Notre Dame: Should Josh Adams be a Heisman candidate?

Through 6 games, Notre Dame running back Josh Adams has more than 850 yards, leading the Fighting Irish to a 5-1 record. Should he be a Heisman candidate?

If you were to ask Notre Dame fans before the season, not even the most optimistic fan would have had the team at 5-1 heading into a match up with their hated rival USC. If it weren’t for a late field goal by Georgia, and a subsequent fumble, we very well could be seeing a 6-0 ND squad. The main reason for Notre Dame’s surprising play is Junior running back Josh Adams. Carrying the team on his back, Adams has done more than what was asked of him to start the season. When Quarterback Brandon Wimbush missed a game due to injury, who stepped up? Josh Adams.

Winning the Heisman as a running back is never an easy task, in the last 20 years, only 4 have won the highly coveted award (Bush’s vacated). The last two to win the award, Derrick Henry and Mark Ingram Jr., both attended Alabama University where they had phenomenal seasons. In Henry’s Heisman winning year, he ran for over 2200 total yards with 28 touchdowns on his resume. He would beat out internet sensation Christian McCaffrey and newly crowned king of the Texans, Deshaun Watson. With all that being said, how does Josh Adams resume look compared to the rest of the running backs around the country?

Bryce Love

Through 7 weeks, Bryce Love has been

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getting pushed under the rug for a more known name in Saquon Barkley. In each of the 7 games that Love has played in, he has dominated opposing defenses to the tune of 198 yards per game, with an unbelievable 10.3 yards per carry. Part of the reason for the humongous yards per carry stat is Love’s ability to break out the big run when needed. According to @CLowESPN, Love currently leads FBS with 6 touchdown runs of 60 yards or longer. Josh Adams is not far behind him, with 5 himself, including this 73 yard run against North Carolina in Notre Dame’s last game.

Saquon Barkley

Far and above the Heisman favorite, and possible future number 1 pick heading into week 8, there is nothing that Saquon Barkley can’t do. If you don’t believe me, check out this snippet from Bleacher Report’s article on the top 10 candidates, “Through six games, he’s collected 649 rushing yards, 29 receptions for 395 yards and 258 kick-return yards. Barkley has accounted for 10 touchdowns in four different ways.”

Can you name another running back who can change the game in so many ways? Maybe so, but they play on Sunday’s, not on Saturday’s against lesser competition. Here is a comparison, from fan @bradensmith2020 on Josh Adams’ stats to Saquon Barkley’s.

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Winning the Heisman is not out of the question for Notre Dame’s running back, but he will likely need to be a force down the stretch. One single loss could derail his chances of winning the award, giving Notre Dame the most Heisman winners at 8, one over Ohio State. The dream is not dead yet.