Ranking the Heisman Favorites Heading into Week 10

We have movement! After six weeks of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and Ole Miss signal-caller Matt Corral leading the 2021 Heisman Trophy race, a new No. 2 has arrived.

After a five-touchdown day in a comeback win over rival Michigan, Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III has soared in the rankings. He's leaped two more quarterbacks beyond Corral, who is barely hanging onto his "top contender" status.

Spoiler alert: Young remains the current favorite.

Walker's statement game, however, has ensured there is a tight race heading into the final month of the regular season.

B/R's Heisman Trophy update is released every Tuesday. The order focuses on the current favorites for the award and ranks those players as if votes were due today.

Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati

Good news: Cincinnati is still undefeated! However, it's time to remove Desmond Ridder from a ranked spot. As long as the Bearcats keep winning, he'll receive a good number of Heisman votes. But his 252.3 offensive yards per contest and 21 total touchdowns are both well below the competition.

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State

Ohio State leaned quite heavily on TreVeyon Henderson in a 33-24 victory over Penn State. The freshman back notched a career-high 28 carries, finishing with 152 yards and a touchdown. He's soundly in the mix for a top-10 finish.

Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas

Name recognition keeps him on the radar, but we've continually said Texas' disappointing record will prevent Bijan Robinson from winning the Heisman. And the Longhorns just lost again. Robinson ranks sixth nationally with 147.3 scrimmage yards per game.

Sam Hartman, QB, Wake Forest

Wake Forest's low strength of schedule is the primary thing holding back Sam Hartman right now. Nevertheless, he's racked up 2,683 yards of offense and accounted for 28 touchdowns while leading the Demon Deacons to an 8-0 record. Of this quartet, Hartman has the best opportunity to join the ranked group.

Pitt has dropped two games this season. Here are Kenny Pickett's numbers in those losses:

• 23-of-31, 382 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT; 57 rush yards
• 39-of-55, 519 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT

He's not blameless for the shortcomings. In particular, a late interception on Saturday cost the Panthers in their 38-34 loss to Miami. That letdown dropped Pitt to 6-2, and it's unlikely Pickett will be realistic Heisman winner unless the Panthers take the ACC.

But it's simply impossible to overlook his production.

So far, he's tallied 9.2 yards per attempt and has thrown 26 touchdowns with three interceptions. Those are identical outputs to Young, the current favorite, and Pickett is averaging 56.1 more yards of total offense per game than Bama's QB.

The primary difference is team success, and that's historically a major factor to voters.

Similar to Pickett, Corral is now fighting the barrier of team success. The injury-plagued Rebels dipped to 6-2 after losing to Auburn, and Corral—who is playing through two hurt ankles—is beginning to lag behind the other Heisman Trophy favorites.

Remember, everything is relative. He's a fantastic QB, but this particular award requires a combination of excellence.

During the loss to Auburn, Corral went 21-of-37 for 289 yards, scampered for 45 yards, rushed for a touchdown and threw an interception. He briefly exited the game, limping off the field and getting carted to the locker room before returning.

Corral is still a key contender, but anything less than a 4-0 run through November will limit his Heisman upside.

C.J. Stroud needs a Heisman moment.

Since his much-needed week of rest against Akron to end September, the freshman has excelled. He's thrown for 1,307 yards and 15 touchdowns with zero interceptions, leading the Buckeyes past Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana and Penn State.

But the only ranked program of that group is Penn State. Stroud completed 22 of his 34 passes for 305 yards and a score opposite the Nittany Lions, which is a strong showing yet still tame compared to the numbers Walker put on Michigan, for example.

Fortunately for Stroud, those opportunities are coming. After traveling to Purdue and hosting Nebraska, the Buckeyes close the campaign with Michigan State and a road trip to rival Michigan.

In the meantime, he's a top-tier Heisman candidate with 2,270 yards and 23 touchdowns on a 7-1 team.

If you were skeptical about Kenneth Walker III sticking in the Heisman Trophy chase, Saturday removed those doubts.

While the Spartans engineered a 16-point comeback win to defeat Michigan, their breakout back landed the headlines. Walker darted for 197 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first player to ever register five rushing scores against Michigan. He also caught three passes for 11 yards, totaling 208 scrimmage yards.

"I don't feel like it was a Heisman moment," Walker said, per Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. "Just a huge team win."

That would be incorrect, my friends. Putting up a 200-yard, five-touchdown stat line against the sixth-ranked team in the country absolutely qualifies as a Heisman moment.

Michigan State needs to keep winning, but Walker has officially moved from a compelling story to a real Heisman threat.

Alabama spent Week 9 at home, using the traditional pre-LSU idle weekend to prepare for a crucial finish to the season. If the Crimson Tide have a perfect month, they'll enter the SEC Championship Game with a College Football Playoff berth at stake.

The spotlight is about to get even brighter for Bryce Young.

Right now, he holds top-15 national rankings in yards per attempt (9.2), yards per game (306.6) and touchdown passes (26). Young also ran for 42 yards and two scores in Bama's win over Tennessee, suggesting his mobility will be a larger factor in November.

Even though Walker's explosive day narrowed the margin, Young hasn't done anything to lose his place as the favorite. He enters the month holding a clear, yet unstable, lead for the Heisman.

Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.