In November, college football’s finest will descend upon New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation. The Heisman Watch begins in earnest before the season kicks off. Entering this season, Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota and last year’s winner Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston were two high-profile players who were widely regarded as candidates. But every year there are players who emerge once the season begins, despite entering the campaign with little fanfare.

One player who fits into that latter category is Pittsburgh Panthers sophomore running back James Conner, who is the dark horse candidate to win the Heisman after five weeks of college football.

The bullish running back (6’2, 250 pounds) has rushed for 791 yards and nine touchdowns for Pitt, which is a school record for yardage in the first five games of a season. The previous mark was held by Ray Graham, who had 734 yards in the first five games. Running over opponents and school records, Conner is currently on pace for the fastest to reach 1,000 yards rushing all-time for Pitt. In front of him is the legendary Tony Dorsett, who reached the plateau in seven games in 1976. Coincidentally, Dorsett’s quick pace to 1,000 yards also helped win him the Heisman Trophy and a national championship. A national title may not be in the cards for the Panthers, but the Heisman chase is on in Pittsburgh thanks to the powerful legs of Conner.

“I wanted to keep my streak going,” Conner said after the upset loss to the Akron Zips, 21-10. “That would be selfish of me to talk about the Heisman.”

Yesterday, his streak ended with 92 yards rushing on 25 carries. “Looked like there were 30 guys in the box,” Conner joked.

Dating back to last season, Conner had rushed for over 150 yards in five straight games and in two of those games he eclipsed 200 yards rushing. Over the last six games played, he’s rushed for 791 yards. He is just the eighth FBS player since 2004 to achieve five consecutive 150-yard rushing games.

Take a deep breathe and let this sink in for a minute: Conner is only 209 yards away from 1,000 after only five games.

As a true freshman in 2013, Conner rushed for 799 yards in the ACC. That usually receives a lot more attention but Conner played in the shadow of another Pitt sophomore sensation – receiver Tyler Boyd. In 2013, Boyd was the nation’s most productive freshman receiver, compiling 85 catches for 1,174 yards (13.8 average) and seven touchdowns. He set Pitt freshman records for receptions and yards, eclipsing marks held by Larry Fitzgerald (who had 69 catches for 1,005 yards in 2002). Boyd capped the 2013 season with a magnificent performance in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, compiling 242 all-purpose yards to help the Panthers defeat Bowling Green, 30-27. As good as Boyd was against Bowling Green, it was Conner who took the MVP honor home in Pitt’s bowl win, rushing for 229 yards and one touchdown. Since that game, Conner has been playing at another level.

The talented running back has so many great attributes, but his forward lean is perhaps his most impressive. Very rarely does Conner lose yards; in fact, he’s lost only 41 yards on 281 carries in his career. An oxymoron to describe Conner’s play on the field is explosive tranquility. He settles into his spin move and twirls around to lower the boom on opposing defensive bodies while constantly churning out yards.

On Saturday, the first quarter was relatively quiet for Conner who managed 28 yards on six carries with a long of 12. He added another 28 yards in the second quarter to finish the first half with 66 yards. Conner finished the game with a respectable 92 yards, his lowest total since rushing for 22 yards against the Miami Hurricanes last season on five carries. Akron kept the Panthers’ Heisman hopeful off the field for much of the fourth quarter.

“That’s an incredible running attack we faced today,” Akron head coach Terry Bowden said after the win, which he referred to as the sweetest of his career that dates back to his first head coaching job at Samford in 1987. “Pitt has the nation’s leading rusher and leading touchdown runner and (Conner) is a big running back and we’re not exceptionally big football team, but we played with a lot of aggressiveness. The defense kept us in there until the offense had the chance.”

The wins may not pile up for Pitt, but the yards will. If Conner can continue to play at this high level, he may make the leap from a relatively-unknown star to a Heisman candidate in 2014.