Looking for something to motivate your quarterback, Nick Saban? Show him The Athletic’s Heisman Trophy straw poll this week. A whopping five reporters did not vote Tua Tagovailoa No. 1 on their ballots.
There. How’s that sound for reciprocation?
Tagovailoa and Alabama are, of course, very, very good, as they are the Heisman and national title frontrunners, respectively. They are so good, in fact, that Saban resorted to practically begging reporters to write something negative about his team after its latest rout, a 45-23 win against Texas A&M.
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“I’d appreciate it if you’d sort of look at some of the things we didn’t do so well and write about that so maybe I could show it to the players and say, ‘Look here, man. Here’s something you can do better,’ ” Saban said Saturday.
Tagovailoa’s latest masterpiece — throwing for 387 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions — earned him even more separation atop this week’s Heisman watch, as he received 29 of 34 first-place votes, good for 96 points overall.
Our 34-person poll follows protocol of the actual Heisman voting: 3 points for a first-place vote, 2 points for second and 1 for third.
Leading the way behind Tagovailoa is Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who leapt from fourth place to second after completing 21 of 24 passes Saturday for 304 yards with five touchdowns and no picks against Tulane.
Haskins’ 45 points (including two first-place votes) surpassed last week’s runner-up, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who came in fourth place this week with 17 points (including one first-place vote).
West Virginia quarterback Will Grier held steady at No. 3, garnering 37 points (two first-place votes).
Nine players received votes this week, down from 11 last week. Five of the nine players are quarterbacks, three are running backs and one is a wide receiver.
Opportunity beckons this week for the two-closest contenders behind Tagovailoa, as Haskins takes the Buckeyes into Penn State for a prime-time showdown and Grier takes the Mountaineers to Texas Tech for what is sure to be a high-scoring, stat-stuffing affair.
(Photo of Tua Tagovailoa: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)