(Photo courtesy of moondogsports.com)
With only a week remaining in college footballs, the most decorated and storied award is still up for grabs. What The New York Times has deemed “one of the most wide-open races in the award’s 75-year history”, The Manchise wants to break down the Heisman race, giving the "Why and Why Not" cases for each individual in the running. With no clear front runner, it seems like it is anybody’s race at the moment (although some would argue that Colt McCoy might have taken a minute lead with his impressive performance over Texas A & M). Who will it be? The bruiser from the West? Superman himself? Mr. Crimson Tide? Is it finally the not so young Colt’s turn? Or can a mid major sneak up and take the pose? We hope to lay out the facts and let the numbers speak for themselves (but of course our own personal opinions will be intertwined as well). So here is a look at the top five Heisman hopefuls.Colt McCoy:
The four year starter has been through this process before, only losing to his Big 12 rival (and friend) Sam Bradford last season. With another impressive season, Colt seems to be leading by a small margin over the other hopefuls. McCoy has 27 touchdown passes and compiled 3,328 passing yards with still a game left to go. He also leads the nation in completion percentage 310/432, which is a miraculous 71.7 percent. He was a preseason favorite, and has done nothing but prove himself week in and week out. He has 25 victories in their past 26 games, with the only loss to Texas Tech last season to a heartbreaking last second touchdown by Michael Crabtree. The only problem is that most of the other candidates have a big part in beating better teams. McCoy only has a victory at Oklahoma State, the only team ranked in the top 25 at the moment. Yet McCoy put on one hell of a show against Texas A & M with 304 passing yards, 175 rushing yards and 5 total touchdowns. The only problem is, not many people saw this performance beyond the ESPN highlights. But Mack Brown made a push for his quaterback after the game saying, "If anybody has a better Heisman moment than that, I'd like to see it." Enough said.
Tim Tebow:
We do alot of bashing of Tim Tebow on this site, some of it fair, some of it not so much (I mean he has almost 50 percent of the poll votes for "Which quaterback you would like to punch in the face"). But Tebow has had himself another great year, although his brand name might be carrying him more than his play. Tebow has the most recognizable name in the game right now. Whether it is because of his pure Christian ways, for helping kids in the off season, or because he has won two National Championships, Tebow could be one of the greatest college players of all time. He has been a part of 30 touchdowns this year, 13 on the ground and 17 through the air. He only has 4 interceptions, and 2,166 passing yards to go along with his 796 rushing yards. Tebow even has a little win streak himself, tallying 22 games, and can up his votes this weekend when his Gators take on number 2 Alabama. The only problem is that although Tebow has 30 total touchdowns, that number is significantly lower (a good 25) than the 55 touchdowns he put up when he won the trophy in 2007.
My Boy, Toby Gerhart:
What can you say about the Stanford running back that hasn't been said in the past few weeks. This guy hits people harder than Tiger Woods driving a Cadillac at 2:30 in the morning (or so reported). Gerhart has 26 rushing touchdowns, which leads the nation. His total yards stack up to be an astounding 1,736, which also leads the nation. He delivered a punishing blow, and a great closing performance (on national TV) against a battered and bruised Notre Dame defense. He finished that game with 205 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns, (and if you are keeping score at home) a touchdown pass. The only problem is that Gerhart is on a team that has lost four games. He wasn't a preseason favorite, hell he wasn't even on the national radar until a few weeks ago after Stanford's win over USC. But if the stats speak for themselves, Toby has said it all.
Mark Ingram:
Ingram at times has been the entire Crimson Tide offense. A bruiser himself, Ingram is averaging an amazing 6.47 yards a carry, and almost 120 yards a game. He is a complete gamer, turning on his best games against the likes of Virginia Tech (150 yards, 2 total touchdowns), Mississippi (172 yards, 1 touchdown), South Carolina (246 yards, 1 touchdown), and LSU (144 yards). We will see the real test this coming weekend against Florida, and what he can do against the number one team in the nation. Although huge in big games, Ingram has had some downers against Florida International (56 yard, 1 touchdown), Arkansas (50 yards, 1 touchdown), and Auburn (just 30 yards). It hurts that Gerhart has come out of the wood work with his amazing season, with better numbers in most categories.
