Heisman Rankings: Is the Award Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez's to Lose?

Robert Griffin III believes there's a clear front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.

In the most recent edition of Griffin's Heisman list, the FOX Sports college football analyst claimed that "the Heisman Trophy is Jacob Rodriguez's to lose." 

Rodriguez climbed up to the No. 1 spot in Griffin's Heisman list last week following a 14-tackle performance in Texas Tech's dominant win over then-undefeated BYU. He had another standout defensive performance in the Red Raiders' 48-9 victory over UCF this past Saturday, logging nine total tackles and an interception on defense, while also adding a 2-yard touchdown to give Tech a 14-0 lead at the time.

Despite his dominance for a one-loss Texas Tech team, Rodriguez is still considered a long shot to win the award. He holds +13000 odds to take home the Heisman Trophy, per DraftKings Sportsbook, but that isn't stopping Griffin from showing Rodriguez some love.

Let's take a closer look at Griffin's Heisman list. 

RGIII on Rodriguez: "The Heisman Trophy is Jacob Rodriguez's to lose. If you have a dream of a defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, then you need to tap in with Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Not only does he have better numbers than Manti Te'o when Te'o was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, but he also scored a touchdown this past weekend. 

"This is what [Texas Tech head coach] Joey McGuire had to say about it: ‘Everybody’s talking about quarterbacks for Heisman, so we put him in at quarterback today and he scored a touchdown. But right before that interception, I said get the ball back and let's get into the end zone so we can get two out. He got the ball back for me.' 

"You talk about them QBs, we line him up at QB and let him score a touchdown on offense,