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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At this point in last season\u2019s Heisman race, Oregon\u2019s Marcus Mariota still maintained the top spot in our Heisman Watch rankings. Florida State\u2019s Jameis Winston was coming off his biggest win after throttling Clemson on the road. Names like Bryce Petty and Aaron Murray, both of whom failed to reach New York, still cracked the top 10.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Last year\u2019s rankings have nothing to do with this year. But they do illustrate how the Heisman race can drastically change from the middle of a season to the end. Games in late October and November mean much more than September openers. Heisman contenders can\u2019t afford to falter late in a season.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So while Dak Prescott may maintain his lead in the Heisman race for now, he\u2019s still got a lot of work to do to keep it -- and a full field of candidates ready to leapfrog him.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;STAPLES: Big 12's playoff hopes in big trouble after Baylor loss&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Week 8 Heisman Watch&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Dak Prescott, QB Mississippi State&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;2. Marcus Mariota, QB Oregon&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;3. Everett Golson, QB Notre Dame&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;4. Melvin Gordon, RB Wisconsin&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;5. Ameer Abdullah, RB Nebraska&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;6. Nick Marshall, QB Auburn&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;7. Bryce Petty, QB Baylor&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;8. Brett Hundley, QB UCLA&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;9. Cody Kessler, QB USC&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n&lt;strong &gt;10. Kevin White, WR West Virginia&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;The Frontrunners&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dak Prescott, QB Mississippi State\r\nMarcus Mariota, QB Oregon\r\n&lt;strong&gt;Everett Golson, QB&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Notre Dame&lt;/strong&gt;\r\nMelvin Gordon, RB Wisconsin\r\nAmeer Abdullah, RB Nebraska\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With 90 seconds remaining in Saturday night's showdown with Florida State, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson faced a fourth-and-18 at his team\u2019s own 43-yard line. Golson scrambled right and hit wideout Corey Robinson near the sideline for a 20-yard gain, a pass that kept Notre Dame\u2019s final drive alive.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Much will be made of the penalty that negated the Irish\u2019s game-winning touchdown pass eight plays later. That flag -- and Golson\u2019s interception on the replayed fourth down -- helped Florida State escape with the victory. But Notre Dame never would have gotten its chance at fourth-and-goal if Golson didn\u2019t convert that fourth-and-18. That play was a big reason why Golson cemented his status as a legit Heisman contender, even with a loss.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The senior completed 31-of-52 passes for 346 total yards, three touchdowns and two picks. He did it against a smothering Florida State defense on its home field, which also happened to be Saturday\u2019s biggest college football stage. While Golson certainly made key mistakes -- like his game-ending interception -- it\u2019s difficult to blame the quarterback for a deciding pass interference penalty or a last-gasp heave to the end zone. In the bigger picture, Golson played remarkably well in one of the toughest environments in the country.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;True Heisman contenders excel when the stakes are high, so a loss to Florida State shouldn\u2019t be completely omitted from Golson\u2019s resume. But voters should also put Saturday\u2019s performance in perspective if Notre Dame wins out. An 11-1 Irish squad at season\u2019s end with a single loss on the road to Florida State -- now a near lock for a playoff berth -- should look impressive to the selection committee. In that scenario, Golson\u2019s name will linger in the Heisman conversation if his current production continues.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I\u2019ll offer one disclaimer regarding Golson, however: He shouldn\u2019t benefit from any \u201Credemption\u201D narrative in the Heisman race. Golson was suspended for the 2013 season due to his own academic misconduct, not adversity beyond his control. It\u2019s his own fault he missed an entire season. His mistake shouldn\u2019t hold him back in the current Heisman race, as it occurred last season, but save \u201Credemption\u201D talk for true adversity.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As for Winston? Florida State\u2019s quarterback was also dominant (23-of-31 passing, 271 yards, two scores), especially in the second half, but I don\u2019t think Heisman voters will forget Winston\u2019s suspension for the Clemson game. Like Golson\u2019s year-long suspension in 2013, Winston\u2019s absence against the Tigers was due to his own poor decision making. The Seminoles\u2019 star isn\u2019t a serious Heisman contender as long as voters are allowed to interpret the word \u201Cintegrity\u201D in the award\u2019s mission statement however they want.