– Jacob Murphy
With two weeks in the books in the 2018-2019 college football season lets take a look at some of the stand out performers and where those players in the race for the Heisman Trophy.

Dwayne Haskins: Week 1 vs. Oregon State: 22-30, 313 yards, 5 touchdowns
Week 2 vs. Rutgers: 20-23, 233 yards, 4 touchdown
The Urban Meyer controversy did not seem to be a problem for Haskins in week one against Oregon State. The Buckeyes eventually blew out the Beavers, with a final score of 77-22. Haskins was firing the ball all over the field, looking like a younger version of Cam Newton. The highlight of the performance was the first play of the second half.
Haskins fired a pass to receiver Terry McLaurin, who broke away from the defense for a 75 yard touchdown, which put the Buckeyes up 49-14. In week two against Rutgers,
Haskins showed up again, leading the Buckeyes to a 52-3 win.
Haskins came out strong, throwing a near perfect 38 yard floating pass to Johnnie Dixon in the endzone
on the first drive of the game. Week three will be a test for Haskins as the Buckeyes will
travel to Arlington, TX to face the 15th ranked TCU Horned Frogs, who have allowed
only 19 points over two games.
Will Grier
Week 1 vs. Tennessee: 25/34, 429 yards, 5 touchdowns
Week 2 vs. Youngstown State: 21/26, 332 yards, 4 touchdowns
Heisman favorite Will Grier showed up in week one for the 17th ranked West Virginia
Mountaineers, as he showed why he is a heisman hopeful. Coming off of an impressive
junior year, Grier is expected to excel on the field this year. After a slow first half for the
Mountaineers, Grier exploded for four touchdowns in the second half, putting the team
on his back and coming out with a 40-14 win. Grier’s highlight play came in the
beginning of the third quarter when a fired a near perfect thirty three yard over the top
touchdown pass to receiver David Sills.
Grier added to his campaign again week twoagainst the Youngstown State Penguins. Grier started off bad with an interception onthe first drive of the game, but rebounded with ease as the final score was 52-17. Like Haskins, Grier will also be tested in week three by New Mexico State, who has been
stout on the defensive side of the ball through two games.
Ed Oliver
Week 1 vs. Rice: 13 tackles
Week 2 vs. Arizona: 5 tackles
While I am opposed to a defensive player winning the Heisman, Ed Oliver down in
Houston is looking good. The defensive tackle showed up in week one, with 3.5 of his
13 tackles being for a loss. Oliver did not impress like he did against Rice in week two
against the Arizona Wildcats. The 6-3, 220 pound Oliver was often triple teamed,
keeping him from being productive. It will be interesting to see how Oliver reacts the the
attention next week against Texas Tech.
Jonathan Taylor
Week 1 vs. Western Kentucky: 18 carries, 145 yards, 2 touchdowns
Week 2 vs. New Mexico: 33 carries, 253 yards, 3 touchdowns
It wouldn’t be a Heisman discussion without a running back, and Bryce Love can’t be
mentioned after his week one lackluster performance. That brings us to Wisconsin
running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor, the sophomore, started the season with a bang
against unranked Western Kentucky. Both of his touchdown runs were each for over 30
yards, but the 47 yard touchdown run in the first quarter stood out. Taylor seemed to
look invisible on the run, with practically the entire Western Kentucky defense on his
heels as he flew down the sideline for the score.
Taylor came out against New Mexico with an even bigger bang, setting his career high in rushing yards and rushing attempts for a single game. Taylor now leads the country in all purpose rushing yards, and is tied for third place in all purpose yards. Expect to see Taylor back on the list next week, as
the Badgers are set to face off against the BYU Cougars. The Cougars are ranked 82nd
in the country in regards to rushing defense based off of opposing rushing yards per
game.