Players on the Hot Seat in Week 9

Though it’s fairly easy to identify which coaches are on the hot seat coming into Week 9 of the season, what about the players who are perched in a precarious position after eight weeks of play?

Some guys need a big game this weekend to atone for recent sins, put a season back on the right track or just simply prove they really deserve to be tagged “for real.”

The following slideshow highlights nine athletes (or groups of athletes) that are on the proverbial “hot seat” coming into the ninth stanza of the poetic tour de force that is the 2012 college football season.

By Sunday each of these guys will have either a seat reserved on the tramway going up the mountain to glory, or alternatively they’ll have a booking on the return journey downwards that leads to the valley of disappointment.

Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

Really the best way to explain what has happened to Geno Smith thus far in the 2012 is by comparing two radically different statistical snapshots.

Geno Smith went 166-of-204 (81.3 percent) for 1,996 yards, 24 TDs and zero picks through the first five games of the season only to drop like a lead weight to the depths of 50-of-87 (56.4 percent) for 418 yards two TDs and two picks in his past two appearances.

Yes, Smith went from being the guy who could win the Heisman simply by playing the final seven games of the season to being the dude everybody vaguely remembered from his eight TD, 656 yard scorching of Baylor in Week 4.

West Virginia is no longer a frontrunner for the BCS, the Big 12 or the Heisman—so what now?

And in terms of Geno Smith that means, can he salvage a Heisman bid which is still at least on the radar?

Week 9 brings with it a visit from 5-2 TCU, a team that owns the No. 54-ranked pass defense in the FBS meaning that maybe Smith and company can light up the yards torch they had blazing earlier in the season.

Of course the bigger concern, because WVU needs to win this game, is can its No. 118 ranked scoring defense contain the Horned Frogs’ No. 30 ranked scoring offense?

Either way, one more loss with one more stalled offensive attack could mean that Smith’s out of the Heisman race for good.

Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State

If you ever wondered how fickle college football is consider this: Braxton Miller came into Week 8 as most prognosticators' No. 2 or No. 3 to win the Heisman.

Speed forward to this week and Miller, who sinned only by missing the fourth quarter of the Buckeyes’ OT win over Purdue (due to injury), has been significantly downgraded to the No. 3, No. 4 or even No. 5 spot.

And it’s not like he’s out for the season—the kid is apparently slated to be back in action this Saturday at Penn State.

So, if Miller really is in the Heisman race what has to happen for him to win it?

Well, first of all frontrunners like Collin Klein have to tank and then secondary guys who are rising like Matt Barkley and A.J. McCarron must also suffer a loss or at minimum a very poor performance.

The other side of the coin for Miller is that both he and the Bucks must win the rest of their games in a decisive fashion.

Yes, Miller has to be the clear MVP of an undefeated BCS team that can’t go bowling but can still propel someone to the podium in New York City.

This process all starts (again) this Saturday at Penn State where Miller will lay it on the line against the Nittany Lions’ No. 13 ranked scoring defense.

As of today, Miller’s 1,384 passing yards combined with his 959 yards as a rusher account for 67 percent of Ohio State’s total yards in 2012.

Miller needs to keep the volume turned up really loud in Week 9 if he has any realistic chance of taking home the Buckeyes’ eighth bronze statuette.

De’Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon

At first glance Oregon’s super-speedy De’Anthony Thomas might seem a hard sell for the “hot seat” list, but before you click to the next slide consider a couple of intriguing facts.

First off, Thomas is the guy who has been the Ducks’ frontrunner in terms of Heisman potential since before the first snap of Week 1 and now suddenly he’s been relegated to No. 2 behind Kenjon Barner.

And these are no small potatoes when your team is 7-0 and ranked No. 4 in the BCS standings.

In other words, if Oregon wins out a Duck will be in New York City with a serious Heisman bid in full bloom—but the question is which Duck will it be?

That leads to the second point which involves the fact that Thomas just hasn’t got the touches that Barner has this season.  Indeed, Thomas has only 53 carries while Barner has a whopping 132.

