As the saying goes, the bigger they come, the harder they fall. And nothing holds truer for this year’s preseason Heisman contenders.

Three weeks ago, if you would have handed me a list with your Heisman predictions heading into Week 4 and not included Matt Barkley, Michigan’s Denard Robinson, and Wisconsin’s own Montee Ball, I would have handed it back with a big question mark drawn on it. Yet none of those names are listed as Heisman hopefuls.

Most shocking is the absence of USC-darling Matt Barkley. At the start of the season, almost every Heisman watch list had the senior quarterback as the favorite to win. But last weekend Barkley’s chances for the coveted award not only took a hit, they fell flat.

The Trojans 21-14 loss to Stanford was by no means the sole fault of Barkley, but tossing a pair of interceptions and failing to throw a touchdown pass does not read as Heisman caliber play.

Barkley’s decline, combined with the overall unimpressive performances thus far by Robinson and Ball so early in the season mean one thing: the Heisman is up for the taking.

There is no denying that the race does not begin on even ground. Barkley was a returning quarterback who would have likely been a top ten pick in the NFL draft, but chose to stay and play for a team with national title potential, with the word “revenge” characterizing their approach to the season. Sounds like the perfect story line. But I have concerns with a contest that is biased before it begins.

Yes, there will always be favorites, but there is a difference between having the most potential and being told it is yours to lose. To which I say, when did he prove that he deserved it? Thus far this season, these early top prospects haven’t, leaving the contest wide open for a large array of potential candidates.

West Virginia’s senior quarterback, Geno Smith, is now at the top of the Heisman contenders list by ESPN.com, Sportsillustrated.com and most other sports blogs. He has started off the season by recording nine touchdown passes and, coincidentally, just nine incompletions. However, don’t forget the Mountaineers have only played two games.

Smith is in a similar position as last year’s Heisman winner Robert Griffin III at this time in the season. Smith is another Big 12 quarterback with the numbers to make a case for himself, but not part of a team contending for the national championship game. To remain a frontrunner, Smith needs an impressive completion rate, which is currently a high 88%. Even though he has shone brightly thus far, his current numbers come from playing in games against weak competition, so the true test will be if he can have similar performances against tougher Big 12 powerhouses including Texas, Kansas St. and Oklahoma. Time will tell, but I have doubts that Smith will remain near the top of the pack.

This brings me to the opposite story, a player flying under the radar, but holding the potential and the criteria for solid Heisman candidacy: Georgia’s quarterback Aaron Murray. Georgia’s schedule, especially the second half of the season, gives the Bulldogs an excellent shot at remaining undefeated and earning a spot in the national title game. With Barkley’s name out of the spotlight, Murray is the top Heisman contender from a team with national title potential. He has started the season with 842 yards, eight touchdowns and has already beaten a Missouri team that was one of the likely potential spoilers of the Bulldogs’ season. If Georgia keeps winning and Murray continues to put up similar numbers, which he is very capable of doing, I see him having a prime seat in New York at the award show come early December.

In a generally weak Big Ten, Ohio State’s quarterback Braxton Miller is the conference’s best hope for a Heisman winner. Under the coaching of Urban Meyer, who was at Florida when Tim Tebow won college football’s highest honor in 2007, Miller could become a top contender if improvement in his overall game continues. Surviving his first test this past weekend against California, Miller came through with a huge 72-yard touchdown pass with under 3:30 left to play, giving Ohio State the 35-28 win.

The biggest issue facing Miller is not being able to play in the Big Ten Championship Game or a post-season bowl game. The only Heisman winner who did not play in a post-season bowl game was Andre Ware with Houston in 1989.

The Week 4 matchup between top ACC teams Florida State and Clemson will cast either Seminoles’ EJ Manuel or Tiger quarterback Tajh Boyd into the mix, while most likely ending the losing quarterbacks’s chance at a Heisman.

Other signal callers that remain on my list to watch are Kansas State’s Collin Klein and Texas sophomore David Ash.

Pac-12 Running Sensations

In a conference that traditionally is known for its NFL-bound quarterbacks, three running backs have taken over and are lighting up the field.

De’Anthony Thomas, the Oregon Ducks sophomore star has the rare ability to catch the ball just about as well as he can run with it. His 382 total yards in three games may not catch your eye, but the fact that he has only been given the ball 31 times and has scored seven touchdowns should. Continuing to post the numbers he has, Thomas should have no problem contending to be a Heisman finalist.

UCLA earned the respect of the college football elite with its upset win over Nebraska in Week 2 and with that win Bruins’ running back Johnathan Franklin has become a potential Heisman candidate as well. Franklin currently leads the Pac-12 in rushing yards (531), reserving him a spot on the list.

Stanford’s big win over USC brought another new name to the Pac-12 running leaders, Stepfan Taylor. Taylor ran 59 yards for the Cardinal’s first touchdown, then turned around in the third quarter to catch a pass for his second touchdown. Taylor is just another impressive, dual-talented player with the pedigree to hang around in the race.

Defensive Potential

While Heisman winners are known for being the best players at putting points on the board, a defensive candidate is not out of the question.

Charles Woodson is still the only true defensive player to win the Heisman (he did so in 1997). Two linebackers, Georgia’s Jarvis Jones and Mani Te’o at Notre Dame, both had amazing performances this week during big roads wins, with both doing so on national television. While they are long shots and have yet to establish themselves to be near the level Woodson was, anything is possible in a long and lengthy season.

I should also point out the hopes of Barkley, Ball and Robinson are not crushed. They are just no longer the cream of the crop when it comes to college football’s most impressive players.

This will make for a season in which the winning Heisman candidate’s story will most likely not be one based on preseason hype but instead be based on earned success. I think that is what being the “most outstanding” is all about.