Heisman Hype Already Building for Everett Golson

Two years ago Notre Dame had an unexpected Heisman favorite emerge on its undefeated regular season squad of 2012 when Manti Te’o nearly became the first defensive player since Charles Woodson to win the Heisman Trophy.  Two years later Notre Dame looks like it could have another player who wouldn’t be nearly as unexpected in the thick of Heisman race again this season in Everett Golson.

On Tuesday ESPN updated their way to early Heisman contenders standings and guess who was a new member of the top 5?  That’s right, Notre Dame’s own #5, Everett Golson.

While ESPN is ready to put Golson squarely into the Heisman race just two weeks into the season, Golson’s head coach isn’t quite as eager to do the same.   In fact, Brian Kelly has been very hesitant to declare his quarterback a contender for the award so far.  On Saturday night he laughed off comments about Golson being in the race.  On Tuesday he was a little more candid.  “I think we’re all on the same page that we know it’s Game 2.” said Kelly before adding, “we know that there is a lot of work left.”

At the same time, Kelly knows that it is impossible to stop the hype when the quarterback at Notre Dame is playing well.  “We can’t control what other people are going to think.  We know internally we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Kelly said.  “If you want to put his name on the list, that’s fine.  It’s not going to influence what we need to do to get better at that position, what he needs to do.”

It’s also clear that Kelly feels Golson is mature enough not to buy into the hype.  “I don’t believe if he’s on the Heisman list that that’s going to change what he does in his preparation,” he said.  “I think he’s grounded enough that he knows what he needs to do to get better.”

Now before we get too far down this road let me clear,  I think Golson has a lot of work to do before he is considered one of the favorites for college football’s most coveted award, but two games into his first season back after academic exile, the Notre Dame signal caller has the looks of a guy who can make a run thanks to a hot start to the season.

ESPN and the media aren’t the only ones to take notice of that hot start either.  In the pre-season Golson’s odds at winning the Heisman opened up at 25:1.  After his performances against Rice and Michigan those odds have dropped for 16:1 according to Bovada.

Golson has already accounted for eight Notre Dame touchdowns in as many quarters (5 passing, 3 rushing) while throwing for 521 yards and completing 66% of his passes.  Good enough for a rating of 173.7 that ranks him 5th in the country.  Those numbers are pretty comparable to those of Heisman favorite Marcus Mariota and are actually superior at this point to reigning Heisman winner Jameis Winston.

Oregon’s star QB has 7 total touchdowns with 585 yards in the air and a 208.2 rating.  Mariota did put up some of those stats up against the stout Michigan State defense though.  Winston meanwhile has stumbled a bit as the Seminoles have yet to be tested throwing just three touchdowns to two interceptions in two games.

The point here, however, is not to compare Golson with Mariota or Golson to Winston – it’s to point out that Golson’s fast start has him in some elite company and with two very winnable games upcoming against less than stellar defenses, his stats figure to only become even more impressive as the Irish enter their make or break October schedule that has them potentially facing three ranked teams in consecutive weeks including a trip to Tallahassee for a showdown with #1 ranked Florida State.

These next two games aren’t where Golson can really insert himself into the race for Heisman trophy.  Two more stellar performances against Purdue and Syracuse and Golson will find himself right in the tick of the conversation conversation.  It’s those three October games where Golson will have the chance to really insert himself into the race.

With an undefeated September a very good possibility for Notre Dame the way the Irish have played so far, Golson has the opportunity to lead the Irish into some marquee games in October where he can grab the attention of Heisman voter’s across the country.  Similar to 2012 when a 1-loss Stanford team came to Notre Dame Stadium for an early October showdown, the Cardinal will likely bring another 1-loss record into South Bend following their loss this past weekend to USC.  Considering Stanford only fell to 15th in the AP Poll, that game could be a showdown of two teams either within the top 10 or on the cusp of the top 10.

North Carolina fell out of the rankings this week following another unimpressive victory but at 2-0, the Tar Heels could easily be ranked again by the time they come to town to face off against the Irish.  Then there’s that looming drip to Tallahassee.  Now, if Golson navigates the Irish through that patch either undefeated or with a single loss and continues his impressive play, he might as well make his travel arrangements for New York for early December.  Even if the Irish were to stumble once during that stretch but Golson played well, he would still likely end October as one of the favorites.

Notre Dame’s November schedule will give Golson additional opportunities to grab the attention of voters around the country as well.  Two trips to the west coast for road games against Arizona State and USC will put Golson front and center of west coast voters.  That trip to Tallahassee will get him in front of voters in the Southeast too.

In short, Golson is going to have plenty of opportunities between now and the end of the season to make his case and considering ESPN is already placing him in the race, the Heisman hype machine will only grow. As the quarterback for Notre Dame, it is going to be easy for Golson to gain votes around the country if he continues to play as well as he’s been and the Irish keep winning.  Remember, it was only two years ago that Manti Te’o was able to take advantage of a weak Heisman field and an undefeated record to nearly be the first defender in 25 years to win the award.