Heisman race and other notes.

Oregon's trip to Palo Alto did more than just shake up the BCS rankings and put us one step closer to BCS mayhem.  The Ducks win also created a Heisman Trophy race, a race thought to be for seconds place behind Stanford QB Andrew Luck.  Luck didn't exactly look bad against Oregon, but he did make some mistakes (three turnovers) and could not keep his team close in the biggest game of his team's season.  The game didn't, by any means end Luck's Heisman hopes, but instead made it for the first time this season, interesting.

Let's take a look at the canidates.

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

We can all see the talent here.  The numbers prove the point also, 2695 yards, 29 TDs to only 7 INTs.  He is completing over 70 percent of his passes and has two rushing touchdowns to add to his totals.  His numbers will be there, over 3000 yards, 30-plus TDs and will do it without a lot of talent at the receiver position.  The problem is this is for the Heisman Trophy and Luck's worst game, came in a blowout loss in the biggest game on their schedule.  Luck is the best player in college football and will probably be the best in this NFL class, but as things stand now, I would have to vote him second at best.

Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma St

Weeden has very comparable, if not better numbers than Luck.  So far this year, he has completed 73.1% of his passes for 3635 yards, 31 TDs and 9 INTs.  With two games left (at Iowa St. and home for Oklahoma) he will break the 4000 yard barrier and has a solid shot at breaking 40 touchdowns.  As I talked about last week, he has a very talented receivers, much more so than Luck.  The most important stat for Weeden so far is zero, zero in the loss column.  But his biggest game hasn't happened yet, Oklahoma at home on Dec. 3rd.  It's a big if, but if Weeden puts up good numbers in a signature win against the Sooners he would be the front runner for the Heisman.

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

If I had to vote today (which I'm sure some voters have already done so) Richardson would get my vote.  With LaMichael James missing two games with an injury, Trent became the leading running back candidate.  1205 yards, 5.9 yards per carry and 18 scores, along with 318 yards receiving with one touchdown.  Very good numbers, but when you look at Alabama's biggest game against LSU, he showed up.  They lost the game, which doesn't hurt a running back as much, but Richardson was the best offensive player on either team.  169 yards from scrimmage on 28 touches (57 percent of the team's total yards).  In the Crimson Tide's biggest win against Arkansas, 126 yards rushing on 17 carries, he added three catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.  The LSU game was the only game this season he didn't find the end zone, no one did in that game.

Those are the three top guys on the Heisman list, but just like the BCS rankings, if a few things happen, chaos.  Say Oklahoma crushes Oklahoma St. in the bedlam game, LaMichael James steals running back votes from Richardson and west coast votes from Luck after some big games.  Then a serious look has to be taken in the direction of Case Keenum, QB, from Houston.  Just because of the numbers, I understand he had an easy schedule, but these numbers are amazing.  Undefeated, 3951 yards, 37 TD passes, only three INTs, completing 74 percent of his passes.  He threw nine touchdowns in one game this season, 9.  He has three more games to add to those numbers and needs a lot of things to happen, but he is the mid-major guy who has a shot to lift the famous trophy in New York, this December.

Some random notes...

Aaron Murray is the best quarterback in the SEC, he can make passes and does not make mistakes.  He made Auburn look terrible on Saturday, eight straight wins and he is starting to develop a great relationship with his receivers.  Georgia will most likely win the SEC East, a Georgia v. LSU SEC title game in Atlanta will be a very interesting game.

Is Virginia Tech the sneakiest one-loss team every season, or is it just me?  David Wilson leads the nation in rushing, if the other Hokie backs didn't steal so many TDs in the red zone, he would probably be in the section above this.  I'm also starting to get excited for a Clemson-VT rematch in the ACC title game, the VT-Virginia game will actually be like a defacto coastal division title game the week before, not much better than that for the ACC.

Finally, a big congrats to my fellow Scarlet Knight Muhammad Sanu.  He broke Larry Fitzgerald's Big East record for catches in a season, he now has 94 on the year.  Have a good Tuesday, see you later this week with a Saturday preview.