I think the Apple Cup will be where he separates himself.
I think he will do great against CU, put up big numbers against Arizona, but if he throttles UW that’s when the “He’s done things that WSU/Program hasn’t done/doesn’t do very often” conversation starts to happen.
If he gets a revenge win against USC for the Pac 12 title I think he’s hard to deny.
Even with Tua playing well. I think the story is too compelling. Even against what Tua has done.
Here is a 5th year graduate transfer. Who goes to a school on the other side of the country, who doesn’t even get a full off season with the team, becomes the starter after a tragedy, rallies the team with Charisma and poise and goes on to beat everybody winning the Pac 12 slaying the annoying in state rival leading the program to its highest win total ever and avenges his robbed victory over USC to lead the nation is passing, capture the Pac 12 title.
What did Tua do? Won the title on a team that always is good, and continued to do good on a nationally blue blood team. Is he a good player. Yes.
But the Heisman is about the best player in all of college football for a given year. How many players could do what Minshew has done? I don’t think any if the story goes how I described.
Tua couldn’t just walk into WSU and lead like that.
Kyle Murray? Nope.
Both are good QBs but what Minshew is doing is extraordinary. And that is what the Heisman is for. The extraordinary player who did the extraordinary. And that is Minshew.