Washington State quarterback Anthony Gordon deserves to be in the Heisman trophy conversation.
The Cougs had quite the meltdown against UCLA on Saturday night as they lost 67-63, and Gordon's performance was a little overshadowed because of it.
When Heisman trophy candidates are looked at, "Heisman moments" are part of the hype machine.
We all know last night could have been it for Gordon. He could have been the hero. He had nine touchdown passes and 570 yards by the end of the game.
The passing touchdowns were the most in Pac-12 and Washington State history for a single game. In the latter, he broke Gardner Minshew's record.
He'll likely need another "Heisman moment", but that shouldn't take away from his stats.
Gordon leads the nation in passing yards, completions per game, most points accounted for and passing touchdowns. He's also top 10 in completion percentage and top five in passing efficiency.
The standard was set last season with Minshew being in the Heisman conversation. He finished fifth in the Heisman voting and Gordon could very well surpass him in a lot of statistical categories.
Gordon already has 21 touchdown passes through four games. Minshew had 38 through 13 games last season.
Right now, Gordon has a better completion percentage and a better quarterback rating so far.
On those last two stats, competition will get stronger now that the Cougs are playing conference opponents. Time will tell how his numbers will look as the season progresses.
But you can't deny the numbers so far regardless. If Minshew could be considered with the number he put up, then Gordon should be too.
That being said, a big part of the Heisman race is winning. Gordon can't afford to lose many more of them if he wants to be in the conversation.
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The following video is a profile on WSU QB Anthony Gordon.