Anthony Gordon Throws for 570 Yards and 9 TDs; Is Washington State QB a Heisman Contender?
- Anthony Gordon threw for 570 yards and 9 TDs on Saturday versus UCLA
- Gordon leads the FBS in passing yards and touchdowns
- Is he a viable Heisman Trophy longshot?
Imagine throwing nine touchdowns in a game and losing. That was Anthony Gordon’s fate this past Saturday night after Washington State blew a 32-point lead to UCLA. Despite the epic collapse, Gordon’s performance stole the headlines and left us asking if he should be considered a Heisman Trophy candidate?
2019 Heisman Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Tua Tagovailoa | +175 |
| Joe Burrow | +300 |
| Jalen Hurts | +350 |
| Justin Fields | +900 |
| Trevor Lawrence | +1200 |
| Jake Fromm | +1400 |
| Jonathan Taylor | +1600 |
| Sam Ehlinger | +3300 |
| Justin Herbert | +3300 |
| Jerry Jeudy | +3300 |
| D’Andre Swift | +3300 |
| Travis Etienne | +5000 |
| Adrian Martinez | +6600 |
| Anthony Gordon | N/A |
*Odds taken 09/22/19.
Gordon is on the board at the Westgate in Las Vegas, but not at a single online book yet, despite leading the FBS in passing yards and touchdowns.
When he does eventually garner attention from online sportsbooks, will he be worth your money?
Better Late Than Never
Prior to the start of the season, Gordon must have been wondering if he’d ever get an opportunity to be a full-time starter. He spent his first four years at Washington State as a backup before surprising everyone by beating out graduate transfer Gabe Gubrud for the starting job.
Anthony Gordon threw for 9 touchdowns and it still wasn’t enough to beat UCLA ? #Pac12AfterDark pic.twitter.com/jRdntqp7s9
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 22, 2019
In his first four starts, he’s completed 74.9% of his passes for 1,894 yards and 21 touchdowns. Even if you removed his 9 TD passes from Saturday, he’d still be averaging four passing scores a game, and he’s well on his way to breaking the Pac-12 record for passing yards (4,779) and touchdowns (38) set by this guy.
If you don’t like it, learn to love it! #Wooooo pic.twitter.com/wTrP3MKOYD
— Gardner Minshew (@GardnerMinshew5) September 21, 2019
How Does He Stack Up vs The Elite Contenders?
As of right now, Gordon is drastically out producing the top two contenders Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow through the air. He’s thrown for 594 more yards and 4 more touchdowns than Tagovailoa (albeit on 71 more attempts) and 374 more yards and 4 more touchdowns than Burrow.
Anthony Gordon vs Tua Tagovailoa Passing Stats
| 74.9 | Completion % | 77.7 |
| 1,894 | Passing Yards | 1,300 |
| 21 | Pass TD | 17 |
| 195.3 | Passer Efficiency | 225.3 |
The problem is, the voting committee putssignificantt weight on how well a contender’s team performs. Tagovailoa and Burrow play for elite programs, while Gordon’s Washington State team is not a conference, let alone a playoff contender.
Since 1998, only once has the Heisman Trophy been awarded to a player whose team didn’t win at least 9 games, and the 3-1 Cougars are expected to be heavy underdogs in four of their final eight contests.
To throw even more rain on Gordon’s Heisman parade, none of the past 15 quarterbacks who’ve led the FBS in passing yards have gone on to win the Heisman, including Patrick Mahomes in 2016.
Don’t Waste Your Money on Gordon
Gordon’s stats on paper may look sexy, but he hasn’t been deemed a viable Heisman contender for good reason. His numbers are inflated due to the air-raid system he plays in and there’s no way he can realistically compete for the Heisman with players like Tagovailoa, Burrow, Hurts or Fields unless Washington State runs the table.
And let’s face it: that isn’t going to happen.
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
