NFP Heisman Watch

Compiling the weekly NFP Top 25 is difficult enough, but breaking down the early season Heisman Trophy race is giving that challenge a run for its money as it seemingly gets closer and closer as the weeks get knocked off the calendar.

As I mentioned the first few weeks, the early season NFP Heisman Watch will be a more expansive compilation of some of the most eligible contenders. As I did last year, the list will dwindle as we make our way through the season. And around mid-October or so, the list will get cut to the Top 5 favorites.

Here are the early contenders entering Week 5:

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: The prohibitive Heisman favorite enjoyed a bye this past week and is now preparing to face UCLA at home. In his previous contest against Arizona, he threw for 325 yards and two second-half touchdowns as the Cardinal pulled away for a 37-10 victory in the team’s Pac-12 opener. He is 23-5 as a starter and needs only two more wins to become the winningest quarterback in school history. As I mentioned before, the only possible factor working against him is the late starts for Stanford games, but he’ll get a chance to have a brighter spotlight when the Cardinal faces Oregon and Notre Dame. On the season, he has thrown for 786 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception.

Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State: Moore tossed four more touchdowns — he now has 111 in his career — and threw for 279 yards on 23 of 29 passing in a 41-21 win over Tulsa. The most impressive aspect of those numbers is that they were put up in just 2

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