NCAA Football News and Notes: Burrow Takes Heisman

The college football regular season has officially ended, and bowl season is now set to begin. While all eyes will be on the College Football Playoff, there is still plenty of intrigue from other bowl games. The games kick off Friday night, but let’s take a look at some of the news from around the country.
Burrow Unsurprisingly Wins Heisman Trophy
Joe Burrow is your 2019 Heisman Trophy winner, and it really was not even close. Burrow had 841 first-place votes, while second-place finisher Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma had a mere 20 votes.
In fact, Burrow set multiple records for a Heisman Trophy winner. He had the highest percentage of first-place votes (90.7), the largest margin of victory (1,846 points), and the highest percentage of possible points (93.8 percent). Needless to say, it was Burrow’s award to lose.
There is good reason for it, too. Burrow has the LSU Tigers as the top-ranked team heading in the College Football Playoff. On top of that, he was absolutely sensational during the regular season.
Burrow was 342 for 439 (77.95) for 4,715 yards, 48 touchdowns and just six interceptions. At 13-0, LSU will be taking on the 12-1 Oklahoma Sooners in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 28, with the winner earning a chance to move onto the national championship game.
Burrow is trying to soak in the last remaining games of his senior season, as he has certainly entrenched himself as a likely top draft pick in next year’s NFL Draft. It will be interesting to see how his skills ultimately translate to the next level, but one thing is for sure, he seems to have the college game mastered.
LSU Running Back Injures Hamstring
Speaking of LSU and the Peach Bowl, the Tigers received some bad news on Wednesday. On Tuesday, their star running back, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, suffered a hamstring injury that now has his status for the Peach Bowl in limbo.
Edwards-Helaire had a phenomenal season this year, rushing 197 times for 1,290 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had 50 receptions out of the backfield for 399 yards and another touchdown.
While LSU’s passing game is so strong, it might not matter, this would be a significant hit to LSU’s offense if he is unable to go. There is still a little over a week until the Peach Bowl, but this will certainly be a news story worth monitoring as the game approaches.
Oklahoma Suspends Three
LSU is not the only team in the Peach Bowl to take a bit of a hit, though. It appears that Rhamondre Stevenson, Ronnie Perkins and Trejan Bridges are all suspended for the semifinal game.
While no indications were made as to why they were suspended, this could have significant ramifications. The most impactful of these three has been defensive lineman Ronnie Perkins, who has 38 tackles for the Sooners, including a team-leading six sacks. With pressure on Burrow being paramount, having your leader in sacks out for the game is not ideal.
Stevenson has rushed 65 times this season for 516 yards and six touchdowns. He has also caught 10 passes for 87 yards. Bridges has seen limited playing time as he has just seven receptions for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Regardless, while these three are not nearly as impactful as if Edwards-Helaire can’t play, it is still a blow to the depth of the Sooners as they look to upset the top-ranked Tigers.
Stanford QB Enters Transfer Portal
The transfer portal is one of the more intriguing things to be implemented into the NCAA realm in a while, and it appears that players already have their sights on how to improve their current situation. One of the more notable names to enter the transfer portal this week is Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello.
As a graduate transfer, Costello has the luxury of not having to sit out a year; rather, he would be eligible to play in 2020.
On the season, Costello was 101 for 166 in five games for 1,028 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. While those numbers sound rather pedestrian, Costello is not far removed from having a pretty solid season for Stanford.
In 2018, he went 269 for 413 for 3,540 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Injuries derailed his season this year, and he is hoping to get a fresh start elsewhere.
After suffering a concussion and then a thumb injury, he was replaced by Davis Mills. With Mills set to return next year, Costello must expect that his best route to playing time is with another team.
While he may not be an elite quarterback, he will certainly be an interesting option for teams looking for someone solid to take over duties under center.