posted November 11, 2009 at 12:35 EST in NCAA F Articles
College Football Insider– Heisman Watch Week 11
by Tim Furious
1. Mark Ingram (RB) – Alabama Crimson Tide
Here’s the thing about Ingram: he was held out of the endzone over the weekend against LSU, but still piled up 144 rushing yards bringing his season total to 1,148. With just 11 total touchdowns on the season, it may not enough to get him past the blistering quarterback production. But of the top three programs in the country, Ingram’s Crimson Tide are having the most surprising.
The Gators were going to be the number one team, but Tebow’s statistical season is taking a huge hit. Colt McCoy is lucky that he doesn’t have to deal with Sam Bradford this season. Keenum and Moore come from second-tier programs that have patty cake schedules.
Only two running-backs have won the Heisman trophy in the past decade (Reggie Bush and Ron Dayne) and Ingram is going to have to put up crazy touchdowns in the closing games for him to get noticed. That’s not a hard task, especially if Saban feels Ingram deserves a legitimate shot at the trophy. As long as Alabama keeps winning and making serious noise in the SEC overall, then Ingram is the dark horse bet and my favorite to take home the prize in NYC.
Next Game: Alabama (-13) vs. Mississippi State
2. Jimmy Clausen (QB) – Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Nobody on the planet thinks that Notre Dame is a contender, which is why losses to teams like Navy aren’t going to kill Clausen’s candidacy. Clausen had another mega day throwing 37-for-51 and managing 452-yards on the day with 2 touchdowns and a lone interception. Aside from Keenum, nobody in the Heisman race comes close to the numbers he’s producing and with ND facing stiff competition to close out the season, Clausen will be given the opportunity to deploy the ball like a Tommy gun and pad his stats till the bitter end. Don’t count him out just yet. The pollsters love this kid.
Next Game: Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh (-6.5)
3. Case Keenum (QB) – Houston Cougars
The “Drew Brees” of college football continued to thunder the stat sheet with insane numbers as Houston rallied to beat Tulsa in the final minute of the game. Keenum played the part of the hero, connecting on 40-of-60 passes for 522-yards and three touchdowns, including a touchdown pass with 21-seconds remaining. Not bad for a guy from a no-name program, but you can’t ignore insane production like this. To put this in perspective, he’s thrown for three times as many touchdowns as Tebow has (30 vs. 11).
Next Game: Houston (-5) vs. UCF
4. Tim Tebow (QB) – Florida Gators
Tebow and the Gators continue to dominate the BCS standings, but Tebow’s numbers are dipping. He now has 20 total touchdowns this year (11 passing, 9 rushing) but his overall stat totals aren’t that impressive compared to his peers. What is impressive is that Florida has been the number-one team all season and don’t have anyone standing in their way. Tebow needs to be the focal point of a championship team to become the second quarterback since Archie Manning to win two Heisman trophies. So far, so good…but his competition is getting seriously fierce.
Next Game: Florida (-16) vs. South Carolina
5. Colt McCoy (QB) – Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns continue to be meandering winners on the college football betting line with just a 3-5-1 ATS record thus far. They’re also 2-6-1 against the TOTAL, which kind of reflects Colt McCoy’s stance in the Heisman race. Simply put, he’s getting lost in the shuffle. A 470-yard performance with two touchdowns is going to keep him in the race, but it was against UCF for God’s sake. Like Tebow, McCoy is getting murdered for mediocre numbers with big stats coming from quarterbacks in smaller programs. I think he gets to NYC based on reputation alone, but his chances to win it are slipping fast.
Next Game: Texas (-25.5) vs. Baylor
6. Kellen Moore (QB) – Boise State Broncos
Moore’s Broncos remained perfect, but TCU and Cincinnati are getting the headlines. The blue jersey bearing quarterback turned in another solid performance with 354 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, with only one interception as Boise State triumphed over Louisiana Tech 45-35. The problem for Moore punching a ticket to NYC is the caliber of quarterback on this list. Add to that the fact that he’s a sophomore and voters might be swayed to let him have his chance over the next two years.
Next Game: Idaho vs. Boise State (-28)
7. Toby Gerhart (RB) – Stanford Cardinals
Gerhart has been knocking on heaven’s door all season, but a stellar 223-yard, 3 touchdown performance in a massive upset win over Oregon just put him at the grownup table. The 22-year old senior now has 1,623 yards and 16 touchdowns and is having his best season yet. With USC, Cal and Notre Dame at the tail end of Stanford’s schedule, Gerhart can make some serious noise in the Heisman standings and usurp some of the quarterbacks that have been dwindling on the list.
Next Game: Stanford vs. USC (-11.5)
