Pat Forde identifies two new Heisman candidates as Manning, Allar struggle

After three weeks of college football, writer Pat Forde suggests two new candidates for Heisman Trophy contention. In his Forde-Yard Dash column, the writer promotes Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia and Texas A&M wide receiver Mario Craver as possible Heisman picks. Forde notes the struggles of preseason favorites like Arch Manning and Drew Allar before making the case for his new names.

Pavia's platform

Forde is all in on the QB who led Vanderbilt to a seven-win season and an upset of Alabama year ago. Pavia and the Commodores are 3-0 and fresh off an upset of South Carolina. Forde notes that there is "little doubt who is the competitive engine driving Vandy to a 3-0 record" and credits Pavia with having "transformed the Vandy program."

Pavia is now 10-6 as a Vanderbilt quarterback and this season, he has passed for 645 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for an additional 129 yards on the ground. A season ago, Pavia threw for 2,293 yards and 20 scores against just four interceptions. He also added 801 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.

Pavia began his career at New Mexico State. When he arrived at Vanderbilt, the Commodores had won nine games total over the previous four seasons. Now they've won 10 games in a season and three weeks with Pavia. ESPN's FPI rankings give Vanderbilt a 27.8% shot at earning a College Football Playoff bid. This is at a school that last had a nine-win regular season in 1915.

Craver's Case

Probably a more surprising name is Texas A&M wide receiver Mario Craver. He showed promise a season ago as a freshman at Mississippi State, but his transfer to A&M was somewhat overshadowed by NC State transfer Kevin Concepcion. But Craver leads the nation in receiving with 20 receptions for 443 yards and four scores.

Forde supported his pick of Craver by noting his "shredding of Notre Dame for 207 yards Saturday." But Craver has been consistent, with at least five catches each week for at least 114 yards and a touchdown in each game. While wide receivers aren't always great Heisman candidates, a sophomore star who basically appeared out of nowhere is certainly worth Forde's mention.

Off the upset of Notre Dame, A&M sits at a 46.9% chance at a CFP berth per FPI. That's the fourth highest number in the SEC, which seems plausible as a postseason path.