Florida State freshman quarterback Jameis Winston took advantage of his huge showing against Clemson this past weekend to surge into second place in the latest HeismanPundit Heisman Straw Poll released on Tuesday.
Winston’s 444 yards and three touchdowns against the then-No. 3 Tigers in Death Valley helped garner him 20 points and four first-place votes in the weekly survey of Heisman voters from around the country.
Despite his uptick in support, Winston remained slightly behind Marcus Mariota of Oregon, who tallied 22 points and five first place votes. It’s the second-straight week that the Ducks sophomore has led the poll.
Defending Heisman winner Johnny Manziel dropped to third place with nine points and one first-place vote after Texas A&M’s loss to Auburn.
Now in its eighth season, the HeismanPundit.com Heisman Straw Poll is the college football world’s most trusted gauge of Heisman voter sentiment. It has been the most accurate Heisman poll in the country during the past seven seasons, with the final 2012 poll correctly picking the top five finishers and the final 2011 poll picking the top seven.
Each week’s poll is released on Tuesdays throughout the season at HeismanPundit.com.
The HeismanPundit.com Heisman Straw Poll, 10/22/2013
Total Points (with first place votes in parentheses)
1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon — 22 (5)
2. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State — 20 (4)
3. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M — 9 (1)
4. Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor — 4
5. Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern Illinois — 3
6. Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon State — 2