Welcome back to our weekly Heisman Watch for the 2020 college football season. Throughout the year, ESPN.com writers will vote on their top Heisman candidates.
To get the final rankings, we use the following methodology: 14 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, Kyle Bonagura, Bill Connelly, Heather Dinich, David M. Hale, Sam Khan Jr., Chris Low, Harry Lyles Jr., Ivan Maisel, Ryan McGee, Adam Rittenberg, Alex Scarborough, Tom VanHaaren, Dave Wilson
Total points: 70 (first-place votes: 14/14)
Notable: It’s not often a team scores 73 points, but Lawrence and the Tigers did just that last Saturday in a blowout win over Georgia Tech. Of course, Clemson never needs Lawrence to play a whole game, mostly because he stakes them to leads like last weekend’s 52-7 halftime mark. For the game, he tossed for five TDs — all in the first half — and 404 yards.
Quotable: “It’s the highest level of football I’ve seen out of him, but it’s what I think he expects and what everybody in our building expects out of him,” offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said.
Total points: 38 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: It was another Saturday, which meant Jones put on another performance that kept Tide fans quite pleased with Tua Tagovailoa’s replacement. In a big win over Georgia, Jones competed 24 of 32 passes and threw for four touchdowns and more than 400 yards.
Quotable: “That Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones had another terrific day — posting numbers through four weeks that rival those of his predecessor, Tua Tagovailoa — is another astounding feat of Alabama wizardry.” — ESPN’s David Hale
Total points: 22 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: In a game in which Etienne didn’t need to carry the load, he still performed well in Clemson’s blowout win, rushing for 44 yards on 11 carries and scoring a touchdown.
Quotable: “Etienne’s versatility has been downright unfair this season.” — ESPN’s Bill Connelly
2:01
Zach Wilson throws four touchdowns on 400 yards in BYU’s 43-26 win vs. Houston.
Total points: 19 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: BYU is 5-0 this season, and Wilson is a pretty big reason why. The Cougars have scored more than 40 points in four of their five games this season, including last week, when Wilson led BYU in passing (400 yards, four TDs) and rushing (40 yards on nine carries).
Quotable: “If we’re comfortably beating teams and showing our dominance and showing our ability to put up a lot of yards and showing our ability to have explosive big plays, I think people around the nation will say, ‘Hey, this is a good team,'” Wilson said.
Total points: 17 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Fields finally returns to the field this weekend when the Buckeyes take on Nebraska, and he will lead a team expected to be in the College Football Playoff race — even with a late start to the season.
Quotable: “It’s not too late for a player like Fields or [USC QB Kedon] Slovis to get involved in this race, but the bar is absurdly high.” — Connelly
Total points: 15 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Yes, Jones threw for 417 yards Saturday, and Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith added 328 more yards receiving, but Harris starred on the ground yet again. This time, he rushed for 152 yards on a whopping 31 carries, and scored a touchdown.
Quotable: “Think you’ve got Alabama figured out? Good luck stopping Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle and John Metchie III and … Seriously, Georgia was arguably the best defense in the country coming into Saturday’s game, and still the Bulldogs crumbled under the weight of the Tide’s talented skill guys.” — Hale
Total points: 12 (first-place votes: 0)
Notable: Florida’s scheduled game vs. LSU was postponed because of COVID-19 positives, so Trask & Co. were off last weekend. Trask has still thrown for 14 touchdowns in only three games.
Quotable: “He’s a big, 6-foot-5 quarterback with a great arm. He moves his feet well.” — Mel Kiper Jr.
Others receiving votes:
Total points in parentheses: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama (11); DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama (3), Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida (2); Shane Buechele, QB, SMU (1)