Heisman Watch (Week 7)

1.  Geno Smith QB West Virginia

Last Week:  29/55 275 yards 1 TD at Texas Tech (14-49)  Next Week:  vs Kansas State
Comments:  You had to wonder if there was a game out there like this waiting for Smith and the Mountaineers.  After dazzling us with near perfect performances through the first six weeks, we get a clunker here.  In the week before their big showdown with KState, Smith and the Mountaineers stumble in Lubbock.  Smith did throw for 275 yards which isn't bad, but he only completed 53% of his passes.  That's a far cry from the 81% he has had the rest of the season.  The loss will hurt West Virginia in the standings, but it should kill Smith here in the Heisman Race.  He'll hold onto the top spot for now, but this performance surely closes the gap between him and the rest of the contenders.

2.  Collin Klein QB Kansas State
Last Week: 16/24 187 yards passing, 105 yards rushing 3 TDs at Iowa State (27-21)  Next Week: at West Virginia
Comments:  Unlike Geno Smith, Collin Klein and the KState Wildcats took care of their business before next's week big time match up.  Against a tough Iowa State team, Klein accounted for 292 yards and 3 scores.  He did this while helping the offense control the ball for over 40 minutes.  Collin Klein is never going to put up Geno Smith or even Braxton Miller numbers, but it's clear that his success might be more needed to his team than anybody in college football.  The gap is closing right now between Geno Smith and the rest of the competition, and if Klein and the Wildcats can beat West Virginia next week we could see a new leader atop the race.

3.  Braxton Miller QB Ohio State
Last Week:  13/24 211 yards passing 2 TDs 1 INT, 149 yards rushing 1 TD at Indiana (52-49)  Next Week: vs Purdue
Comments:  In what should have been a blowout win, Braxton Miller did his job.  Against a inferior Hoosier defense, he rushed for 149 yards and threw for another 211.  He had a 67 yard rushing TD and threw TDs from 60 and 46.  Ohio State doesn't have a lot of weapons, but Miller is so dynamic is Urban Meyer's spread and he makes up for other differences on offense.  If it wasn't for Miller Ohio State could have a couple of losses, especially against Indiana who pulled within 3 points at the end of the game.  Miller's next game is against Purdue who has some talent on defense.  It should be fun to see how Miller will do against Purdue's DT Kawann Short.


4.  De'Anthony Thomas WR/RB Oregon
Last Week:  Bye  Next Week:  at Arizona State
Comments:  Not a whole lot to discuss with Thomas here since the Ducks are on a bye week.  But this is a great opportunity to highlight the season that Thomas is having.  So far the dynamic offensive threat has rushed for 377 yards and has 205 yards receiving.  He is the 2nd leading rusher on the team and the leading receiver.  He has a combined 9 TDs.  Those aren't very big numbers, but the Ducks really look to limit Thomas touches and save him more for big games.  With the Ducks still playing Stanford, Oregon State, and USC we haven't seen the best from Thomas.  With him returning punts and kicks, don't be surprised to see him score from there too.

5.  Matt Barkley QB USC

Last Week:   10/20 167 yards 1 TD 1 INT at Washington (24-14)  Next Week:  vs Colorado
Comments:  Under normal circumstances Matt Barkley would be out of the Heisman Watch.  Barkley has struggled through most of the season with duds for games and the Trojans are relying on their running game more and more.  But there really isn't anybody waiting in the wings to rise up the boards, Barkley is still relatively in the hunt.  Against Washington Barkley was sub par.  He completed only 50% of his passes for a measly 167 yards.  He did have a TD pass, but also had a pick.  Next week USC hosts Colorado which should be an easy win and a chance for Barkley to put up some numbers, because if they want to get back to the National Title picture they'll need Barkley at his best.

Others to Watch

6.  Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame
7.  EJ Manuel QB Florida State

Heisman Watch (Week 3)

1.  Geno Smith QB West Virginia

Last Week:  34/39 411 yards 5 TDs vs James Madison (42-12) Next Week:  vs Maryland
Comments: We were beginnnig to see a trend in Heisman Winners.  The trophy was going to the top player on one of the teams in the National Title game.  Last year that trend was broken by RG3 mainly because he had such a great season compared to everybody else.  Could we see that this year with Geno Smith?  I don't see West Virvinia making it to the Nationa Championship, but it's going to be hard to think of anybody else playing as good as Smith.  Against James Madison Smith was flawless.  He completed 87% of his passes (88% on the season) and threw for 411 yards and 5 TDs.  That is just flat remarkable.  I don't see an end in sight.  Next week they play Maryland who is bad, and then the Big 12 isn't known for lock down defeneses.  With all the turmoil in college football, could we see Smith running away with this?

2.  Matt Barkley QB USC

Last Week:  20/41 254 yards O TDs 2 INTs vs Stanford (14-21)  Next Week:  vs California
Comments:  It was a bad day for Barkley and the Trojans.  In their first real test of the season they failed to get enough offense to get the victory.  Even though he had 254 yards Barkley struggled and made some poor decisons that cost them the victory.  Mainly him taking 2 sacks on the final drive and throwing the final pass out of bounds.  Add in his 2 INTs and it's not a grea day for the Heisman favorite.  Now Barkley's chances of winning the award are not gone.  But he'll have to have a steller rest of the season including a couple of big wins against Oregon, Arizona, and Notre Dame.  Otherwise it's going to be tough sailing.