Therefore, the bottom line regarding the trifecta of De’Anthony Thomas, the Hot Seat and Week 9 is fairly simple…if he doesn’t start getting some more action, now, he won’t be in New York in December.

The good news is this Saturday’s clash with Colorado at Autzen presents the perfect opportunity for the “Thomas for Heisman” campaign to get back on track.

It features Oregon’s No. 4 ranked rushing attack taking on the Buffaloes’ No. 79 ranked rushing defense.

The only lingering question is how many opportunities will Thomas get to make his case?

Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M

“Johnny Football” is yet another guy who rose up from the crowd to be a mid-season Heisman contender only to start to fade out as quickly as he flashed in.

Manziel, like Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, puts the “MV” back into “MVP” by virtue of accounting for 72 percent of the Aggies' total yardage output for 2012.

Yes, Manziel’s 1,956 passing yards and 703 rushing yards combine to account for over 70 percent of the Ags’ 3,672 yards this season.

And that total number earns A&M the No. 13 spot nationally in total yardage.

After becoming, understandably, a victim to LSU’s No. 10 ranked scoring defense in Week 8, Manziel must absolutely shine this Saturday at Auburn to remain relevant from a national perspective.

So, can he tame the next set of Tigers and propel himself back into the Heisman Top 5?

Though Auburn’s defense (No. 56 in scoring) has definitely outshone their anemic offense  (a ridiculous No. 121 in points) the Tigers simply don’t present the gut-churning, fear-monger defense of say LSU, Florida, Alabama or even Mississippi State.

In other words, the time is now oh hot-seater!

E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State

Seminoles gunslinger E.J. Manuel is on our hot seat roll for two reasons, first of all this is a guy who needs to keep performing on all cylinders to keep his team at one-loss status.

And frankly, if Florida State is to be in contention for a BCS title bid they are saddled with the type of schedule that means dominant wins are needed more than just simple “W’s.”

This all obviously begins with a huge win against a good Duke team this weekend.  And this needs to be quantified by saying that though we all know that the Blue Devils are impressively 6-2 (3-1 in ACC play), they are still Duke and you should still beat them soundly if you are the No. 12 team in the BCS.

If you don’t, people start to wonder and if people start to wonder the computers will give you the shaft in December.

The good news is that the Blue Devils don’t have a stifling defense hidden under the hood. In fact they’ve given up 27.8 points per game earning them a No. 72 ranking nationally.

The second need for mention of Manuel’s name in this presentation revolves around the loss (due to injury) of the Seminoles’ No. 1 rusher Chris Thompson.

Though there are other talented backs that could step up in Thompson’s absence, it’s important to remember that this is a team that had a common thread running through each of its losses in 2011.

And that theme was the lack of a running game.  Yes, if you want to pinpoint the difference between last year’s Seminoles and this year’s squad, how about a team that ranked No. 104 in rushing yards in 2011 versus a group that ranks No. 15 this season.

All this means is the pressure is back on E.J. Manuel to do his part (or more), a scenario that led to a less than savory outcome last season.

Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia

After being on the Heisman radar coming into 2012, Aaron Murray has seemingly dropped off the planet after eight weeks of play.

Yes, not only are the words “Georgia Bulldogs” not on too many lips around the country, neither is the name “Aaron Murray.”

But the funny thing is, both the Bulldogs and Murray are both still “in it to win it” in a big way.

Yes, Georgia still has but one loss (to South Carolina, a team with two losses) and it still gets a chance (in Week 9) to knock off Florida and punch their ticket to the SEC title game.

And how perfect is that everyone has their eyes on the pretty Gators while the Bulldogs are sitting in the cat-bird seat?

As far as Murray is concerned from an individual standpoint, he’s the No. 7 QB in the country in terms of passer rating.

Murray is 130-of-199 for 1,914 yards, 16 TDs and four INTs—making him perhaps one of the more dangerous wolves in sheep’s clothing from a Heisman perspective.

