nods.
[lawrence-related id=28200,28196]
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the preseason favorite who has been sidelined because of his own bout with the coronavirus, has fallen into a tie for fourth with BYU’s Zach Wilson.
Three other players got a point each this week. That group includes another quarterback, Liberty’s Malik Willis, along with Alabama running back Najee Harris and Mississippi receiver Elijah Moore.
The Heisman will be presented at a virtual ceremony from the ESPN campus on Jan. 5, and the finalists will be announced on Dec. 24.
[lawrence-related id=28229,28198,28177,28159]
[vertical-gallery id=28131]