The Heisman chase between Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray began with equal parts skepticism and great expectations. Tagovailoa had his coming-out party on the game's biggest stage, leading an Alabama comeback over Georgia in the national championship game. But he had never started a game in his career.
Kyler Murray was one of the greatest high school players in Texas history and had flashed in brief playing time at Texas A&M and Oklahoma. But now he was replacing the legendary Baker Mayfield on an Oklahoma team that had playoff aspirations.
Three months later, they had taken college football by storm and have given us a Heisman race with legitimate suspense for the first time in a long time.