NEW YORK — Deshaun Watson missed out on the Heisman Trophy again -- but now he has something bigger to focus on, something he has more control over.
The Clemson quarterback finished second to Louisville's Lamar Jackson in the 2016 Heisman Trophy race, as announced on Saturday in New York. Watson took third place in the 2015 Heisman balloting and became the first back-to-back Heisman finalist since Johnny Manziel in 2012-13 but could not muster more votes than the record-breaking Jackson.
Yet Watson still has the College Football Playoff semifinals to focus on.
Already a two-time Atlanta Coast Conference champion Watson will lead Clemson into the CFP for a second straight season on New Year's Eve against Ohio State. Clemson fell to Alabama, 45-40, in the 2015 CFP championship.
After finishing second on Saturday, Watson will look to avoid another runner-up finish in just a few weeks.
Jackson, a sophomore, finished in first place with 2,144 points, while Watson was second with 1,524. Jackson received 526 first place votes, Watson had 269.
Jackson exploded in his first season as Louisville's full-time starter, accounting for 51 touchdowns and averaging 410 yards per game in total offense.
Watson opened the season as a Heisman favorite and put together a storming finish to the campaign, connecting on 138 of 186 passes -- 74 percent completion rate -- for 1,586 yards and 15 touchdowns, as well as 5 rushing scores, over his last five games, performances that helped lead Clemson back to the ACC title and a CFP semifinal. For the season, Watson has 3,914 yards passing and 37 TDs (a Clemson single-season record), completing 67.6 percent of his attempts while tossing 15 INTs. He also has 526 yards rushing and 6 TDs.
He is the owner of 39 Clemson records, as well as the 2015 and '16 Davey O'Brien Award winner (his second straight of which he took on Thursday), Columbus Touchdown Club National Player of the Year and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award winner.
