It is over. I repeat, the Heisman race is over.
College football fans, save your breath, your time and your credibility and just agree on the obvious: Lamar Jackson has already won the Heisman.
Usually, to win the Heisman you need to have three boxes checked on your resume. First, you need to have the stats. You need to be leading the NCAA in something so the argument that you are the best player in the country can be grounded in fact.
Second, your team needs to be in the title talk. For both the purpose of increased national attention and the common ideology that a great player is only great if he can make his team great too, it is important that a Heisman contender's team is at least in the race for the Playoff.
Third, you need the “it” factor. Be it a huge win on prime time or highlights that catch everyone’s eye, you need plays or games that get everyone talking about you.
Jackson has all three boxes shaded in with a black permanent marker.
As the NCAA leader in rushing touchdowns and points responsible for per game, top five in rushing yards and top ten in passing yards per game, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency, Jackson certainly stuffs the stat sheet. In basically any major statistical category pertaining to quarterbacks, and even those traditionally involving running backs, Jackson is one of the nation's best.
Jackson’s team, Louisville, still remains actively in the talk for being one of the four best teams in the country. After last week's throttling of Boston College and Texas A&M's loss to Mississippi State, Louisville now finds itself ranked sixth in the College Football Playoff Rankings. And, with no ranked opponents left on its schedule, Louisville should win out and remain in constant consideration as a top-4 team.
And Jackson himself has the much needed hype train behind him. With plays such as his ridiculous hurdle of the Syracuse defender and his seemingly weekly ankle-breaking runs to the end zone, Jackson has more incredible highlights, hands down, than any other player in the country.
Furthermore, Jackson’s stats live up to the Heisman’s of past years. When compared to Cam Newton’s stats from his 2010 Heisman campaign, Jackson’s stats are nearly the same, but with at least three more games to play in the season. That season, Newton threw for 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns. Jackson remains on pace to statistically smash Newton’s statistics, and likely could better him in every stat given in just the next two games.
There really is no argument to be made against Jackson winning the Heisman. Be it his jaw-dropping plays or awe inspiring statistics, Lamar Jackson has all the makings of a Heisman trophy winner.