Buckeye loyalty be damned ... Ohio State legend Eddie George says LSU's Joe Burrow is the front-runner to win the Heisman trophy on Saturday ... despite 2 OSU finalists.
TMZ Sports spoke with the 1995 Heisman winner about the 4 finalists -- Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Chase Young and Justin Fields -- and while he won't tell us who he voted for, he thinks the Tigers gunslinger will take home the hardware.
"They're all worthy candidates," George tells us ... "It's tough for me to say who's gonna take it. It might be Joe Burrow might be the leader. But this thing has always been surprising.
"If I was a guessing man, I would think it would probably be the quarterback at LSU."
We also asked which candidate has the best team -- considering each finalist will be competing in the College Football Playoff ... and Baton Rouge is gonna love his response!!