Heisman Trophy Award Watch: Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts out in front

Tua Tagovailoa is coming off a historic performance against Ole Miss where he set the single-game school record for passing touchdowns (6) and total touchdowns (7). Through five games, the junior has completed 76.4 percent of his passes for 1,718 yards and a nation-high 23 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. But where does the left-hander stand in the Heisman race?

According to Bovada’s latest Heisman odds, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts is the favorite to win the award at +260 followed by Tagovailoa and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow at +300. Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor is next at +700 followed by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields at +750 and Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm at +1600.

To provide a better look at the Heisman race, BamaInsider designed a scoring system to evaluate each candidate. With all due respect to Taylor, eight out of the last nine Heisman winners have been quarterbacks. Because of that, BamaInsider has elected to leave out the Wisconsin running back.

Our scoring system is comprised of 10 statistical categories: passer rating, passing touchdowns, passing yards per game, completion percentage, interceptions, rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns, strength of schedule, average team rankings and Pro Football Focus grade. The six candidates were scored on a range of 1-6 on each category with the leader receiving six points, second place receiving five points and so on.

Here’s a look at the final standings:

Tua Tagovailoa — 42 points

Jalen Hurts — 40 points

Joe Burrow — 40 points

Justin Fields — 38 points

Jake Fromm — 29 points

Trevor Lawrence — 24 points

Jalen Hurts — 249.86 (No. 1 in the nation)

Joe Burrow — 225.63 (No. 2)

Tua Tagovailoa — 225.15 (No. 3)

Justin Fields — 194.43 (No. 5)

Jake Fromm — 180.48 (No. 11)

Trevor Lawrence — 143.68 (No. 57)

Notes: There’s a clear drop-off after Tagovailoa as he, Burrow and Hurts are the top three in the nation in this category. Last year, Tagovailoa set an NCAA record with a 199.44 passer rating.

Tua Tagovailoa — 23 (No. 1)

Joe Burrow — 17 (T-No. 3)

Justin Fields — 16 (No. 5)

Jalen Hurts — 12 (T-No. 11)

Trevor Lawrence — 8 (T-No. 40)

Jake Fromm — 6 (T-No.68)

Notes: This is a bit misleading as Tagovailoa has an extra game on Burrow, Hurts and Fromm. That being said, the Alabama quarterback has a sizable lead on his competitors regardless. Fromm and Lawrence are both averaging fewer than two passing touchdowns per game and will need to see an increase in production to remain in the race.

Joe Burrow — 380.0 (No.2)

Tua Tagovailoa — 343.6 (No. 3)

Jalen Hurts — 323.8 (No. 10)

Trevor Lawrence — 226.8 (No. 58)

Justin Fields — 218.4 (No. 63)

Jake Fromm — 197 (No. 82)

Notes: Once again, there is a notable drop in production after the top three as Burrow, Tagovailoa and Hurts have separated themselves as the premier passers so far. Fromm’s numbers are particularly low. Although, the Georgia quarterback has played better defenses.

Joe Burrow — 80.6 (No. 1)

Jalen Hurts — 77.6 (No. 3)

Tua Tagovailoa — 76.4 (No. 5)

Jake Fromm — 75.6 (No. 6)

Justin Fields — 69.8 (No. 21)

Trevor Lawrence — 61.8 (T-No. 68)

Notes: Burrow has been impeccably accurate so far. His 80.6 percent completion rate not only leads the nation but is also 7 percent higher than the nation-leading 73.1 percent posted by Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham last season. Burrow’s current completion rate is bound to go down as the season progresses, but his pinpoint precision should keep him at the top of the list.

Tua Tagovailoa — 0 (T-No.1)

Justin Fields — 0 (T-No.1)

Jake Fromm — 0 (T-No.1)

Jalen Hurts — 1 (T-No. 21)

Joe Burrow— 2 (T-No. 44)

Trevor Lawrence — 5

Notes: This is one stat where the extra game isn't an advantage for Tagovailoa. Nevertheless, the junior has shown more maturity in the pocket this year, opting to take what defenses are giving him rather than force throws. Tagovailoa has thrown 148 passes without an interception this season, while Fields has avoided a turnover on 116 attempts and Fromm is mistake-free on 82 passes. Lawrence’s five interceptions might be his most damning stat this season.

Jalen Hurts — 110.75 (No. 15)

Justin Fields — 44.4

Trevor Lawrence — 20.0

Tua Tagovailoa — 9.0

Joe Burrow — 5.0

Jake Fromm — 3.0

Notes: Hurts dwarfs the competition here and should probably be given more than the six points he earned in this category. His rushing totals might end up becoming the deciding factor if he ends up in New York beside Tagovailoa and Burrow.

Justin Fields — 7 (T-No.6)

Jalen Hurts — 5 (T-No. 20)

Trevor Lawrence — 4

Tua Tagovailoa — 2

Joe Burrow — 1

Jake Fromm — 0

Notes: Fields’ seven touchdowns rank No. 6 in the nation including running backs. If you combine rushing and passing touchdown he has 23, two behind Tagovailoa. Once again, if Fromm is going to remain a serious Heisman contender, he’ll need to find the end zone more regularly.

Georgia — 9

LSU — 10

Ohio State — 12

Alabama — 17

Clemson —19

Oklahoma — 41

Notes: According to TeamRankings.com, Fromm has faced the toughest schedule of all six competitors. That helps explain his lower totals. That schedule won’t get any easier as Georgia still has games against No. 10 Florida, No. 7 Auburn and No. 25 Texas A&M as well as a potential rematch against No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s weak strength of schedule could hamper Hurts’ chances if his numbers are close to other competitors.

Alabama — 1

Clemson — 2

Georgia — 3

Ohio State — 4.5

Oklahoma — 5

LSU — 5.5

Notes: For this category, we averaged each team’s ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll. For example, Oklahoma is fourth in the Coaches Poll and sixth in the AP Top 25, hence its No. 5 average.

Joe Burrow — 93.0

Jalen Hurts — 92.9

Jake Fromm — 92.7

Justin Fields — 92.0

Tua Tagovailoa — 90.0

Trevor Lawrence — 75.9

Notes: Pro Football Focus generates player grades based on a wide array of statistical data. As you can see, the first five candidates are extremely close while Lawrence lags far behind.

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