Another ACC player has emerged as a serious contender in this year’s Heisman race.
Boston College running back Andre Williams, fresh off a 263-yard performance that pushed him past the 2,000-yard mark for the season, debuted in second-place in the latest HeismanPundit Heisman Straw Poll released on Tuesday.
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston held the top spot for the third week in a row, but he saw his point total drop as the result of two voters dropping him off their ballots. Winston grabbed six first-place votes, appearing on just those six ballots, and totaled 18 points.
Williams was close behind with 16 points. He did not garner any first-place votes from the 10-member panel of voters, but his appearance on eight ballots allowed him to leapfrog the rest of the field.
Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron grabbed two first-place votes and totaled eight points to move up to third place from fifth last week. Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch was fourth (1 first-place vote, 7 points) while defending Heisman winnerJohnny Manziel of Texas A&M was fifth (4 points). Oregon’sMarcus Mariota snared the remaining first place vote.
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. This year’s poll is made up of 10 anonymous Heisman voters from across the country. Each week during the season they will pick three players. Tabulations for the preseason poll are tabulated like a real Heisman ballot, with three points awarded for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote.
Each week’s poll is released on Tuesdays throughout the season at HeismanPundit.com.
The HeismanPundit.com Heisman Straw Poll, 11/26/2013
Total Points (with first place votes in parentheses)
1. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State — 18 (6)
2. Andre Williams, RB, Boston College — 16
3. AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama — 8 (2)
4. Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern Illinois — 7 (1)
5. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M — 4
6. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon — 3 (1)
7. Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor — 2
8. (tie) Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State — 1
Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh — 1
Number of ballots
Williams — 8
Winston — 6
McCarron — 4
Lynch — 4
Manziel — 3
The rest — 1