Last Week: 45/51 656 yards 8 TDs vs Baylor (70-63) Next Week: at Texas
Comments: In what might have been the craziest game of the weekend, Geno Smith fully cemented himself as the leader in the Heisman Race. We all knew that Smith was going to put up huge numbers against a sub par Baylor defense, but what amazed me is how good Smith was knowing that to win this game Smith was going to have to score on every drive. And that was true seeing they won 70-63. Smith had huge numbers, throwing for 656 and 8 TDs, but what was the most telling of how good he was the completion percentage. 88% when you throw 51 times is flat out awesome. But I'll be very interested to see how Smith will do against Texas this next week. They'll pose a lot more of a challenge than Baylor did.
Last Week: Bye Next Week: vs Kansas
Comments: Bye weeks can go one of two ways. The big thing is that you don't play and if guys ahead of you stumble you are in a great spot. But you could also encounter a situation like this weekend where the guy ahead of you just flat out goes off and you don't have anything to show for it. Collin Klein is coming off a big win against Oklahoma, but with the game that Geno Smith had without Klein playing really puts some distance between the two. However Klein will get back into the mix next week against in state rival Kansas. Plus Klein still has an opportunity to go head to head with Smith. That could be a fun one to watch.
3. EJ Manuel QB Florida State
Last Week: 19/26 242 yards 1 TD at South Florida (30-17) Next Week: at North Carolina State
Comments: It wasn't anything spectacular but Florida State survived a scare in their first road game of the season and pulled out the win. Manuel threw for 242 yards but he didn't make many mistakes and most importantly got the win. I'm not seeing Manuel having much of a chance to win the Heisman Trophy, but as long as he keeps the Seminoles winning and puts up some good numbers he'll be a finalist.
4. Aaron Murray QB GeorgiaLast Week: 19/25 278 yards 2 TDs 1 INT vs Tennessee (51-44) Next Week: at South Carolina
Comments: If it wasn't for the play of Aaron Murray we could be talking about how Tennessee is still a contender for the SEC West Title. But we aren't because Murray was huge for the Bulldogs in their win. Murray threw for 278 yards which isn't Geno Smith esq, but it was what Georgia needed to stay perfect on the season. Georgia has some talent with two true freshman RBs, but they don't have anymore AJ Green type WRs anymore. That doesn't matter to Murray who distributes the ball to a lot of different receivers. This is crucial for their success. Right now Murray is just one of several players that are in the race, but not quite. If Murray wants to move up into the top of this group he'll need a big game against the Gamecocks. But a bad game and a loss could really hurt his chances.
5. Matt Barkley QB USCComments: It's safe to say that Matt Barkley hasn't lived up to the high expectations he had going into this season. Barkley hasn't been awful, but many people thought he'd have an Andrew Luck type of year. Instead Barkley has been meh. Against Stanford he really made some big mistakes towards the end of the game, while against inferior competition he was just average. What has Barkley still in this race is the fact that other than Geno Smith and Collin Kelin there really hasn't been anybody that has put themselves into the discussion. Add that and the fact that USC still has big games against Oregon, Notre Dame, and UCLA that with big games could really shoot his stock in the right direction.
Others to Watch
6. Braxton Miller QB Ohio State
7. De'Anthony Thomas RB/WR Oregon
8. Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame
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