Heisman Watch (Week 8)

1.  Collin Klein QB Kansas State
Last Week: 19/21 323 yards passing 3 TDs passing, 41 yards rushing 4 TDs at West Virginia (55-14)  Next Week: vs Texas Tech
Comments:  All season long Collin Klein has been on the door step waiting to burst through the door.  Well KState's prime time win over West Virginia was Klein's coming out party.  Klein hasn't had "huge" numbers for most of the season, but that stopped here.  Against the Mountaineers Klein had 364 combined yards and 7 TDs.  Heck Klein completed all but 2 of his passes.  That is flat out remarkable.  It's games like this that get voter's attention and could end with Klein winning KState's first Heisman Trophy.  But the Wildcats can't overlook their next opponent, Texas Tech, who has been on quite the roll themselves.

2.  Geno Smith QB West Virginia

Last Week:  21/32 143 yards 1 TD 2 INTs vs Kansas State (14-55)  Next Week:  Bye
Comments:  After dazzling college football in his early season, Smith has had two clunkers of games and his strangle hold on the Heisman Race is long gone.  Against KState Smith was looking to rebound after the Texas Tech loss, but was unable to do so.  Smith not only threw his first two INTs of the season, but he was only able to lead the offense to 14 points and lost the game.  Smith hasn't looked like the same player that he did in the early season.  His accuracy is down and he just looks average.  What is worse is that West Virginia is now on a bye week and Smith can't get back out there to get some momentum going.  We could have just witnessed Geno Smith's Heisman season end.

3.  Braxton Miller QB Ohio State
Last Week:  9/20 113 yards passing 0 TDs 1 INT, 47 yards rushing 1 TD vs Purdue (29-22)  Next Week: at Penn State
Comments:  This is not the way Braxton Miller wanted the Purdue game to go.  Not only did he not have a great game with less than 200 yards of total offense but Miller left the game and had to be taken to the hospital.  Miller has since been released but his availability in the Penn State game is still undetermined.  None the less Braxton struggled against a solid Purdue defense and never really had the same game that he did against Nebraska or Indiana.  But if he's available to play against Penn State, he'll have a shot to make a strong impression against a very very talented Penn State team.

4.  Matt Barkley QB USC

Last Week:   19/20 298 yards passing 6 TDs vs Colorado (50-6)  Next Week:  at Arizona
Comments:  Are we going to look back to this game and say it was the one that got Barkley going in the right direcetion?  After struggled through most of the season, Barkley was dynamite and in doing so broke a couple of records.  His 95% completion percentage broke Rick Neuheisel's record while his 6 passing TDs helped him break Matt Leinart's Pac 12 record for career TDs.  Not too bad for a guy that has been struggling for most of the year.  And this couldn't come at a better time as the Trojans are about to enter the strength of their schedule.  They travel to Arizona this next weekend, but they still have games against Oregon, Notre Dame, UCLA, and probably Oregon again.  Barkley's shot at the Heisman is still a long shot, but he could pull something off with a great end to the season.



5.  De'Anthony Thomas WR/RB Oregon
Last Week:  25 yards rushing 0 TDs, 4 yards receiving 0 TDs vs Arizona State (43-21)  Next Week:  vs Colorado
Comments:  Thomas hasn't had the season many thought he would after dazzling as a freshman last year.  Even in their route of Arizona the young weapon accounted for less than 30 yards.  The only reason that Thomas is still in the race is because there really isn't a large pool of players standing out.  Plus Thomas has the ability to break out during some big time games towards the end of the season.  But Thomas better start going, because he is starting to slide down the rankings.

Others to Watch

6.  Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame
7.  Kenjon Barner RB Oregon
8.  Seth Doege QB Texas Tech

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 6)

1.  Geno Smith QB West Virginia

Last Week:  25/35 268 yards 4 TDs at Texas (48-45)  Next Week:  at Texas Tech
Comments:  In his first true test of the year, Geno Smith rose to the occasion and carried the Mountaineers to a 48-45 victory over Texas.  Smith didn't have his huge 400 yard performance, but he did have 4 TDs and most importantly got the win.  Smith was the clear cut favorite going into this week and after this win and his play, he further distances himself from the rest of the field.  Geno looks to continue the momentum into next weekend as they travel to Texas Tech.  That should be a great opportunity for Smith to put up huge numbers again since Oklahoma put 41 on them this weekend.

2.  Collin Klein QB Kansas State
Last Week: 7/14 129 yards passing 2 TDs, 10 carries 116 yards rushing 2 TDs vs Kansas (56-16)  Next Week: at Iowa State
Comments:  Geno Smith may be the best player in college football through 6 weeks, but Klein might be the most valuable to his team.  Klein didn't have astronomical numbers, he had a combined 245 yards, but did have 4 combined TDs.  He did this all on 7 completions and 10 carries.  That's pretty good considering it's only 17 plays.  But a big part of that was the Wildcats used RB John Hubert quite a bit that it took away some of the touches from Klein.  But that's not that big of a deal because against Kansas wasn't much of a threat and KState wanted to rest Klein a bit.  It's a very wise move, but it's not going to get many voters to pick Klein to be their winner.

3.  Braxton Miller QB Ohio State
Last Week:  7/14 127 yards passing 1 TD, 16 carries 185 yards rushing 1 TD vs Nebraska (63-38)  Next Week: at Indiana
Comments: A lot of people haven't been talking about Braxton Miller this season, but after his performance against Nebraska it's going to be hard to ignore him.  Ohio State looked sluggish for most of the early season, but it was this blow out of Nebraska that now has everybody's attention.  Miller had 312 combined yards and mainly could do whatever he wanted to against Nebraska.  Miller is a great fit in Urban Meyer's spread offense and as the season continues to move forward he'll only get better.  The only thing that hurts him is that he tends to get dinged up.  But Ohio State's schedule isn't too daunting, which should only help him out.


4.  De'Anthony Thomas WR/RB Oregon
Last Week:  10 carries 75 yards rushing 1 TD, 1 reception 12 yards vs Washington (52-21)  Next Week:  at Arizona State
Comments:  De'Anthony Thomas didn't have a huge breakout game against Washington, but he's the most dangerous weapon in college football and one of the biggest reasons the Ducks offense is arguably the best.  Thomas can do it all.  He plays in the slot, but is a hybrid WR/RB.  The Ducks will line him up all over the field and try to get him the ball in space.  He's got 9 combined TDs and is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.  Thomas is at his best in big games and he'll have his shot to make his mark coming up with games against Stanford, USC, and Oregon State all left.  And it a year where only Geno Smith has emerged as a candidate, Thomas has an opportunity to step up if Smith falls.

5.  Matt Barkley QB USC

Last Week:  23/30 303 yards 3 TDs vs Utah (38-28)  Next Week:  at Washington
Comments:  It's games like this that remind us how good Matt Barkley truly is.  Trailing Utah 21-10 in the 3rd quarter, Barkley rallied the Trojans to 28 straight points and a come from behind victory.  Barkley's 303 yards and 3 TDs was just the game he needed to need keep him in the hunt for the Heisman Trophy.  A loss and a clunker game here would have ruined any shot he had to winning the award.  But instead the Trojans have some good momentum going into next weeks game against a very underrated Washington team.

Others to Watch

6.  Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame
7.  EJ Manuel QB Florida State
8.  Stedman Bailey WR West Virginia