Week 2 of the college football season welcomed us with blowouts, overtimes and Joe Burrow. The LSU quarterback has cracked the top 3 thanks to his performance against Texas.
Throughout the season, ESPN.com writers will vote on their top Heisman Trophy candidates.
To get the final rankings, we use the following methodology: 10 voters, five votes each. Points system: five points for first-place votes, four points for second-place votes, three points for third-place votes, two points for fourth-place votes and one point for fifth-place votes.
Voters: Andrea Adelson, Edward Aschoff, Kyle Bonagura, Bill Connelly, Heather Dinich, David M. Hale, Chris Low, Ivan Maisel, Adam Rittenberg, Mark Schlabach
Total points: 41 (first-place votes: 5)
Notable: Hurts remains atop our rankings thanks to a second straight dominant performance. This time, the former Alabama QB passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns (in just over two quarters) in the Sooners’ 70-14 drubbing of South Dakota State.
Quotable: “He did a great job distributing the ball all over. I can’t wait to keep it going all year.” — OU WR CeeDee Lamb
Total points: 31 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Tagovailoa also held on to his No. 2 spot this week following the Tide’s 62-10 blowout win over New Mexico State. In just over one half of play, he threw for three TDs and ran for another. Final stat: 16-of-24 with 227 passing yards.
Quotable: “I didn’t expect us to score on the first play,” Tagovailoa said. “It was a little bubble throw. It just shows what kind of guys we’ve got.
2:22
Joe Burrow tosses four touchdown passes, including two in the fourth quarter, as LSU wins in Austin 45-38.
Total points: 28 (first-place votes: 3)
Notable: Burrow had a big game in Week 1 last week — he tied an LSU single-game record with five TD passes (before halftime) — and followed it up with a huge showing in Week 2 against Texas. His four TD passes helped push LSU into the playoff conversation and a No. 4 ranking in the AP poll. Burrow and the Tigers have been preaching their new, wide-open offense all season long, and they continued to back up that talk behind Burrow and his 471(!) passing yards.
Quotable: “They (Texas) were playing so well, I told the guys, we gotta get 40 and we’ll win,” Burrow said. “We had over 500 yards. It could have been 600, 700.” — Burrow
Total points: 17 (first-place votes: 2)
Notable: Taylor continues to consistently put up huge numbers week in and week out. This time, in a 61-0 romp over Central Michigan, Taylor rushed for three TDs and caught a fourth. He rushed for more than 100 yards for the 24th time in 29 career games.
Quotable: “He is well-deserving to be in that Heisman race. I really like the way he plays the game. I think he’s a good player, and people in the Big Ten are going to have to wrap him up.” — CMU coach Jim McElwain
Total points: 11 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Fields followed up his sterling debut with another gem — throwing for two TDs and rushing for two more — as OSU shut out Cincinnati. He finished 20-of-25 for 224 yards.
Quotable: “Quarterback Justin Fields, who has nine TDs in his first two games, showed improved decision-making while under pressure.” — ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren
1:07
Trevor Lawrence throws for 268 yards and finishes with two touchdowns as No. 1 Clemson takes down No. 12 Texas A&M 24-10.
Total points: 9 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Many pegged Lawrence as a clear Heisman favorite to start the season, and while he hasn’t gotten off to quite the start many envisioned, he’s still been pretty darn good. In the Tigers’ win over Texas A&M Saturday, the sophomore QB accounted for two TDs, including a 30-yard TD pass to Justyn Ross.
Quotable: “It has not been a great start statistically, but look at some of the throws Lawrence made against Texas A&M and it’s obvious a breakthrough performance is on the horizon. He’s just biding his time.” — ESPN’s David Hale
Total points: 6 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Etienne didn’t quite top his Week 1 performance — when he rushed for 205 yards and scored three TDs — but he still rushed for 53 yards and remains one of Clemson’s most dangerous offensive threats.
Quotable: “For us, if we identify that early, Travis makes us just as explosive in the run game as Trevor does in the passing game.” — Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott
Total points: 3 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Jeudy tied the Alabama school record with three TD grabs and continues to put up huge numbers despite sharing the WR duties with Bama’s other talented receivers.
Quotable: “Jeudy is a tremendous talent, a natural pass-catcher who can beat defenders on every route.” — Mel Kiper Jr.
0:36
LSU’s Kristian Fulton tries to jump the route, but mistimes his jump leaving Brennan Eagles open for the 55-yard Texas score.
Total points: 2 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Ehlinger was oh-so-close to leading the Longhorns to a win Saturday night against LSU, falling just short in UT’s 45-38 defeat. He still passed for 401 yards and four touchdowns — and earned his opponent’s respect.
“He’s a super tough guy. I was honored to be on the same field with him,” LSU QB Joe Burrow said.
Quotable: “I thought he was a good player going in. This guy is a phenomenal player. He wanted to take the game on his back, and he practically did.” — LSU head coach Ed Orgeron
Total points: 1 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Moore set the world on fire as a freshman last season, becoming the first true freshman in Big Ten history to earn consensus All-America honors. And in the Boilermakers’ win against Vanderbilt last weekend, Moore caught 13 passes for a career-high 220 yards.
Quotable: “My view is pretty high of Rondale so I don’t know if it can get much higher,” Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said. “But for someone to continually come through every week and raise the bar and not be satisfied, that’s Rondale Moore. He was tremendous.”
Total points: 1 (first-place votes: none)
Notable: Lance continues to put up big numbers for the Bison, who continue to win. In Week 1, Lance threw for four touchdowns (and rushed for one) in the first half. Against North Dakota this past weekend, Lance passed for two TDs and rushed for two as NDSU topped its in-state rival for its 23rd straight win.
Quotable: “We knew he was talented coming in. You know you have to stop the quarterback run, and we weren’t able to do it.” — UND coach Bubba Schweigert, via the Grand Forks Herald