If you don’t feel like reading, just scroll on down for my top five Heisman candidates.
On Saturday, Sam Bradford and Oklahoma host Graham Harrell and Texas Tech in a game that has Big 12 title, national title, and Heisman Trophy implications.
Graham Harrell enters the weekend atop my list and many others. If Texas Tech wins, they win the Big 12 South, and Harrell and the Red Raiders just have to avoid disaster against a scrappy Baylor squad and fend off Missouri’s upset bid in the Big 12 title game to secure the Heisman for Harrell and a place in the BCS national championship game.
Colt McCoy (24-34, 255 yards, 2 TD, 76 rush yards, TD vs. Kansas) is keeping himself in the thick of things, and it‘s hard not to have him in the #2 spot. But, he and his team are hanging on the results of this weekend’s game in Norman.
Oklahoma’s (.8388) currently fifth in the BCS, two spots behind Texas (.8911). There is the chance that an Oklahoma win could move them ahead of Texas, and that would be huge.
If OU, Texas, and Texas Tech all tie for the Big 12 South title, the tiebreaker would be BCS position. And not only will the Big 12 South winner likely play for the national title if they win the Big 12 title game, but the Big 12 title game will present one final, very, very, very valuable chance for said Big 12 South QB to state his Heisman case.
But if Oklahoma wins, well, things could get a little nutty in the Big 12 and BCS standings and in the Heisman race. Like I said in my college football roundup last week, the Red Raiders just need to win to make it easy on everyone.
However, a certain Tim Tebow is threatening to crash the Big 12‘s Big Apple party. His numbers still aren’t anywhere near last year’s numbers, but he added three more touchdowns as Florida destroyed South Carolina 56-6. It may be too late for him, but he may well come home with the most important hardware in the end if the Gators keep rolling.
Chase Daniel continues to pad his stats (32-40, 328 yards, 2 TD, INT at Iowa State), and he’s now hit 30 touchdown passes for the season. However, Missouri’s two losses and the excellence of his conference counterparts still have him lagging behind, along with the likes of Oklahoma State’s triples of Robinson, Hunter, and Bryant, and BYU’s Max Hall.
I can’t end this week’s Heisman Watch without mentioning the nation’s new leading rusher, Iowa’s Shonn Greene. Greene ran for 211 yards and two touchdowns in Iowa’s 22-17 win over Purdue on Saturday, and he now has 1,585 yards and 15 scores this season.
If Iowa had pulled out a few more close games (their four losses are by 1, 5, 3, and 3 points), Greene would likely be getting a lot more attention. Even so, he’ll get a few votes this year, and if he decides to stay in school for his senior season, he’ll be on quite a few watch lists heading into next season.
Now, because lists are usually the way to go with these things, I’ll do it in list form for those who didn’t feel like reading everything.
1. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: How many votes his favorite target gets could make a difference, but he could distance himself from the field if he leads the Red Raiders to a victory in Norman.
2. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: Odd man out? Both he and his team could be depending on how things shake out this weekend.
3. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma: His numbers are amazing, but it’s all about this weekend.
4. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: Coming on strong, and with the Gators in the national title hunt, he’s got the spotlight to make his case.
5. Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech: If Harrell does win, Crabtree should be the first person that he thanks. However, there’s a chance Crabtree could be the one thanking Harrell.
Outside Looking In: Dez Bryant (Oklahoma State), Chase Daniel (Missouri), Shonn Greene (Iowa), Max Hall (BYU), Kendall Hunter (Oklahoma State), Javon Ringer (Michigan State), Zac Robinson (Oklahoma State)
