While the Notre Dame football team has College Football Playoffs business to take care of on Saturday night, Jeremiyah Love also has a chance to bolster his Heisman campaign.
While the Fighting Irish running back is still a dark horse in the race, several less-than-impressive outings on Black Friday may have laid out a path to Love winning the trophy. Those outings start with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and his season-worst performance against in-state rival Purdue.
Mendoza has long been considered the frontrunner for the Heisman. Still, the Notre Dame running back could make up a lot of ground with a massive Saturday night after Mendoza completed just 8 of 15 passes for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Jeremiyah Love’s Heisman chances rise as Notre Dame football rivals falter entering final weekend
Yes, the Hoosiers won 56-3, and that will count as a mark in his Heisman column, but he finishes the season with just 2,758 yards. He also had 32 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions, but that yardage number is well shy of other quarterbacks who have won the award of late.
Vegas oddsmakers agree that Love has at least closed the gap between himself and Mendoza. The newest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook show Mendoza at +100, the Notre Dame star at +250, and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin at +360.
Sayin can help his cause (and maybe even take the lead) depending on how he plays in The Game against Michigan Saturday afternoon. Still, Love has made some leaps and bounds to get so soundly in the No. 2 spot in the final week of the regular season.
Other competitors, such as Gunnar Stockton (just 70 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT on Friday) and Marcel Reed (180 yards, 2 INT), have fallen off entirely.
Stanford's run defense is one of the best in the country. if Jeremiyah Love can explode again on late Saturday night as the Notre Dame football team routs the Cardinal, he could lock in a frontrunner status for the Heisman trophy.