Before last week’s game against Houston, Lamar Jackson seemed to have the Heisman Trophy all but locked up. He had delivered a collection of signature moments and compiled a virtually unimpeachable statistical profile while quarterbacking a team in contention for a College Football Playoff berth. But when Jackson left TDECU Stadium on Thursday night after a 36–10 loss, the Cardinals had been ejected from the playoff picture and his lead in the Heisman race no longer felt insurmountable.
Predictably, the result spurred questions over whether Jackson had actually surrendered his grip on the No. 1 spot. Perhaps that would have been the case were there a really compelling candidate to challenge the Louisville quarterback.