4. QB Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
He’s playing his best ball at just the right time.
With 3,000 yards, 27 touchdown passes, six touchdown runs, and just eight picks – and with a touchdown catch thrown in there – the numbers are fine and the efficiency is there.
Why Desmond Ridder Will Win the Heisman: He’s The Guy leading the way on a potentially historic team.
Say what you will about the Cincinnati schedule – and oh have I ever – but he’s been sharp all year, he threw for close to 300 yards with two scores and no picks in the win over Notre Dame, and he should be a finalist if he lights up Houston in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
However …
Why Desmond Ridder Won’t Win the Heisman: Not to be snarky in any way, but who – other than me with several monitors going – is actually going to watch the American Athletic Conference Championship? It’s happening at the exact same time as the SEC Championship between Georgia and Alabama is being played.
And the numbers are great. They’re not amazing. He’s had a strong year, but stat-wise it’s not a Heisman run.
3. QB Kenny Pickett, Pitt
He’s a great story in the midst of an amazing season. He hit 68% of his passes for 4,066 yards and 40 touchdowns – tied for second in the nation behind WKU’s Bailey Zappe – with just seven picks. If he destroys Wake Forest to win the ACC Championship, he’ll be right there in the mix.
Why Kenny Pickett Will Win the Heisman: The run of monster games over the second half of the season got Pitt to within a game of taking the ACC Championship. When the team needed him the most, he has thrown for three touchdowns or more in the last five games.
He hit the amazing Clemson defense for over 300 yards and two scores – Pitt was the first team to beat the Tigers in the regular season by double-digits since 2014 – and the losses weren’t really his fault. He threw for close to 400 yards with six touchdowns against Western Michigan, and he bombed away for 519 yards and three scores in the loss to Miami.
However …
Why Kenny Pickett Won’t Win the Heisman: He’s got the Desmond Ridder problem. Who’s going to watch the ACC Championship – or give it the full and undivided attention it deserves – while the Big Ten Championship between Michigan and Iowa is happening?
There’s one other big problem with Pickett stealing the Heisman late in the process – Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman might outplay him.