Every winner since 1998 played one of the two positions. Patterson and the No. The University of Buffalo running back is the best in CFB. Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson We have a firm rule here: If you double up Al Bundy’s famed four-TD game at Polk High, you’re automatically added to the Heisman list. Patterson also couldn’t test himself against nonconference opponents such as Ohio State and Kansas State, and those became missed opportunities for exposure. Testaverde and Ward still had played more games than Patterson could this season. Bill Bender, a senior writer for The Sporting News, considers Patterson a viable top-10 candidate. The Heisman Trophy is essentially a quarterback and running back award. Klatt, a college football commentator and analyst with Fox Sports, puts University at Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson in the Heisman conversation with Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones and BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. Patterson has played half as many games as Heisman running back rivals like Najee Harris of Alabama, Travis Etienne of Clemson and Breece Hall of Iowa State. Patterson entered the weekend first in the nation in rushing yards per game (230), tied for second in rushing touchdowns (16) and fifth in total yards. 24-ranked Bulls (4-0 Mid-American Conference) are scheduled to host the Zips (1-4) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Patterson is at a clear disadvantage due to the unprecedented nature of the 2020 season, however. He broke free for six runs of 30 yards or greater — and four of those runs wound up in the end zone. Give Jim Harbaugh some credit: There was a … After shattering records left and right, Patterson must be in the conversation for college football’s most prestigious award. A precedent for producing these lofty numbers has been set by Williams and it resulted in a Heisman. The next closest running back in rushing yards per game is Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, who trails Patterson’s average by over 66 yards. What also could weigh in Patterson’s favor is that high-profile players such as Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Clemson’s Lawrence also have missed games because of game cancellations and postponements due to Covid-19 issues or, in Lawrence’s case, missing five weeks after testing positive in late October, along with a game that was postponed. @ReggieBush and @MattLeinartQB look at their frontrunners to win the Heisman this season #BigNoonKickoff pic.twitter.com/4Ki2cr6o0p. Klatt, a former Colorado quarterback and a Heisman Trophy voter, slots Patterson among his Heisman Trophy candidates, because of the junior running back’s eye-popping performances. That Kent State rushing barrage was by no means a one hit wonder for Patterson. #5 Ohio stuns #1 Toledo, advance to MAC title game. In the Iron Bowl, Jones threw for 302 passing yards and five touchdowns. “If he put even half the stats he’s put up in the past two weeks against the Wildcats and the Buckeyes, he would be in most peoples’ lists,” Sordelett said. In normal times, Saturday would have been the finale of the regular season, a chance for divisional powers to secure a spot in a conference championship game or for in-state rivals to afford their fan base license to jeer their neighbors in grocery stores, churches … 8: Jaret Patterson, RB, Buffalo Because the MAC just got started about a month ago and because they aren't a Power 5 … While re-writing history from week to week, there’s one more individual accolade Patterson should be considered for — the Heisman Trophy. Let's make the case for Jaret Patterson. We have a firm rule here: If you double up Al Bundy’s famed four-TD game at Polk High, you’re automatically added to the Heisman list. Buffalo sophomore Jaret Patterson could get some love, too. Notre Dame quarterback Angelo Bertelli won in 1943; he played in six games before he was called to serve in World War II midway through the season. You only have to backtrack seven years to find former Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch sitting front row in New York at the 2013 Heisman Trophy ceremony. Patterson topped both numbers over his most recent 2-game stretch. One more word that lurks in the Heisman mission statement that Patterson embodies is “integrity.” Check that box off as well for the Buffalo running back. Each voter is asked to rank the top three candidates; players receive three points for first-place votes, two for second and one for third. Lynch, who held the single-game rushing record for quarterbacks until 2017, finished third place with 40 first-place votes. Through four games in the 2020 campaign, Patterson has become a walking record book. I'm a college/high school sports enterprise