Seriously, Georgia and Murray are five wins away from being “the” team from the East.  And the biggest task on their “to do” list comes this Saturday vs. Florida.

After that it’s games against Ole Miss, at Auburn, against FCS Georgia Southern and then against Georgia Tech.

There is no doubt that the Bulldogs have been underwhelming thus far in 2012 (refer to Week 8’s embarrassing game vs. Kentucky), but they still control their own destiny.

And it all hinges on a little suare commonly referred to as “the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party.”

The Texas Tech Defense

There is no doubt that a big part of the reason Texas Tech is 6-1 coming into its gi-normous game at Kansas State this weekend is a defense that plays Dr. Jekyll to last seasons’ Mr. Hyde.

Yes, where Tech ranked No. 117 last season in scoring defense (it gave up a generous 39.3 points per game in 2011) it currently holds a No. 34 ranking this season (handing out a more economical 21.6 points per game in 2012).

But, how real is that number (look at who the Red Raiders have played) and how will it hold up through the final five weeks of the season (in games against Kansas State, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Baylor)?

Well, the big “are you really for real” testing begins this weekend against No. 3-ranked K-State and their dazzling No. 10 ranked scoring offense, a unit that averages 42.9 points per game.

Before Red Raider fans run and hide under the bed quivering like a wet dog, consider the fact that the Wildcats rank No. 14 in rushing yards and only No. 90 in passing yards.

This is a nicety that lines up rather well with Tech’s No. 20 ranked rushing defense and their No. 12 mark vs. the pass.

But, no matter how you slice it, Texas Tech’s “new and improved” defense is up on the block this Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.

Is it really “new” and how “improved” is “improved?”

And hence, we see the need for a “hot seat” tag.

Connor Shaw, QB, South Carolina

Despite the fact that after back-to-back league losses the Gamecocks are more than likely out of the mix for a first-ever SEC crown, the season is far from over.

And this makes the improved play of South Carolina QB Connor Shaw even more critical—that is if the Gamecocks have designs on stopping the bleeding at only two losses.

Shaw is 84-of-128 for 982 yards, nine TDs and four picks through eight games and the real kicker is that his four INTs make him scarily close to his total number in 2011 of six.

Neither part of South Carolina’s offensive attack has been necessarily pretty to look at in 2012, but with Marcus Lattimore still struggling to get back to 100 percent, Shaw is the guy who has got to step up.

And this all starts with what needs to be a big statement (or, at the very least a win) this Saturday when Tennessee comes to town.

Though the ‘Cocks should have no problem squashing the Vols’ offense, the Tennessee clash offers a floundering SC offense a great chance to rebound.

Yes, Tennessee ranks No. 99 in scoring defense, and score points is precisely what Shaw and friends need to do in Week 9.

Stanford’s Pass Defense

In our wild card pick for the player hot seat, we call out Stanford’s pass defense, the unit that has struggled the most in the Cardinal’s entertaining 5-2 start in 2012.

Yes, while Week 9’s visit from Washington State might not look complicated or fearful on the surface, there's a very real possibility that the tree mascot might not dance gleefully on Saturday.

What?

Seriously, get this—Stanford’s No. 108 ranked pass defense will be taking on Wazzou’s No. 9 ranked pass offense this weekend.

No, the Cougars’ can’t seem to cash in many of those passing yards for points (they rank an astonishing No. 100 in offensive scoring), they can’t run the ball (No. 123 nationally) and they don’t stop the bleeding well (No. 85 in scoring D) but still, a mismatch is a mismatch.

Though “hot seat” in conjunction with Stanford’s secondary might be a bit of an overstatement (the Cardinal ranks No. 24 in scoring defense), this is still a team that has struggled to score points (No. 67 nationally).

Perhaps this isn’t worthy of “upset watch” alerts, but don’t you find it interesting that a Mike Leach sponsored offensive attack has a chance to take a swing at one of the worst pass defenses in the country?