3.  Colin Klein QB Kansas State
Last Week: 15/20 230 2 TDs 1 INT, 85 yards rushing 1 TD vs North Texas (35-21)  Next Week: @ Oklahoma
Comments:  The rest of the KState team may have looked sloppy against North Texas, but Colin Klein just keeps rolling.  Klein had a combined 315 yards and 3 TDs and was a clutch when the Wildcats needed him the most.  However if Klein wants a realistic shot of winning the Heisman, he's going to need a huge game this next week against top 10 ranked Oklahoma.  A big game here and a win could thrust Klein right up there with Geno Smith as the new favorites.  A dud for a game could end his chances.

4.  Le'Veon Bell RB Michigan State
Last Week:  19 carries for 77 yards, 20 yards receiving vs Notre Dame (3-20) Next Week:  vs Eastern Michigan

Comments:  The stage was set for Bell to really get his Heisman chances rolling.  However being blown out by Notre Dame has put a damper on his momentum.  However it's not really all his fault.  Without any semblance of a passing attack, Notre Dame was able to load up the box and put their focus onto Bell.  Le'Veon did get 77 yards, but wasn't able to find the endzone.  But the bright side is that even after the loss, Michigan State is still one of the top teams in the Big 10 and he'll have plenty more opprotunities to get some of the voters back on his side.

5.  Dennard Robinson QB Michigan
Last Week:  16/24 291 yards passing 3 TDs 1 INT, 106 yards rushing 1 TD vs UMass (63-13)  Next Week:  @ Notre Dame
Comments:  Robinson did what was expected of him in this game.  Passed and rushed for a combined 397 yards and 4 TDs against a UMass team in their first year as a FBS program.  Now the attention should focus onto their game at Notre Dame.  If Dennard still has a shot at winning the Heisman he'll need a huge game and win over the Irish.  Doing that will go a long ways in helping people forget about his week 1 disaster against Alabama.  But if he has a similar game against Notre Dame, it's bye bye to any Heisman talk.

Others to Watch

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6.  Jonathan Franklin RB UCLA
7.  De'Anthony Thomas RB/WR Oregon
8.  Everett Golson QB Notre Dame

Heisman Watch (Week 2)

1.  Matt Barkley QB USC

Last Week:  23/30 187 yards 6 TDs vs Syracuse (42-29)  Next Week:  at Stanford
Comments:  Barkley may not have racked up a ton of yards passing, but that doesn't mean he wasn't spectacular.  He only threw for 187 yards, but a big part of that was Syracuse trying to take away the big play.  But Barkley was able to dink and dunk and still rack up a remarkable 6 TDs.  He also did this completing 77% of his passes.  Next week should be a good gauge of how good Barkley and this Trojan offense will be.  They travel to Palo Alto to face Stanford.  Now this isn't your Andrew Luck's Stanford team, but they still have a ton of talent on defense and that could pose some trouble.  But Barkley just has too many weapons to struggle against any defense.



2.  Le'Veon Bell RB Michigan State

Last Week:  70 yards rushing 2 TDs vs Central Michigan (41-17)  Next Week:  vs Notre Dame

Comments:  It wasn't the spectacular game he had against Boise State, but it wasn't a dud either.  Bell rushed for only 70 yards, but he was able to get 2 TDs out of it.  This shouldn't be too big of a deal because with Michigan State cruising to an easy win, the Spartans didn't feel the need to put too much of a heavy work load on Bell.  Instead using this time to get the kinks in the passing game worked out.  Next week when the Spartans play host to Notre Dame we should see a heavy dose of #24.

3.  Geno Smith QB West Virginia

Last Week:  Bye Week Next Week:  vs James Madison
Comments: .West Virginia had a bye week, so no action for Geno Smith.  Next week the Mountaineers host FCS James Madison which should be a cake walk.  Not only that, it will be a great opportunity for Smith to put up some video game Esq stats.  And you know that West Virginia head coach Dana Holgerson isn't afraid to run up the score on anybody.

4.  Dennard Robinson QB Michigan
Last Week:  208 yards passing 2 TDs, 218 yards rushing 2 TDs vs Air Force (31-25)  Next Week:  vs UMass
Comments:  A big game and a couple players struggling ahead of him puts Robinson right back into the Heisman mix.  After struggling against Alabama, Robinson bounced back against an underrated Air Force team and looked to be his old self.  Robinson torched the Falcons on both the ground and through the air.  Michigan fans had to be happy seeing Robinson race all over the field and to his signature long runs.  Those players also leave impressions in Heisman voters minds.  We should see much the same if not better next week when Michigan host FBS newcomer UMass.

5.  Colin Klein QB Kansas State

Last Week:  9/11 210 yards passing 1 TD, 71 yards rushing 3 TDs vs Miami (FL) (52-13) Next Week:  vs North Texas
Comments:  Even though Colin Klein had a great season last year, he is often overlooked.  Not anymore.  Klein has picked up where he left off last year and is even more dangerous.  Miami now knows first hand how tough he is.  Especially to tackle.  That showed in his 71 yards rushing and 3 TDs.  Anytime KState is close to the goal line you know Klein is going to keep the ball, but stopping him isn't that easy.  What might be even more impressive is that he threw for 210 yards on only 11 passes, completing 9 of them.  81% isn't too shabby.  The Big 12 should be tough again, but the Wildcats are definitely one of the best in the league.  Another strong season could get Klein an invitation to New York.

Others to Watch

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6.  Taylor Martinez QB Nebraska
7.  Aaron Murray QB Georgia
8.  Kenjon Balmer RB Oregon