Heisman Trophy Top-10 – Monday, November 7
Virginia Tech’s 27-7 home loss to Miami means it’s easy sailing for a USC-Texas matchup in this year’s Rose Bowl. It’s the game everyone wants to see and assuming neither USC nor Texas stumbles, this year’s title game will no doubt feature the 2005 Heisman winner. Placing these three guys one, two and three should lose their votes. of Heisman, PERMANENTLY! My latest Heisman update follows.
1) MATT LEINART (USC) Last week: 1. I’ve been a Leinart fan from the start. I put Bush in my No. 1 spot after the Notre Dame game, but last week I put Leinart back in No. 1 and he stays there this week after another terrific performance. The Notre Dame game ended a three-game streak in which Leinart had gone without a TD pass in two of those games, but he responded by leading USC to three straight 50-point games (the team now owns a school record five in a single season) while throwing for 11 TDs and just one interception. Leinart led the Trojans to score on all SEVEN team possessions in the first half against Stanford as USC led 44-7 at halftime. Leinart wasn’t asked to stay until the end, as USC won its 31st straight game (51-21), its 25th straight game at home and its 21st straight Pac-10 game. Game stats were 22-of-28 for 259 yards with four TDs and no interceptions. He broke another USC school record, passing Carson Palmer for the most 200-yard passing games in school history with 32. He extended his Pac-10 record for career TD passes to 94 (only 21 interceptions in his career) and improved his career mark as a choke to 34-1. I’m not sure how one CANNOT give this guy some extra credit for his career accomplishments. Statistically, he’s having an even better year than when he won the award last year, as his current QB rating of 170.5 leads the nation and he topped 300 passing yards SIX times this year after doing so just five times in 2003 and 2004 combined. . His season stats are: 191 of 286 66.8 2771 yards 23 TD 6 INT / 3 TD rushing.
2) REGGIE BUSH (USC) Last Week: 2. Bush will surely have his supporters and it’s hard to argue against them. I don’t have a single knock on Bush, other than that I prefer Leinart. After two consecutive games of less than 100 rushing yards, Bush used a 42-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to top 100 yards for the SIXTH time in nine games this year. Bush, like Leinart, is having a better year than 2004. Bush had only two 100-yard games in 2004, and despite sharing carries and being the center of attention in the USC backfield with LenDale White, he has more than 1,000 yards on the season (he had just 902 in all of last year) and ranks second in the nation with 193.2 YPG in all-purpose yards. However, I have a feeling Bush peaked out of him in the Notre Dame game and while Leinart has been “deadly efficient” the last three weeks, Bush has been (to him) just plain deadly. Let’s see how the last three games unfold for both USC and these two talented teammates. His season stats are: 13 carries 1022 yards 8.3 YPC 11 TDs / 27 catches 311 yards 11.5 YPC 2 TDs.
3) VINCE YOUNG (Texas) Last week: 3. About a month ago, I had a feeling this was clearly a two-man race. However, Vince Young has changed all that with his recent work! Texas crushed Baylor last Saturday, 62-0. Going back to the Oklahoma State game where they trailed the Cowboys 28-9, the Longhorns have now outscored their opponents 100-0! Young completed 16 of 27 passes for 298 yards with two touchdowns (both in the third quarter) and no interceptions. He rushed for 53 more yards (eight carries) but didn’t score on the ground. His 351 yards of total offense marked the FOURTH time in the last six games that he topped 300 yards in the game, including a career-high 506 against Oklahoma State two weeks ago. He’s already had nearly 300 more passing yards than he did in all of last year (plus six more touchdown passes), and he’s also the Longhorns’ leading rusher in 2005. The win over Baylor was Texas’ 16th straight, longest in school since his 30-game streak from 1968-70. Young is now 26-2 as a starter and has CLEARLY made this a three-man run! His season stats are: 136 of 217 62.7 2133 yards 18 TD 8 INT / 111 carries 778 yards 7.0 YPC 8 TD.
4) BRADY QUINN (Notre Dame) Last Week: 4. In some other year, Brady would be right in the Heisman mix, but even though he’s played, the best he can hope for this year is an invite to New York (which he’ll miss!) I’m sure you’ll get it!). Quinn is either breaking Notre Dame’s weekly records or extending records he has already broken. He threw two TD passes in the first quarter this week against Tennessee and after a 78-yard punt return for a TD, the Irish led the Vols, 21-3 (early in the second quarter). However, Tennessee was able to tie the game at 21. Facing a third-and-10 early in the fourth quarter, Quinn’s short pass was broken for a 73-yard play and soon after, his third TD pass of the game, drove Notre Give me a 41-21 victory. He finished 20 of 33 passes for 295 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He extended his school record to 13 consecutive games with at least one TD pass and the 295 passing yards marked his 13th career 250+ yard game (also extending a record he already holds). He now has 6,984 career passing yards from him, just 618 yards shy of the school’s all-time mark. Notre Dame moved to No. 11 in the latest BCS rankings, which is important, because the Irish need a BCS ranking of at least 12 plus nine wins (they would have to win), to get that all-important BCS offer! His season stats are: 195 of 299 65.2 2647 yards 23 TD 4 INT / 1 rushing TD.