reporter at The Buffalo News. Does Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson make the top five of the 2020 Heisman watch after running for 409 yards and a record-tying eight touchdowns over the weekend? In total rushing yards, Patterson is in fifth place with 920. Jaret Patterson (born December 23, 1999) is an American football running back who played college football for Buffalo.. So does the newly announced MAC MVP Jaret Patterson. May he win? He could emerge as a last-minute candidate. Lance Leipold regards a national ranking not just as a standard for a football program that has built a winning culture. Last Saturday, Patterson tied the records for most rushing touchdowns and most total touchdowns scored in a single game, previously held by former Illinois great Howard Griffith. Virtual ceremony takes place Tuesday, January 5 in Bristol, Connecticut. In his final six games, Patterson broke out for 1,113 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns, securing a Bahamas Bowl MVP in Buffalo’s first-ever bowl victory. Is four games too small of a sample size? Damien Sordelett covers Liberty for the News & Advance in Lynchburg, Va., and is a Heisman voter. Patterson has the complete package. Patterson is the second all-time leading rusher for the Bulls (3,732 yards), and he needs 80 yards in order to reach his third 1,000-yard rushing season at UB. Heisman Trophy hype grows for UB running back Jaret Patterson. Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson (26) carries the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Akron in Amherst, N.Y., Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020. You have permission to edit this article. Is this sustainable? Kelly Hines covers Tulsa football for the Tulsa (Okla.) World, and her email box has been inundated with information from college athletic programs that ask voters to consider players for national awards, including the Heisman Trophy. Many Heisman voters are media members who typically work Saturdays, when most college football games are being played. “If he runs for 1,500 yards in six games, that’s a prorated 3,000-yard season in a normal year,” said Bender, who is a Heisman Trophy voter for the third consecutive year. There’s no formal tracker for candidates through the Heisman Trophy Trust, though media polls and betting odds sites have already offered plenty of prognostication. If he cracks the 1,000-yard plateau Dec. 12 against Akron, Patterson will be the 12th player in FBS history to reach it in five games. With Tulsa’s game last weekend against Houston postponed because of Covid-19 cases in the Houston program, Hines had the rare chance to watch a college football game, and the buzz surrounding Patterson on social media prompted her to turn on the Kent State-UB game to follow Patterson's pursuit of national rushing records. He watched Patterson last year against the Flames, who limited the running back to 69 yards on 17 carries. But you look at the numbers and the consistency and where it’s at, I think he deserves it.”. “His numbers speak for themselves. Off last week, he will lead the Cyclones in the Big 12 title game vs. Oklahoma as he looks to finish strong. “There’s not going to be anything that touches what he does. slowing patterson Ball State won the MAC championship by limiting Buffalo's Jaret Patterson to 47 yards on 18 carries. Heisman watch candidate No. Scratch that last sentence. The Falcons and Chippewas meet in Cleveland to determine which of them will gain the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. “He’s certainly made up for lost time with his gaudy statistics against MAC (teams), and his value to the Bulls’ success is a reason why I’m considering him for the Heisman.”. He ran for 298 yards and a Mid-American Conference record six TDs on 22 carries against Bowling Green Friday. Joel Klatt is well aware of the unspoken diplomacy that typically determines the Heisman Trophy winner. Looking for a last-minute Heisman Trophy candidate? Now Jaret Patterson is one of the best players in Buffalo history, alongside guys such as Branden Oliver and Khalil Mack. Early years. When the renowned trophy is awarded this January, No. Buffalo Bulls running back Jaret Petterson scored 8 touchdowns and rushed for 409 yards during a 70-41 victory over Kent State on Saturday, No…. 26 belongs in the conversation for the 2020 Heisman Trophy recipient. The slipper fits the Bobcats, as they take down the top seed, and reserve a ticket for the MAC Championship Game. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Patterson’s Heisman Trophy chances and Buffalo’s 2020 college football season – assuming there is one – and an overview. ', For the record books: UB running back Jaret Patterson scores 8 touchdowns. That performance catapulted Patterson into consideration for the Heisman Trophy, which is given annually to the top player in college football. No player from the Mid-American Conference has won the Heisman. His combination of speed, vision, strength, cutting, and the ability to break out of any tackle is unmatched by any running back in the FBS. Patterson, a junior, has 3,837 rushing yards and 51 touchdowns in three seasons at UB. The Heisman watch goes another round with Mac Jones hot on Kyle Trask’s trail, Trevor Lawrence lurking and Jaret Patterson crashing the Heisman race. “That’s staggering to think about. Patterson is accomplishing feats we hardly ever see, and his pronounced impact on the record books has to be recognized. If they award Jaret Patterson the Heisman Trophy this year, they should disband the award forever. Even after that pedestrian performance, Patterson still … "Come on in, young man! #2 Buffalo earns hard-fought victory over #3 Akron in OT. “The four MAC teams Buffalo has played so far have done the same thing, and Patterson is still running through them.”. “What he has done in four games is staggering,” said Hines, who is a first-time Heisman voter. “For as good as Jaret has been, I think that the hope for him would be a late push to become a Heisman finalist,” Klatt said. There was a problem saving your notification. Jaret Patterson #26 of the Buffalo Bulls. 7. Patterson is the first UB running back to be named a semifinalist in the award's history. While no MAC player has claimed the prestigious award, several have garnered a considerable amount of votes. That performance, along with Patterson's consistent production, has put him on the map as one of the nation's top players. Kyle Trask | Florida QB | Senior | Last week: 1 Kyle Trask got superstar tight end Kyle Pitts back for Florida, and the two promptly connected on all three of Trask’s touchdown passes in the Gators’ win over Kentucky. Williams won the Heisman Trophy that season, racking up 714 first-place votes. Florida State running back Charlie Ward won in 1993, and missed a game because of a rib injury. But if I had a vote today, it would be tough to sort it out, especially with the quarterbacks, and players like (Notre Dame quarterback) Ian Book and (Alabama running back) Najee Harris.”. Head coach Lance Leipold often harps on how great of a practice player and teammate Patterson is and how vital he is to the program off the field. Story posted December 4, 2020 in . UB’s game Saturday against Ohio was canceled because of Covid-19 positive tests and contact tracing in Ohio’s program, and the MAC declared the game a no contest. The Heisman hype for Patterson continues to grow, in the wake of his astonishing 409-yard game Nov. 28 against Kent State, in which he tied a Football Bowl Subdivision record with eight touchdowns in a game. So when picking the most impactful quarterback or running back in 2020, ask yourself this — are any quarterbacks posting jaw-dropping numbers and shattering record books to this degree? A look at the polls, gambling odds for the 2020 Heisman Trophy. "It's time to welcome Jaret Patterson into the VIP section," Bush, a former USC and NFL running back, said. Zach Wilson 8 … (2) 17. Jaret Patterson was a touchdown machine at St. Vincent Pallotti High School, in Laurel, MD. 5. The second-place finisher, Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop, received just 41. The honor is presented to the nation’s top player in college football, yet it’s almost always awarded to a quarterback, and almost always to a player from a Power Five conference. “It is such a rare thing to see a Group of Five player in the running for the Heisman Trophy, and even more rare for that player to be a running back. “It’s deserving for him to be in this conversation,” UB coach Lance Leipold said. “It’s definitely an honor, a blessing, to be considered in the conversation,” Patterson said of the Heisman chatter. Just take a look at this surreal statistic: It doesn’t take a mathematician to extrapolate Patterson’s stats if he were to have played a 10-game season as opposed to his 5-game season: Patterson would have had an absurd 30+ TDs and a 2000+ yard season. “But to be in conversations, and I don’t know how many people get these ballots … do these ballots have three people? No, that’s not it. All Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson wanted this fall was an opportunity to showcase his talents, so he launched a player-led movement to encourage the MAC to host a 2020 fall football season. ET, ESPN and the ESPN App ), let's take a deeper look at the Bulls' breakout star. Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson. The UB athletic department has confirmed that the Bulls are division champions and have clinched a berth in the MAC championship game, which is scheduled for Dec. 18 at Ford Field in Detroit. ... Jaret Patterson 9 … 0. “Just growing up, loving the game, you look at TV and you see guys who are Heisman finalists. Patterson is fifth in the nation in rushing with 920 yards on 107 carries, and leads the nation in rushing yards per game (230). Several Heisman winners have missed games during the seasons in which they won. Buffalo ranks first in the country in scoring offense, second in rushing yards per game, and in the bottom five in average turnovers committed. Just one week prior, the Buffalo running back burst for 301 rushing yards and four touchdowns on Bowling Green, breaking his own single-game MAC rushing record set in 2019. Patterson plays in a Group of Five conference, which could be a strike against him. In 2019, 870 media members and 58 former Heisman winners received ballots, including The Buffalo News. As a sophomore, he ranked fifth in the country in total rushing yards and pieced together an off-the-charts stretch to end the season. ... Jaret Patterson… That's the same day of the Senate runoffs in Georgia. In rushing touchdowns, he ranks second with 16, one behind Alabama running back Najee Harris who has played eight games this season. Whether it’s a program achievement, a MAC rushing record or most touchdowns in an FBS game, he finds a way to secure a spot in history every time he touches the field. Probably not. You never think you will be in consideration. Writes Forde: “If you don’t give them the Heisman, at least give them some love.” Reggie Bush recently ranked him in the Top 5 in the country, and he’s even getting some Heisman … 8: Jaret Patterson, RB, Buffalo Because the MAC just got started about a month ago and because they aren’t a Power 5 … Patterson is a record-setter, he is the captain of an undefeated team, he is a one-of-a-kind talent, and most importantly, he is a well-deserving Heisman candidate. The Buffalo running back made a run at the FBS … Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Only three players from Mid-American Conference schools have been Heisman finalists since 1997: Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch (2013, third), Marshall quarterback Chad Pennington (1999, fifth), and Marshall wide receiver Randy Moss (1997, fourth). 5. But if you ask Patterson about his greatness, you’ll never comprehend it because he never makes it about himself. That’s a historical outing. Hustle Belt, for Mid-American Conference fans, Jaret Patterson deserves to be a Heisman finalist, Ohio University wins the 2021 MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Winning the conference title with one of the few undefeated records entering bowl season could work wonders for his Heisman campaign, and he’ll likely catch up to the nation’s statistical leaders by then. Michigan makes history ... and not the good kind. “The Flames made a concerted effort to not let him beat them,” Sordelett said. This is what he does. Look at manner in which Jaret Patterson concluded his 2019 season. Keep working and good things will happen.”. Jaret Patterson is far and away the best player in the MAC, and perhaps the first potential Heisman candidate since Jordan Lynch (for 6) almost a decade ago now. USA Today Network’s most recent Heisman Watch, Crash Investigators Obtain 'Black Box' From Vehicle Of Tiger Woods, Woods 'awake, responsive' after car wreck surgery, Tiger Woods taken to hospital after California car crash, 'Jaws of life' used to remove Tiger Woods from car crash, UB football earns Associated Press Top 25 ranking for first time in program history, UB's Jaret Patterson a semifinalist for Doak Walker Award, It's official: UB football wins MAC East title, will play for MAC championship, Akron coach: 'It'll take all 70 of us' to try to stop UB's Jaret Patterson, Mike Harrington: UB takes care of business as it heads to its ultimate test, 'The Jaret Patterson Show': Opposing prep coaches praise RB before MAC title game, UB's Jaret Patterson makes USA Today Sports' 2020 All-America Team, UB-Ohio football game canceled due to Covid-19; Bulls seem to be division champs, UB's Jaret Patterson: 'I’m going to get it done and help this team to where it needs to be. Michigan makes history … and not the good kind All six of those games featured a minimum of 140 rushing yards. To those who give heart and soul night and day to the UB football program, it's going to be all about what happens Friday night in Detroit. He had the best two game stretch in college football history in 1998 with a 668 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. I've worked in sports journalism since 1997 and I have covered everything from college football to the Stanley Cup playoffs, high school sports and the NCAA Tournament. Heisman Trophy finalists will be announced Dec. 24, and the winner will be announced Jan. 5.