Heisman Watch 2011: Which College Superstars Will Make Ballot?

It's hard to remember a time when there were so many players who actually had a shot at the Heisman this late in the season.

Here we are in December, and not only is it unclear who is going to walk away with the award, it's hard to tell who is going to be in the mix when it's all said and done.

Here are the college superstars who will be finalists in the Heisman race.

Update: Saturday, Dec. 3 at 12:00 a.m. ET by Ryan Rudnansky

Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson was on the outside looking in on the Heisman race headed into Saturday's contest against No. 13 Michigan State, particularly because of the play of Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

Wilson had a solid game, throwing for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the Badgers' 42-39 victory over the Spartans.

Nonetheless, he probably needed to have an out-of-this-world performance to catch Luck, Griffin and Richardson.

Despite a spectacular season, expect Wilson to miss out on the Heisman this season.

Update: Saturday, Dec. 3 at 11:30 ET by Ryan Rudnansky

Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden appeared to be trailing Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III among quarterbacks in the Heisman voting leading up to Saturday's game against No. 10 Oklahoma.

But while the Cowboys dominated the Sooners, Weeden wasn't exactly spectacular with about 8:30 remaining in the game.

Weeden had gone 24-of-36 for 217 yards and no touchdowns, while running backs Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith picked apart the Sooners defense.

Weeden is all but out of the running for the Heisman at this point.

Update: Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8:10 p.m. ET by Ryan Rudnansky

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III continued his stellar season on Saturday against No. 22 Texas, throwing for 320 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while adding two scores on the ground.

Baylor ended up winning the game, 48-24, improving to 9-3 on the season.

It's still hard for me to envision anyone but Alabama running back Trent Richardson winning the Heisman, but Griffin has certainly given voters something to think about.

One thing's for sure: he believes he won the Heisman:

Update: Saturday, Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. ET by Ryan Rudnansky

Well, if Case Keenum had any chance at the Heisman headed into Saturday's game against Southern Miss, he doesn't anymore.

Keenum did throw for 373 yards and two touchdowns, but it took him 67 attempts and he also tossed two interceptions while the Houston Cougars got upset by the No. 24 Golden Eagles.

In the process, the Cougars are also probably out of a BCS bowl game.

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

Trent Richardson had one last shot at showing voters that he was the best players in the nation. He walked into the Iron Bowl a serious contender for the Heisman and sent a message by destroying Auburn with over 200 yards on the ground.

He's got 1,583 yards and 23 total touchdowns. The numbers are there, his team is a lock for the BCS title game and he's by far their best player.

Montee Ball could essentially be his kryptonite, but with quarterbacks stealing votes from one another and the SEC poorly represented in the Heisman race, Richardson is the only player in the race who could run away with it.

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

Who is the best player in college football?

Many people and voters would say that it is Andrew Luck. While voting for the Heisman is far more complex than answering that question, Luck has the numbers and ridiculous talent to make him a solid candidate.

Luck finished the season with a four-touchdown performance against Notre Dame, taking some of the heat off of him for dropping the ball in big games this season. Still, when the lights shined brightest, Luck was at his worst.

A true Heisman performance eluded his season of 3,170 yards and 35 touchdowns, but his body of work is outstanding. He may not walk away with the award and his stock slipped a bit, but he's not going to be blown away.

Case Keenum, QB, Houston

Case Keenum has had a historic season of throwing the football. If he was in a major conference and putting up these numbers against defenses who had a pulse, it would be a landslide victory for Keenum.

The fact of the matter is, there are some voters who aren't going to be impressed by Keenum's numbers no matter how jaw-dropping they are. Inferior opponents crippled him from the start.

He has 4,726 yards, 43 touchdowns and only three picks. That's over 1,500 yards more than Luck with eight more touchdowns and five less interceptions.

Still, many voters are going to write down Luck's name ahead of Keenum's. He's bogged down by his sorry conference, not by anything within his control.

Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

Robert Griffin III was the front-runner for this award at midseason, disappeared in a stretch packed with losses and burst back onto the scene with an epic performance against Oklahoma and Landry Jones.

He has 3,678 yards through the air, and with numbers better than Luck against stronger opponents than Luck and Keenum faced, he's a serious dark horse in this race.

He has the signature performance, and with 41 total touchdowns, Griffin could sneak up on everyone and snatch the award away.

Sleeper Candidate:

Matt Barkley, QB, USC

Matt Barkley probably won't get the invite as a Heisman finalist, but he deserves to. The sanctions USC has been through make it easy to forget that USC would be competing in the Pac-12 Championship, against an Oregon team they beat in Eugene, had they not been banned from postseason play.

Some will say the school deserves to be punished, but does Barkley? He's at his best when the lights are on, and with 39 touchdowns through the air and two on the ground, he's scored as much as RGIII. His 3,528 total yards dwarf Luck's yardage, and he closed out the season throwing six touchdowns against rival UCLA.

He has multiple Heisman performances and outplayed Andrew Luck when they squared off. If his school hadn't been punished for something he wasn't involved in, Barkley would be a finalist. We'll see how the votes shake out.