If we learned anything from the weekend’s college football action, it’s that the nation’s top players do not play to the level of their competition. This week’s top four candidates’ teams outscored their opponents by an average of nearly 45 points, with each playing a substantial role in the respective routs. However, for another top contender, the weekend was not all fun and games. Despite yet another dazzling statistical performance, Robert Griffin III and his Baylor Bears were unable to overcome a six-touchdown performance from Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill, falling 28-55 in College Station. Overall, the race for college football’s ultimate prize continues to be dominated by quarterbacks (four of the top five candidates) – and efficient ones at that; each ranks within the top four in the country in passing efficiency.
As in last week’s Heisman update, we will recap each contender’s weekend performances, as well as profile one off-the-radar candidate.
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Luck turned in another consistent performance in a 44-14 romp of Pac 12 opponent Washington State, throwing for 336 yards and four touchdowns. The senior ranks third in the nation in passing efficiency and has already compiled over 1,700 passing yards and eighteen touchdowns. With showdowns against a ranked Washington team and the always-dangerous USC in the coming weeks, Luck’s skills will be on display against fiercer competition.
Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin
The hometown favorite moves up to the number two spot following the Badgers’ 59-7 thrashing of an inferior Hoosiers squad on Saturday. Wilson threw for 166 yards and one touchdown, a meager statistical performance by his standards. However, the nation’s leader in pass efficiency also ran for 42 yards and caught his first career touchdown pass, exhibiting just how versatile of a skill set he possesses. With the cupcake portion of Wisconsin’s schedule for the most part exhausted, Wilson will look to build his resume against stiffer competition, starting with two huge Big Ten road contests in the next two weeks. This coming Saturday, the Badgers travel to East Lansing to face fifteenth-ranked Michigan State, followed by a Halloween weekend showdown versus Ohio State.
Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
Kellen Moore jumps to third in the rankings after an incredibly efficient performance in a 50-point rout of Colorado State (26-30 for 338 yards and four scores). The senior continues to make opposing defenses look silly, racking up over 1,700 yards to go along with 21 touchdowns and just four picks. Moore ranks fourth in passing efficiency and with a soft Mountain West schedule the rest of the way, he and the Broncos should have no trouble keeping up their winning ways.
Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
With the season-ending injury to South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore over the weekend, Richardson stands alone as the only legitimate candidate at the running back position. Richardson had arguably his best game of the year in a 52-7 massacre of Ole Miss, rushing for 183 yards and four touchdowns on just seventeen carries. His 912 yards are good for second in the country behind Pitt’s Ray Graham and Richardson’s fifteen scores trail just Temple’s Bernard Pierce (17) and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball (16).
Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
Despite a disappointing loss on the road to in-state and conference rival Texas A&M, Griffin remains a Heisman frontrunner. The only top five candidate whose team has a loss, Griffin’s stats alone are enough to outweigh the Bears’ setbacks. In Saturday’s contest, he threw for 430 yards and three scores, but was sacked five times, often in key situations. Griffin has put together the undisputed best statistical year of any player in the nation: 1,950 passing yards, 295 on the ground, and 24 touchdowns with a mere two interceptions. For a team with two losses, just two interceptions is a remarkable stat, and exemplifies just how efficient Griffin has been this season. Though his team’s record certainly works against his case, if the Bears can right the ship and Griffin continues to post incredible numbers his Heisman stock cannot help but rise.
On the Outside Looking In:
Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
Case Keenum, QB, Houston
Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma
LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State
Closer Look: Case Keenum
Keenum, now in his sixth year with the Houston Cougars, has somewhat quietly compiled one of the most impressive statistical careers of any quarterback in college football history. Coming of a 2010 season cut short by a torn ACL three games into the season (for which he appealed, and was granted, a medical redshirt), Keenum is back to his old self in 2011, leading the country in pass yards (2,309) to go along with seventeen touchdowns and just two interceptions. Though considered by many to be a “system quarterback” similar to NFL burnouts Colt Brennan and Graham Harrell, Keenum has, nonetheless, thrown for nearly 16,000 yards and 124 touchdowns (and counting) in his career with the Cougars. He is one of only a handful of quarterbacks with multiple 5,000-yard passing seasons and is also a dangerous running threat. If he can continue to pile up yards through the air, and he’s showing no signs of stopping, Keenum is on pace to eclipse the immortal Timmy Chang as the NCAA’s career leader in passing yards.