If not for one, maybe two incompletions, Gunner Stockton would be the Heisman Trophy frontrunner heading into Week 12. Georgia would be ranked No. 1 overall with a 9-0 record and 7-0 in SEC play. Of course, Georgia lost the game in question to another Heisman Trophy contender's team in Ty Simpson's Alabama Crimson Tide. It was a three-point loss at home. These sort of things do happen.
That being said, are you getting tired of everyone in the national media saying it is a four-man race for the Heisman, and Stockton is not a part of it? Well, give it some more time, folks, and somebody with better odds quarterbacking a team ranked ahead of him will fall. It could be Julian Sayin at Ohio State. Maybe it will be Fernando Mendoza at Indiana? What about Marcell Reed at Texas A&M, or Simpson?
Well, it is probably not going to be Sayin right now. While either Reed or Simpson could stumble, they have been the driving forces for their respective teams' offenses? To be quite frank, Mendoza did not do enough to keep his name firmly in the Heisman after Saturday. Indiana almost lost to Penn State. Mendoza did throw the game-winning touchdown, but Omar Cooper Jr. bailed him out for the score.
Mendoza will probably be a Heisman Trophy finalist anyway, but Stockton out played him on Saturday.
Gunner Stockton is playing quarterback at a Heisman Trophy level now
Let's look at what Stockton did today vs. Mississippi State and compare it to what Mendoza did vs. Penn State. Stockton completed 18-of-29 passes for 264 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had six carries for 31 yards in Georgia's 41-21 road victory over Mississippi State. Georgia improved to 8-1 on the season, as Stockton gets better with every passing start.
Although Indiana won 27-24 in the final seconds on the road at Penn State, that is a 3-6 team that took them to the wire. The Nittany Lions have already fired James Franklin and have not beaten a Power Four team this season. Mendoza completed 19-of-30 passes for 218 yards, one touchdown and an interception. He also had six carries for 20 yards and a trip to pay dirt in Indiana's latest victory.
Look. I am not saying Mendoza is not a serious Heisman Trophy candidate. He is. However, It is not some foregone conclusion he or Sayin are going to win this, like every talking head with Big Ten ties seems to believe. Simpson has won a ton of games at Alabama. Reed has not lost a game this year. Outside of a three-point home loss to Alabama, Georgia is still a top-five team because of Stockton.
This Heisman Trophy race is far from over, as shown by Stockton's better Saturday than Mendoza's.