Kellen Moore:
The sophomore from Boise State looks like an improbable winner considering the two huge names in front of him. But look at his stats, and he deserves the talk. Moore has 3,053 passing yards this season with a remarkable 38 touchdown passes compared to only 3 interceptions. He has a completion rating of 65 percent and has lead Boise to another undefeated season. The only problem is that he plays for the Western Athletic Conference (where it is hard enough trying to get into a BCS game, let alone a Heisman Trophy). Moore has had an incredible season, but some voters would argue that those numbers may be inflated because he is playing in the WAC. Moore still has one game left to play, which is this Saturday against New Mexico State.
So there you have it, the Heisman hopefuls (in no particular order). So with another weekend to play, this race is wide open. With three of the five potential Heisman winners in action this weekend, look for big performances that offer last minute arguments to voters. Who do you think deserves the trophy? Leave your comments below, and if we like them we will post them in a later article.
-The Manchise
6 comments:
SO what your saying is that you want Tim Tebow to get the Heisman?
What we are saying is that Tim Tebow may have 1 more total touchdown than Colt McCoy, but that McCoy has 700+ more total yards than Tebow. He has 400+ more passing yards than Tebow has total yards. And as much that makes it look like McCoy is the clear cut winner, it may be closer than the numbers would indicate. When you average out the yards per touch, the two are almost dead even (6.78 yards per touch for Tebow and 6.81 for McCoy). So there really is no clear cut winner. Gerhart has had a tremendous year (if you look at the trophy, I think it might actually be of him), but his team has 4 losses and in today's spread offense world, his 1700 yards just don't stack up to these QBs. Kellen Moore is also having a great year with his 38 TD passes, but he still has nearly 700 fewer total yards than McCoy and 300 fewer passing yards, not to mention he's playing in the WAC (no offense, but I think if McCoy or Tebow were lined up against the New Mexico States of the world every week, their numbers would be insane). All in all, I think they should just give the award to Colt McCoy and tell him it's not for this year, but last year. The guy had 4400 total yards and 45 TDs, but it wasn't good enough thanks to Sam Bradford's 4700 passing yards and 55 total TDs (we'd kill for someone with either of those numbers now).
In my opinion the person who would have won getting punched in the face is none other than Iowa's own, Stanzi the Panzi. Stanzi has had one good drive this year against the Spartans. Besides that one game Stanzi has put the Hawkeyes in worse situations than he has good ones. I don't care about his overall record. Stanzi is college footballs equivalent to NFL's when the Chicago Bears had Orten running the show. The bears had an awesome defense and special teams. The Bears needed them too because Orten threw so many picks. At one time during the season Stanzi threw a pick in our first or second drive four out of five games. Vandenberg has had a tough run, he played bad during the Northwestern game but if it wouldn't have been for Stanzi's fumble in the endzone which led to a touchdown Iowa still would have won the game. Iowa's best quarterback performance of the year was Vandenberg's against the Buckeye's, I wish Ferentz would have game him a chance to run the two minute drill before overtime but o well. Vandenberg made a mistake in getting sacked but the game should have been won in regulation. Vandenberg's performance against Minnesota was Stanzi like. Vandenberg should be our quarterback for next year and the future. This is why I'd like to punch Stanzi in the face.
Brother Jud, appreciate the comment. Not in complete agreement, but that's what opinions are for. Now, would you care to post about the Heisman race here and repost this thought on the Heartbreak Haymakers post, which is all about who everyone would like to punch.
If people were pissed when Eric Crouch won the Heisman, I'd hate to see how a Tebow Heisman would be thought of five years from now. I mean, at least you could argue that Crouch's statue was a combination of a career achievement AND his play on the field that year (and that TD against OU). Considering that most of his highlights came against FIU, I just don't think I could handle that.
jimmy deserves it....he's the best, hands down.
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