Is it time to start taking Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez seriously in the Heisman Trophy conversation?

Rodriguez is putting together a historic season for linebacker production while leading a defense that moved back into the No. 1 spot in this week's updated stop rate standings, following a massive victory over BYU in a top-10 showdown.

What is stop rate? It's a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. Defensive coordinators have the same goal regardless of their scheme, opponent or conference: prevent points and get off the field. Stop rate is a simple metric but can offer a good reflection of a defense's effectiveness on a per-drive basis in today's faster-tempo game.

Stop rate is not an advanc

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