We are nine days away from finding out who will be invited to New York for the most prestigious award in college football, the Heisman trophy. There has been one running back to win the award since Ron Dayne of Wisconsin in 1999, and that was Alabama running back, Mark Ingram. Reggie Bush had his trophy vacated which has led to USC being suspended of playing in this years inaugural Pac-12 championship game.
With all the talk about Andrew Luck, his skill set and that he is projected to be the number one overall draft pick next April, is he deserving of the Heisman? This article is not meant to bash Luck, but to open the eyes of college football fans, the voters, and the media because all they like to talk about is Andrew Luck.
The first invitee to New York is running back, Trent Richardson. He plays in the best conference in college football and has set the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season. (20). His 1,583 yards are the fourth most in college football, he is tied for seventh in the nation with 263 carries, the 20 touchdowns are the fifth most on the season and he has 327 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns. Add in the fact that he plays for the one loss Alabama Crimson Tide, who are ranked in the nation and you can guarantee he will be in New York.
Finalist number two is also a running back. Wisconsin's Montee Ball is the most underrated player in college football this season. He has quietly put up the second most rushing yards in college football with 1,622 yards. He ranks first in the nation with 29 rushing touchdowns and in comparison, he currently has 15 less carries than Richardson. Ball also has some solid numbers as a wide receiver, he has 248 yards with five touchdowns. Consider the fact he has the Big 10 title game this weekend, his numbers are only going to get better.
The third finalist is quarterback Case Keenum. Yes, he plays for a "system" offense, but no other quarterback in the nation has comparable numbers. Keenum has single handily put the Houston Cougars on the map. With a win this weekend it is all but assured the Cougars will play in a BCS bowl game. His numbers are video game like, 4,726 passing yards with 43 touchdowns and only three interceptions! That is just unheard of. Say what you want about the lack of defenses he is playing against, but he is not turning the ball over. His 73.2 completion percentage is just remarkable considering he is only 33 pass attempts away from 500!
There are only two more seats available for New York and one of them has to go to Robert Griffin the third. He has been a beast all season for the Baylor Bears. Griffin is seventh in the nation with 3,678 passing yards, his 34 passing touchdowns is tied for fifth best in NCAA, and he only has thrown five interceptions. He even had more touchdowns than in-completions after the first four games of the season. Griffin is a dual threat quarterback as he has 612 rushing yards to go along with 7 touchdowns. Throw in the fact he has the sixth best completion percentage in the nation at 72.6% and RG3 has himself a seat at the Heisman ceremony.
The last and final invitee to New York comes down to: Boise State's, Kellen Moore, Stanford's, Andrew Luck, and USC's Matt Barkley. All three are quarterbacks and are having stellar seasons. When breaking down criteria for the Heisman, the award is suppose to go to the best player in college football. Although all three of these QB's are the best player on their team, only one should be considered the best college football player in the nation, and that is Matt Barkley. Don't let the sanctions determine the outcome and take a look at these numbers. Matt Barkley's 3,528 passing yards are ninth most in the nation and nearly has 400 more yards than Moore and Luck. Barkley has 39 passing touchdowns, one more than Moore and four more than Luck. His seven interceptions are tied with Moore, but are two less than Andrew Luck. Luck and Barkley each have two rushing touchdowns and Luck's 70% completion percentage is .9 percent better than Barkley. The only other stat favoring Luck is that he owns the head to head victory thanks to a triple over-time thriller last month.
When it's all said and done, Andrew Luck will more than likely be going to New York. Do I have a problem with that, not necessarily. There is still one more week of football left to be played. RG3, Montee Ball and Case Keenum could play themselves out of the talk, but until then they each should have a nice suit picked out for the presentation on December 17th. If I had a ballot it would be; Ball, Barkley, Keenum, RG3, Richardson.
The main purpose of this blog was to show that there are other players in college football having spectacular seasons besides Andrew Luck. If Luck wins the award then that'll prove the Heisman is awarded to the most popular player rather than the player having the best statistical season in college football.
