This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's Dec. 7 Wide Receivers Issue. Subscribe today!
Leonard Fournette's no good, very bad game day vs. Bama reshaped the Heisman race. Ezekiel Elliott's disappearing act against Michigan State did too. But how low can a running back go and still take the prize? We look back to see what's ahead for the 2015 hopefuls.
DERRICK HENRY
Alabama
Heisman Odds: 1-3
Yards Per Game: 138.7
Henry, a la Ron Dayne in 1999, just keeps getting better. He's steady too, scoring in each game. His 52 yards vs. ULM? Came on 13 tries in a 34-0 win. And his latest 68-yard effort vs. Charleston Southern? Nine carries in a 56-6 rout.
LEONARD FOURNETTE
LSU
Heisman Odds: 12-1
Yards Per Game: 158.2
Fournette's late-season swoon (76.7 ypg in his past three outings, 116 fewer than in his first seven) has Heisman precedent. See: Mark Ingram, 2009.
CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY
Stanford
Heisman Odds: 14-1
Yards Per Game: 140.5
A slow rushing start gave way to an all-purpose-yard blitz: 274.4 per game over his past nine tilts -- 52 more than Reggie Bush in 2005.
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT
Ohio State
Heisman Odds: 25-1
Yards Per Game: 132.5
Elliott rushed for 100-plus in 15 straight, evoking another Buckeyes Heisman winner who always sniffed the century mark: Eddie George in '95. Then Michigan State happened (12 carries, 33 yards).
Yards Per Game, Past Five Heisman-Winning Running Backs
Odds as of Nov. 22. Courtesy Station Casinos.
Stats through Week 12.
*Bush's Heisman was vacated in 2010.