Making the case for and against each Heisman finalist

QB Dwayne Haskins – Ohio State Buckeyes

Passing stats: 70.2% completions for 4580 yards, 47 TDs, eight INTs and a passer rating of 175.8

Rushing stats: 73 attempts for 122 yards and four TDs

Case for: Among the three Heisman finalists, Ohio State QB Dwayne Haskins has the best overall passing numbers. Haskins ranks second in completion percentage, first in yards and first in TD passes. As stated in the case against Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray, Haskins threw for 527 more yards and seven more TDs.

Along with being one of the best passers in college football this season, Haskins was also one of the most clutch players. The case made for Murray is similar to the case for Haskins. Ohio State’s defense ranked 55th in college football, giving up an average of 25.7 points per game.

This defense allowed points in bunches to teams who shouldn’t have been as big of a threat as they were to the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes’ defense gave up 31 points to Nebraska and even 51 points Maryland.

While the defense for Ohio State may have played poorly, Haskins did not. Like Murray, Haskins was put in bad situations by the defense, which he then had to overcome. On every occasion except once in a 49-20 loss to Purdue, Haskins was able to overcome the poor play by the defense and lead his team to a win.

There were five games this season in which Haskins threw five or more TDs. Two of those games came in their last two against Michigan and Northwestern. Haskins should be given extra credit for those two games, because his team had to win those games to have any chance of making the College Football Playoff.

Unfortunately for Heisman finalist Haskins and the Ohio State Buckeyes, they didn’t make the College Football Playoff. That was no fault of Haskins, as he did everything within his power to lead them to a playoff spot.

Case against: One case you could make against Haskins winning the Heisman, is the fact that he failed to get his team into the College Football Playoff. I wouldn’t say that’s the strongest case, because it really wasn’t his fault.

However, the QB gets all the glory when things go right and all the blame when things go wrong. I would say the above case for Haskins would outweigh that argument.

Perhaps a better case against Haskins is his numbers compared to those of QB Murray. Murray totaled 4,945 yards and 51 TDs, while Haskins totaled 4,702 yards and 51 TDs.

Only 243 yards separate the two QBs, but Murray’s passer rating is significantly higher than Haskins’. Murray has a passer rating of 205.7, which is the best among the three QBs. Haskins has a passer rating of 175.8, which actually ranks third among the Heisman finalists.

If you dig deeper into the numbers for Murray and Haskins, you’ll find that while Murray has 527 less passing yards than Haskins, he has 770 more rushing yards. While Murray has seven less passing TDs than Haskins, he has seven more rushing TDs. Murray’s ability as a passer and runner makes him a more exciting player to watch, which is often times who voters choose.

Prediction

All three Heisman trophy finalists deserve to be here, but only one of them will walk away crowned as the best player in college football. I believe that player will be Oklahoma QB Murray.

Murray has the best stats among the three players. He led the best offense in college football, while overcoming the bad play of his own defense. His ability to make plays with his arm and his feet are something that was unmatched by either of the other two QBs who could potentially win.

I feel like Oklahoma wouldn’t be where they are without Murray. That, along with his stats, makes him the best player in college football this season.