Heisman Rankings: Week 4

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - It's difficult to tell which was the bigger story line in Week 4, the meteoric rise of a preseason underdog or the reigning winner making headlines for all the wrong reasons. With the regular season just about one-third of the way done, let's see how the newest iteration of the Heisman Rankings shake out.

1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon -- The Ducks were clearly not at their best on Saturday in narrowly escaping a trip to Washington State with a 38-31 victory, but Mariota transcended the struggles on defense and along the offensive line with one of the best performances of his illustrious career. He completed more than 80 percent of his passes for the second straight week (21-of-25) while posting season highs in both passing yards (329) and touchdowns (five) as he single-handedly put Oregon on his back. He even gained 58 yards on the ground despite being docked yardage on an uncharacteristic seven sacks. With his gaudy numbers (1,135 passing yards, 214 rushing yards, 16 TDs, zero interceptions) and a perfect record, Mariota would likely be a near-unanimous winner if the award were given out today.

2. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama -- If there was any doubt Cooper was the nation's best receiver heading into Alabama's contest with Florida, there certainly isn't any now. The receiver's torrid start to the season continued with 10 catches for a career-high 201 yards and three touchdowns in the 42-21 victory, including a 79-yard touchdown in the first quarter which erased an early deficit, and he now has at least 100 yards receiving in a school-record six straight games. Cooper's ridiculous numbers through four games (43 receptions, 655 yards, five TDs) have come thanks in large part to the improved play of Blake Sims, who threw for 445 yards and four scores in the Florida win, and if Cooper can come anywhere close to keeping up this pace, he can expect to be the first receiver to be named a Heisman finalist since Marqise Lee in 2012.

3. Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State -- As the preseason leader of the Dak Prescott bandwagon (supported in writing in past columns, by the way), I threw the Bulldog a bone by debuting him on the list last week at No. 10, which was little more than a "wait and see" distinction prior to his team's treacherous run through the SEC. The Dak Attack answered the call in a big way by pulling off the most high-profile upset of the young college football season. In a stunning 34-29 victory in Baton Rouge, the Bulldogs' offense shoved 570 yards down No. 8 LSU's throat, the most the Tigers have ever allowed in 10 seasons under Les Miles. Prescott was practically flawless, throwing for 268 yards, rushing for 105 yards, scoring three touchdowns and going without a turnover for a QBR of 95.7. With more than 1,300 total yards and 14 scores, in addition to that signature win, you can be assured the media hype will begin swirling for Prescott, especially with an Oct. 4 matchup on the way against the player listed just below him.

4. Kenny Hill, QB, Texas A&M -- The Aggies had their third straight soft matchup in traveling to Dallas to play SMU over the weekend and moved to 4-0 with a dominating 58-6 triumph. A&M churned out big production in the rushing attack (268 yards, four TDs), so as a result, Hill endured his lowest passing output of the season. That's not to say he wasn't impressive, however. He completed just shy of 73 percent of his throws (16-of-22) for 265 yards and two touchdowns, and while he tossed his first interception of the year, he also gave us a glimpse of his outstanding rushing ability by ripping off a 58-yard run. The Aggies return to SEC play this weekend versus Arkansas, but as stated above, the college football world will be anxious for the Hill vs. Prescott heavyweight bout in Starkville on Oct. 4.

5. Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska -- The Cornhuskers closed out their non- conference schedule unbeaten by leaning heavily on their senior leader in the backfield. In a 41-31 victory over Miami (Florida), Abdullah was put to work early and often, finishing with a career-high 35 carries that resulted in 229 yards and two touchdowns, while also finding time to score on a 3-yard reception. His 625 rushing yards are second in the nation behind only Pittsburgh's James Conner (699 yards), and his seven total touchdowns are just four shy of his career high set last season. Nebraska should be careful in its overuse of Abdullah, however, as his season pace of nearly 300 touches could begin to wear him down.

6. Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia -- Some of Gurley's thunder was stolen over the weekend by a breakout performance from freshman Sony Michel, who rushed for 155 yards and three touchdowns on just 10 attempts in Georgia's 66-0 romp over Troy. The Bulldogs' stud tailback had a quiet day in the blowout with a mere six carries, but he made the most of his limited work by amassing 73 yards (12.2 per carry), giving him just over 400 rushing yards in three games. In a game that got out of hand so early, there was no reason to give Gurley extensive playing time and risk injury, especially with UGA's return to SEC action this weekend when it plays host to Tennessee.

7. Everett Golson, QB, Notre Dame -- The Fighting Irish quarterback unfortunately falls slightly in the rankings this week through no fault of his own with his team on a bye. Golson has as strong an early season resume as anyone with 780 passing yards (on 64.6 percent completions), seven passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns while having yet to commit a turnover. You can expect Golson to continue to rack up the stats this weekend against Syracuse, but his Heisman fate will ultimately be decided once the Irish's schedule ticks up, with bouts against Stanford, Florida State, Arizona State and USC still on the docket.

8. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin -- After a disappointing performance against Western Illinois on Sept. 6 (17 carries, 38 yards) and a bye last week, Gordon couldn't carry enough momentum to stay on the list in the Week 3 rankings, but he made sure to put himself right back in the thick of the race following a career-best performance versus Bowling Green. On just 13 carries, Gordon finished with a staggering 253 yards and five touchdowns, which included scoring runs of 69, 50 and 21 yards, helping Wisconsin along to the convincing 68-17 triumph. Whatever hip issues were hampering Gordon's play prior to the bye seem to be well behind him, and he'll try to continue his ascension in the ranks this weekend against South Florida.

9. Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor -- Much like Golson, Petty was unable to gain ground in the rankings due to his team's bye, but things are looking up for the signal caller now that he's fully healed from a vicious back injury suffered earlier this month. As the leader of the nation's highest-scoring offense, Petty (577 passing yards, seven TDs) will have every opportunity to rack up numbers in the high-flying Big 12, starting this weekend at Iowa State.

10. Taysom Hill, QB, BYU -- As long as the Cougars remain undefeated (or at least in the national rankings) and Hill keeps piling up the highlights, the quarterback belongs in the same breath as the other dual-threat signal callers on this list. While BYU wasn't at its sharpest in a 41-33 home win over an underwhelming Virginia squad, Hill was his typical stellar self with 259 total yards and three touchdowns, brining his season totals to 876 passing yards, 428 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. One thing Hill needs to improve upon is his efficiency, as his completion percentage has dipped in every game, culminating in just a 13-of-23 showing (.565) versus Virginia.

Dropped Out: Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State -- I usually don't set aside blurbs for the players who fell from the ranks, but an obvious exception needs to be made for the mess that is Jameis Winston, who was suspended for the Clemson game for making lewd public comments on the FSU campus. Thanks to a late-game stumble by the Tigers (which sparked the nationwide trending topic on Twitter of "#Clemsoning"), the Seminoles escaped with an overtime win to remain No. 1, and Winston will return to the field this weekend at North Carolina State with every opportunity to work his way back up the ranks down the stretch. But, man, when will this guy learn? Even if he lights it up the rest of the way, fatigue has set in with Winston and his antics, and a repeat chance at the trophy seems more improbable than ever.

Honorable Mention: James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh; Nick Marshall, QB, Auburn; Cody Kessler, QB, USC; Tevin Coleman, RB, Indiana; Rashad Greene, WR, Florida State.