Saturday, December 10, 2011

The Heisman Trophy Ballot Of Mine

The Heisman Trophy Finalists:

1)  Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin - 1759 Yards, Led Nation in Touchdowns, 32 Rushing Touchdowns, 6.4 Yards Per Carry, 38 Total TDs, 1 Passing TD.

2)  Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor - Led Nation In Passer Rating (192.3), 3,998 Passing Yards, 36 TDs.  72.4% Completion %,

3)  Andrew Luck , QB, Stanford - 3,170 Yards, 35 Touchdowns, 70% Completion %, 167.5 Passer Rating (5th In Nation)

4) Tyrann Mathieu , DB, LSU, - 71 Tackles, 5 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 420 yards and 2 TDs on punt returns.

5)  Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama - 1583 yards, 20 Touchdowns 6.0 Yards Per Carry.

If I had a vote, this is the way that my Heisman ballot would look:

1)  Montee Ball, Wisconsin

2)  Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State  73.9 Completion %, 3507 Yards Passing, 41 TDs, Passer Rating 176.3, 4th In Nation.

3)  Robert Griffin III, Baylor.

4)  Case Keenum, Houston  71.7 Completion %, 5099 Yards Passing, 45 TDs, Passer Rating 177.9, 3rd In Nation.

5)  Tyrann Mathieu, LSU.

My Thoughts:

Montee Ball has had the best year of any football player in college football.  Period.  That is the way I look at the Heisman.  He will pass Barry Sanders record of 40 TDs in a season if he scores 3 in the Bowl game.  No one is even close.  He won't win it in real life, but he deserves it.

Kellen Moore would be my pick if Ball hadn't have had a big end of the Big 10 season, especially against the Michigan State Spartans.  This is a player that commanded the Broncos offense to rolling the scoreboards mightily during the first halves.  There were some second halves that he would sit for most of it because the Broncos were so far ahead. 

RG III, was the most electrifying player this year.  However, if being the Heisman trophy winner is coming up big in the biggest of games, which people are knocking Andrew Luck for, RG III doesn't fit the bill. 

Case Keenum went nuts in the Houston offensive system.  One yard shy of 5,100 yards says that he can throw the ball.  The completeion percentage is lower than I would like, and he was in many games where the blowout was complete and the team was trying to pad his stats for the Heisman. 

Tyrann Mathieu is a sure fire pro when he decides to turn pro.  He is the leader of the best defense in the nation.  However, the SEC argument about being the best conference in the land hurts his candidacy in my eyes.  If the SEC is such a great conference, then his stats aren't as great as they should be. 

As for Luck and Richardson, they have far too much hype for the Heisman compared to the stats and results for their respective seasons.  Luck's stats weren't as dominant as people thought coming into the season and while he played solid in the big games, there wasn't that one performance that he shined and brought the Cardinal to victory while the team was obviously outplayed.  Richardson plays for Alabama where the defense won more games than the offense.  Monte Ball has better stats and has been more of a catalyst for the offense in Wisconsin than Richardson has been for 'Bama.

3 comments:

Zebster said...

I actually heard an announcer refer to this just like the National Championship vote; ie, Luck started with the lead and he hasn't done anything to lose it. Can you imagine that? I haven't cared about this since they don't even consider the small college guys anymore, not since Joe Dudek.

JJ devoted badger fan said...

I totally agree with your picks. Monte Ball has had a year that has been exceptional. What's interesting about it is that the Badgers have a second running back, James White who has over 600 yards and 6 td's himself. Not only didn't Monte have competition from rivals he had to compete for the ball within his own team. Ron Dayne was the last Heisman winner for the Badgers back in '99

tpubgu said...

Brent, your post was a sight for sore eyes. Monte Ball wasn't considered Heisman qualified until the last game against MSU because the Badgers have 2 losses. He's a junior and I hope he comes back his senior year and lights up all the nay-sayers.