5) DREW OLSON (UCLA) Last Week: 5. I wasn’t sure who to put in fifth place this week, but I finally settled on Olson, even though UCLA was beaten 52-14 by Arizona. October was a magical month for the Bruins as Olson led the team to FOUR comeback wins in the fourth quarter. In each case, the Bruins trailed by at least double digits. That’s quite an accomplishment for a team that had gone 12-13 in Karl Dorrell’s first two seasons and for a quarterback who had completed 55.6 percent of his passes with a modest TD-to-INT ratio. 32-25 in his first three years. . Olson has been brilliant all season and while there was no comeback on the cards for the Bruins last Saturday (they trailed 21-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, 31-7 at the half and were outscored 21-0 in the 3rd quarter!) , Olson had decent ‘numbers’. He finished the game 23-for-38 for 232 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Olson is as good a choice as any for this place. His season stats are: 196 of 295 66.4 2399 yards 25 TD 3 INT / 1 rushing TD.
6) CODY HODGES (Texas Tech) Last week: NR. Of course, Hodges suffers greatly from the view that ANYONE can succeed in Mike Leach’s high-powered offense, but let’s give this fifth-year student his due. He entered this season with just 12 career pass attempts and has Tech at 8-1 (the only loss was to Texas) ranked higher than at any time since the 1977 season. He completed 29 of 44 completions for 408 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in last Saturday’s 56-17 loss over Texas A&M (he also had a rushing touchdown). He has now topped 300 yards in SEVEN of his nine games this year, including four 400+ yard games (he had 643 against Kan St!). His 395.1 YPG leads the nation in total offense. System or not, this is a first year! His season stats are: 285 of 420 67.9 3502 yards 27 TD 9 INT / 3 TD rushing.
7) MAURICE DREW (UCLA) Last Week: 6. Unlike teammate Drew Olson, Maurice Drew had a miserable game in UCLA’s first loss of the season. He rushed for just 41 yards on 12 carries and caught three passes for 25 yards. However, he has been an important part of UCLA’s 8-1 season and has been a key performer in all of the team’s comeback wins. His 18 TDs rank fifth in the nation in scoring (12.0 PPG) and his 171.1 YPG ranks eighth in all-purpose yards. His season stats are: 146 carries 728 yards 5.0 YPC 11 TDs / 26 catches 385 yards 14.8 YPC 4 TDs / 3 TDs kickoff returns.
8) DeANGELO WILLIAMS (Memphis) Last Week: 7. Memphis jumped out to a 17-3 lead over UAB last Tuesday but ended up losing, 37-20. Williams topped 100 yards at the half and finished with his SEVENTH consecutive 100-yard game (four of 200 or more!) of the season (21-167). You do NOT win the Heisman playing in Memphis, especially if the team is only 4-4, but Williams deserves to be in the top 10 of all. He has now posted 31 career 100-yard games (including eight 200-yard games) and is undoubtedly one of the best players in the nation, ranked FIRST in rushing YPG (184.5) and all-purpose yardage (195.0 YPG ). His season stats are: 216 carries 1476 yards 6.8 YPC 12 TDs / 10 receptions 51 yards 5.1 YPC 0 TDs.
9) LAURENCE MARONEY (Minnesota) Last Week: 8. Minnesota got back on track with a 42-21 win over Indiana last Saturday, but Maroney finished with just 85 yards (and a TD) on 15 carries. Maroney has topped 100 yards in SEVEN of his nine games this year (three times he topped 200 yards) and has 20 career 100-yard games for him (team is 16-4). His 152.0 YPG average from him ranks third in the nation in rushing and he has accomplished all of this despite the fact that outfield partner Gary Russell has rushed for 882 yards (6.9 YPC) and 15 TDs! His season stats are: 248 carries 1345 yards 5.4 YPC 10 TDs / 15 catches 158 yards 10.5 YPC 1 TD.
10) JEROME HARRISON (Washington State) Last week: NR. NOBODY wins the Heisman with a 3-6 team (unless his name is Paul Hornung, he plays for Notre Dame and the year is 1956!), but Jerome Harrison is my pick for the No. 10 spot. Despite losing 27 -24 to Arizona State last Saturday, the team’s SIXTH straight loss, Harrison rushed for 240 yards on 38 carries! He topped 100 yards in all NINE Cougars games this year and, since last year, he topped the century mark in 12 straight games. That ties the Pac-10 record for consecutive 100-yard games set last year by Cal’s JJ Arrington. He ranks second to Williams in rushing with 172.2 YPG and shouldn’t be penalized for poor team play. He is clearly one of the best players of the year. He may not be top 10 material, but this week he gets the ‘supports’ from him in my poll. His season stats are: 244 carries 1550 yards 6.4 YPC 14 TDs/15 catches 128 yards 8.5 YPC 0 TDs.
LEAVE:
9) Brian Calhoun (Wisconsin)
10) Marcus Vick (Virginia Tech)