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Rising contenders&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cody Kessler, QB USC&lt;/strong&gt;\r\nJ.T. Barrett, QB Ohio State\r\nKevin White, WR West Virginia\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kessler wasn\u2019t focused on setting any records against Colorado on Saturday. \u201CSomeone made a joke about it on the sideline that I only needed one or two more [touchdowns],\u201D Kessler said after the game. \u201CBut I cut him off before he could say anything.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Perhaps that concentration helped Kessler put on a career performance against the Buffaloes. The Trojans\u2019 quarterback set a school record with seven passing touchdowns in a 56-28 win. That broke the previous mark held by Matt Barkley since 2011, also set against Colorado.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kessler became the first Pac-12 quarterback to throw seven scoring passes in the first three quarters of a game, tossing his seventh scored with 6:30 remaining in the quarter. He delivered 100-yard receiving days to receivers Nelson Agholor (128 yards) and Juju Smith (104). The quarterback also didn\u2019t throw an interception and through seven games has thrown only one pick.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kessler\u2019s name won\u2019t fly up many Heisman lists, and he remains a relative longshot to claim the trophy. But how Kessler and the Trojans end the season could ultimately determine the quarterback\u2019s chance at reaching New York. USC visits UCLA on Nov. 22 before welcoming Notre Dame to the Coliseum in its regular-season finale. Two straight wins over power programs might just give Kessler the clout to sneak into the Heisman picture. But he faces an uphill battle in the Far West voting region as long as Marcus Mariota remains a viable threat at Oregon.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;\u200B&lt;strong&gt;RICKMAN: Between the Hashes: Recapping the wacky and weird of Week 8&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Falling contenders&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bryce Petty, QB Baylor&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Has anyone had a more up-and-down Heisman campaign than Petty? The Baylor quarterback looked sluggish in a win over Texas on Oct. 4. He redeemed himself with fourth-quarter heroics in a shootout victory over TCU last week. But on Saturday Petty\u2019s roller coaster Heisman campaign took another dip against West Virginia.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Mountaineers pressured the quarterback all day in Morgantown, W. Va., sacking Petty four times and holding the Bears to only one touchdown in the second half. He completed just 16-of-36 passes -- 44.4 percent -- while both of his touchdowns came before halftime. Even though West Virginia turned the ball over three times, Petty and Baylor couldn\u2019t take advantage of the Mountaineers\u2019 miscues and converted only three of their 16 third downs.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;\u200B&lt;strong&gt;BECHT: Three thoughts on West Virginia's stunning upset of Baylor&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Bears\u2019 normally prolific attack managed just 318 yards of offense (4.0 yards per play). Meanwhile, West Virginia snagged its first win over a top-five team since beating fifth-ranked Oklahoma in 2008 Fiesta Bowl. At this point the Big 12 might be on the outside looking in when it comes to the College Football Playoff. That\u2019s bad news for Petty, whose Heisman shot hinges on eye-popping stats and his leadership of a contending team.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Baylor still has high-profile matchups with Oklahoma and Kansas State on its schedule. Perhaps Petty can make voters forget about his performance in Morgantown by lighting up the Big 12 the rest of the way. It wouldn\u2019t be the first time he bounced back after a bad performance.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Heisman video of the week&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White, the nation\u2019s leading pass-catcher, hauled in a one-handed grab in the Mountaineers upset of No. 4 Baylor:\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Heisman lookahead&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dak Prescott, QB Mississippi State\r\nNo. 1 Mississippi State at Kentucky&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The last time Prescott faced an SEC team on the road, his Bulldogs upended LSU in Death Valley. Kentucky is a much improved team, but it\u2019s hard to see Mississippi State struggling against the Wildcats. Prescott can build some separation from Marcus Mariota with a big day in Lexington.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;J.T. Barrett, QB Ohio State\r\nNo. 13 Ohio State at Penn State&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No one is talking about the Buckeyes\u2019 quarterback, who is quietly having a terrific year. The issue is that Barrett hasn\u2019t played a team currently ranked in the top 25. That won\u2019t change this week, but a road win against 4-2 Penn State could be a start.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Marcus Mariota, QB Oregon\r\nNo. 6 Oregon at Cal&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mariota will have the stage to himself again Friday night. But Oregon fell to Arizona the last time it played on a non-Saturday. This time the Ducks travel to Cal, which gave UCLA a run for its money on Saturday.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/10/20/heisman-watch-week-8-everett-golson>