Week 5 didn’t just sort out the college football landscape. It also put a serious dent in three Heisman bids that had been gaining real momentum.
The trophy race looked wide open heading into the weekend, with quarterbacks popping up from nowhere and a few position players stacking eye-popping numbers. But the biggest games on the slate carried real weight, and for three players in particular, Saturday may have been the point where the Heisman path started to disappear.
Kamario Taylor’s shot took a hit in Alabama-Mississippi State
Mississippi State had a chance to make a statement against Alabama, and Kamario Taylor had a chance to put himself in the thick of the Heisman conversation. Instead, the foot injury that had been bothering him showed up in a big way. Taylor was clearly limited and never looked fully comfortable, even though he still managed to go 19 of 34 for 258 yards and three touchdowns.
The problem was the turnovers. They hurt Mississippi State badly, and they also slammed the brakes on Taylor’s Heisman case. If the injury keeps him out for any length of time, the Bulldogs may be looking ahead to next year before they get another real run at a Heisman-level season from him.
Jadan Baugh got swallowed up by Missouri
With Kewan Lacy and Ahmad Hardy both dealing with injuries, Jadan Baugh had become the running back with the clearest Heisman opening. That made Saturday’s showing against Missouri even tougher to swallow.
The Tigers completely shut him down, holding Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries. It was the kind of performance that can wreck a campaign fast, the same way Alabama once ended Leonard Fournette’s hopes. Baugh still has time and games left to make a push, but after this one, he’s working from a deep hole.
Julian Sayin’s problem is sitting next to him
Julian Sayin has been steady for Ohio State, but the Heisman buzz around him is fading for a different reason. The issue isn’t that he’s been bad. It’s that Jeremiah Smith keeps putting up numbers that look historic.
Smith is piling up Ohio State records and, even if Sayin is helping drive the offense, the receiver is clearly the engine behind what the Buckeyes are doing. That dynamic makes it hard to see Sayin climbing all the way to the top of the Heisman race. In a season where Smith keeps taking center stage, Sayin’s candidacy is starting to look like one that won’t get there.
In Other News...
LSU Just Got Another Reminder How Brutal The SEC Has Become
Missouris emphatic 45-17 win over Florida was another reminder that there are no easy weekends left in the SEC, where even a team that had not scored a home win over a top-10 opponent in 16 years could suddenly look overwhelming. Austin Simmons controlled the passing game with 340 yards and two touchdowns, while Jamal Roberts powered the ground attack with 211 yards and three scores, turning the kind of game that can flatten a conference rival into a showcase for how quickly momentum can swing in this league.
For Mississippi State, it is the sort of result that only sharpens the pressure around every SEC Saturday, because the margin for error keeps shrinking as more teams prove they can win big and win fast. Eli Drinkwitzs postgame point about the need to bounce back after losses fits the broader picture here, since the leagues depth now means a bad day can bury a team quickly, and the next challenge often arrives before anyone has time to catch their breath. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Faces Immediate AP Poll Trouble After Costly Missouri Loss
Mississippi States loss to Alabama was part of a busy weekend that could shake up the AP Top 25, but the Bulldogs are watching the bigger picture in the SEC as the conference continues to sort itself out. Missouris win over Florida is the result that may create the most immediate movement, with the Tigers strengthening their case and the Gators suddenly facing the kind of poll pressure that comes after a damaging league setback.
For Mississippi State, the rankings story is less about a single spot and more about how the league cluster around it is shifting after another round of decisive results. The official AP poll comes out Sunday, and there are still teams hovering on the edge of moving up or slipping out, which leaves the Bulldogs with a familiar kind of interest in how the voters weigh recent performance against earlier expectations. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Still Has A Real SEC Opportunity In Week 6 Poll
Mississippi States latest ranking in the Week 6 USA Today Coaches Poll keeps the Bulldogs in the thick of an SEC-heavy top 25, with the conference again flexing real national depth. Ten SEC teams made the cut, a reminder that the leagues weekly grind remains as demanding as ever, even after Alabamas recent win over Mississippi State helped shape the upper half of the poll.
Texas holds the No. 1 spot and Georgia sits right behind at No. 2, while Alabama checks in at No. 7 and the rest of the SEC pack includes LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, Mississippi State and Kentucky. For the Bulldogs, the ranking offers a snapshot of where they stand in a crowded conference race, and it also underscores just how many opportunities still remain on the schedule to move up, or slip, in a field packed with ranked opponents. [Read more 🡒]