One year ago, Houston quarterback D’Eriq King started and won his first college football game against South Florida. On Saturday, he put up the best performance of his career against that same Bulls team.

King completed 28-of-40 passes for 419 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions against the No. 21 team in the nation. He also added 12 carries for 132 yards and another two scores. The seven total touchdowns in a game matches the American Conference record. His eighth straight game with multiple passing touchdowns and a rushing score is tied for most in the last 20 years.

For his performance, King cleaned up the national awards. He earned player of the week awards from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, The American, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose and Davey O’Brien. The Maxwell Award also named him a semifinalist.

“He’s everything we thought he could be and more,” Houston coach Major Applewhite said after the game. “Again, he’s a guy who grew up right down 288. We continue to get great players from this city and keep stacking the roster with guys like that. Guys who are competitive and want to play for their city and go to school at the university in town. If we keep getting guys like that, then we will be just fine.”

This isn’t King’s first game with crazy numbers. He threw for 431 yards and five touchdowns earlier in the year against Texas Tech. King added a 100-yard, two rushing score game against Tulsa.

But after picking up Houston’s first signature win of the season against a ranked opponent, the numbers mean just a little bit more. And now, after a 57-36 victory over Charlie Strong’s undefeated team, King has played himself in to the Heisman race.

King is a touchdown machine. He ranks No. 3 in passing touchdowns and No. 6 in rushing scores. He’s also No. 8 in passing yards and averaging 6.0 yards per rush attempt, which leads the main rushing contributors on his team.

To be clear, these are national numbers. He’s hundreds of miles ahead of everyone else in the American Conference.

In fact, King ranks No. 1 in total points responsible for (236) by a cool 32 points ahead of the next player, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray. He’s No. 4 in total offense, behind only Gardner Minshew, Jordan Ta’amu and Dwayne Haskins.

King’s numbers are having a massive effect on his team success. Houston ranks No. 1 nationally in total offense (571.1 yards), No. 2 in scoring offense (49.8) and No. 5 in offensive S&P+. After last week, the Cougars are a cool 7-1. The Cougars scored 49 points in the lone loss against Texas Tech.

King’s numbers compare favorably to the consensus top two players in the Heisman race: Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa and Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray. In fact, King leads the trio in passing yards and total touchdowns, all while leading a Group of Five team to an AP Top 25 ranking.

Granted, some see King as the No. 2 Heisman contender on his own team. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver is the best player in America. He’s having another great season with 51 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and nine quarterback hurries in seven games, despite missing the South Florida game. Those are absurd numbers for a defensive tackle.

But when looking at the way King has electrified this roster with his production, he deserves precedence.

Houston was just 4-3 when King entered the starting lineup against South Florida a year ago. Every since, the Cougars are 10-3, including 7-1 in 2018. King has scored multiple touchdowns in every regular season game he’s played.

The Cougars still have four regular season games left, including big-time matchups with Temple and Memphis. However, the Cougars are in control of the American West division. A win sets up a monumental matchup with UCF for the American championship.

King will have opportunities to keep building his case for the nation’s highest award against some stiff competition. But when the dust settles, King should be among the players invited to New York.