Heisman update, post-week 11: Melvin Gordon vs. Ameer Abdullah, Dak Prescott vs. Amari Cooper

Head-to-head matches between Heisman candidates rarely have a lasting effect on the race, providing little more than fodder for commentary. In the rare case when the players actually face off against each other—think Ndamukong Suh vs. Colt McCoy—it really looks like one player personally "defeated" the other. But those cases are rare. Usually, the best we can expect is a good comparison between two similar players and a "tiebreaker" of sorts.

That's what we might get when Melvin Gordon and Wisconsin face Ameer Abdullah and Nebraska. The two are the premier running backs in the Big Ten and the nation, with Gordon leading and Abdullah 6th due to his 1-yard game vs. Purdue. Abdullah is back from that injury, but there's a question of how healthy he is. Gordon just had another 200 yard game (against Purdue) and holds at #3 on our list, while Abdullah drops to #6 on an idle week. Saturday's game could re-establish Abdullah or propel Gordon into real contention.

Just above Gordon, our #2 candidate, Dak Prescott, is going into one of his biggest games of the year, at Alabama. There he'll face #5 Amari Cooper, if "face" is the correct term for a quarterback on one team playing against a receiver on another. Here, obviously, there's less direct comparison, and the game is much more significant for Prescott than for Cooper. Quarterbacks take the blame for losses, while running backs and receivers can still get a boost from a losing game if they're responsible for keeping their team in it. And if they win, so much the better. In last week's overtime win at LSU, you could say that Cooper made the difference in a close game; without his 83 receiving yards and touchdown catch, would 'Bama have lost the game?

1. Marcus Mariota, QB Oregon (9-1) beat Utah 51-27
2. Dak Prescott, QB Miss. State (9-0) beat UT-Martin 45-16
3. Melvin Gordon, RB Wisconsin (7-2) beat Purdue 34-16
4. Jameis Winston, QB FSU (9-0) beat Virginia 34-20
5. [up 1] Amari Cooper, WR Alabama (8-1) beat LSU 20-13 OT
6. [dn 1] Ameer Abdullah, RB Nebraska (8-1) idle
7. [up 1] Trevone Boykin, QB TCU (8-1) beat Kansas State 41-20
8. [dn 1] Bryce Petty, QB Baylor (8-1) beat Oklahoma 48-14
9. [up 2] Kevin White, WR West Virginia (6-4) LOST to Texas 33-16
10. [new] JT Barrett, QB Ohio State (8-1) beat Michigan St 49-37
11. [dn 2] Todd Gurley, RB Georgia (7-2) beat Kentucky 63-31 (DNP)
12. [dn 2] Everett Golson, QB Notre Dame (7-2) LOST to ASU 55-31
13. [dn 1] Kenny Hill, QB Texas A&M (7-3) beat Auburn 41-38 (DNP)

Solid leader Marcus Mariota is idle this week after engineering the win over Utah with a 4-TD performance, but the Florida State-Miami game offers another head-to-head matchup: Jameis Winston vs. Duke Johnson. Winston, though #4 and on an undefeated team, is in a holding pattern due to his behavior and his interceptions, either of which might keep him out of New York. Duke Johnson is on the periphery of the Heisman race and a good game in an upset win could put the Miami back firmly in the race as a late candidate—and late candidates often do very well.

#7 Trevone Boykin of TCU had the nation's best Heisman moment last week. Against Kansas State Boykin threw for one touchdown and ran for three more, including a head-over-heels highlight reel special at the goal line. The competition gets weaker for the Horned Frogs in the last few weeks so he'll need more of that to keep his name in the spotlight. He moves up one spot this week, pushing Bryce Petty down to #8 despite Baylor's big win over Oklahoma. Petty did well but his receiver, Corey Coleman, was the star of the show. Petty won the "head-to-head" meeting against Boykin and their passing stats are almost identical. But Boykin has over 500 yards on the ground, and he had "that touchdown" last week.

Kevin White of West Virginia is up a couple spots despite the Mountaineers' loss to Texas as he had 16 catches, and more importantly the bottom of the list is extremely weak, riddle with ex-candidates. Todd Gurley missed his 4th game—he's back this week against Auburn—while Everett Goldon imploded against Arizona State (4 interceptions and a fumble) just after we'd added him to the list. Then there's Kenny Hill, still suspended last week as his team upset Auburn.

Into the mix this week is JT Barrett, otherwise known as Braxton Miller's replacement. Like Kenny Guyton before him he has people questioning who should be the starter when Miller comes back. Even Urban Meyer said that the job is up for grabs in 2015. Barrett led the Buckeyes in their big win over Michigan State and comes in at #10.