Ohio State Football: Heisman could be Fields’ to lose in 2020
The Heisman Trophy is college football’s most coveted honor. In 2020, the award could be Ohio State football quarterback Justin Fields’ to lose.
Quarterback Justin Fields returns for the Ohio State football team in 2020 and Clemson returns Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne. Outside of those players, the country may not need to know anyone further in terms of the Heisman conversation. If I were a betting man and had those three guys or the field, I’d take those three elite athletes.
As we saw in last season, when a team has multiple contenders for the Heisman, often times the voters split between the two and another player sneaks in front by virtue of that alone.
Fields and Chase Young were both worthy contenders to win it this past season, not as much as Joe Burrow, but at least to finish second. Neither of them did because of the vote split which allowed for Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts to squeeze into a second-place finish.
Looking ahead to 2020, the pair of Clemson Tigers could find themselves in the same situation.
There is no doubt Fields, Lawrence and Etienne will put up gaudy numbers next year and will find themselves at the forefront of the Heisman discussion. The Tigers have a more difficult schedule than last year with the addition of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but still not comparable to that of which the Buckeyes have to overcome.
Fields will get a chance early against Oregon in Eugene to perform on the national stage under the lights in primetime like Burrow against Texas a year ago. A victory cements the team as a playoff contender and then subsequently bolsters a Heisman campaign for the winning QB who would be Fields in Ohio State’s case.
Additional road games against Michigan State and Penn State will be crucial for his chances to win the prestigious award. However, contests against a sneaky good Iowa team, Nebraska, and Michigan in front of over 100,000 faithful in The Shoe will be the ultimate stage for the junior quarterback.
The opportunities are aplenty for Fields in 2020 as long as he remains healthy throughout the year. He was somewhat limited down the stretch in 2019, but as we saw he was not afraid of the moment. In fact, he seized it and made incredible highlight-reel plays like a true tough warrior.
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It looks to me as though the 2020 Heisman Trophy will be Justin Fields’ to lose. Judging his first full season as a starting quarterback and factoring in a second year under the direction of Ryan Day in the same offensive system, I can’t find a reason to disprove the argument.