With Jameis Winston’s Heisman coronation a fait accompli, the big question now among Heisman observers is: Who will finish second?
Jordan Lynch, Tre Mason, Johnny Manziel, Andre Williams and A.J. McCarron are all in the mix. But the presence of six finalists for the first time since 1994 definitely muddles the picture.
The most likely runner up will be the player who does the best in his home region. Winston is likely to sweep all six of the Heisman regions, so it leaves the other five finalists scrambling for votes further down the ballot.
The two finalists who might have the best advantage in this regard could be Lynch, Manziel and Williams. Lynch’s home region is the Midwest while Manziel’s is the Southwest and Williams’ is the Northeast. All three should finish second in their regions while crowding out the other contenders.
Whichever finalist has the strongest second-place finish while appearing on the second-most number of ballots is likely to take the runner up spot.
Our bet is on Lynch, who should finish very strong in the Midwest while showing up on a good amount of ballots in the Far West and Southwest. But it wouldn’t be surprising if any of the other four get there either.
