Heisman Buzz Heading Into The Final Weekend Of October

Halloween weekend is here, which often lends itself to some Heisman-worthy moments for future winners.

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As the college football world enters the final weekend of October, the race is packed with great candidates.

The Athletic’s latest straw poll indicates that Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker is still enjoying the fruits of his strong play and buoyed by the recent win over Alabama, garnering 35 of 38 first place votes.

Ohio State QB and 2021 Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud earned the other two and and second in the poll while his Big Ten rival, Michigan RB Blake Corum, is third. 

Entering the Heisman chat in fourth is TCU QB Max Duggan, who has led the Horned Frogs to a 7-0 start and a No. 7 ranking following their come-from-behind win over Kansas State last week. He has a TD-to-INT ratio of 19-1 with 2,145 total yards and four rushing scores.

Defending Heisman winner Bryce Young of Alabama is fifth.

ESPN’s own poll — with highlights as well of some Heisman-worthy plays among these stars — also has Hooker in first. His stats are similar to Duggan with 2,093 passing yards with 18 TDs and one interception. He has Kentucky this week and the opportunity of No. 1 Georgia the week after.

Stroud — check out this 79-yard bomb from last week — is second here as well, also 7-0 like Hooker and Duggan, with 2,023 passing yards and a nation-leading 28 TD passes. He’s got his second-ranked opponent of the season slated for Saturday in one-loss Penn State.

ESPN shows Young in third after he led the Crimson Tide to an easy win over Mississippi State. He’s got 1,906 yards passing and 18 TDs with another 137 yards on the ground in his bid to become just the second back-to-back Heisman winner.

USC’s Caleb Williams – who was off last week — is fourth while Corum is fifth. Corum and his Wolverine teammates are hosting rival Michigan State this week. Already with 901 yards rushing, he’s looking to eclipse 1,000 for the first time in his career against the Spartans.

Fansided, here, makes the case for Oregon QB and former Auburn signal-caller Bo Nix to get some Heisman consideration. Nix just orchestrated a convincing win — momentum changing TD pass here — over previously unbeaten UCLA last week, also putting a ding in Bruin QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s Heisman resume. The top 3 here, however, is Stroud, Hooker and Williams. Yahoo! Sports also makes the Nix argument here.

Bleacher Report has Stroud atop its latest rankings with Hooker and Williams 2-3 and Corum, Young, Nix going 4-5-6.

Among the others still garnering Heisman attention depending where you click include Oklahoma State QB Spencer Sanders, who has the Cowboys at 6-1, Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman, whose Demon Deacons hold the same record as well as Georgia QB Stetson Bennett, the nation’s leading rusher in Illinois RB Chase Brown and the nation’s leading passer in Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.

ESPN’s (and ours) Robert Griffin III has Hooker atop his top 5 heading into this weekend with Stroud second and Duggan third.  CBS’ Dennis Dodd sees it as Stroud-Hooker-Hartman 1-2-3 among his top 5.