Heisman Watch 2013: Grading Top Contenders' Entire Season
Auburn running back Tre Mason had himself a decent day in the SEC Championship Game.
The junior running back picked up over 300 yards and four scores while leading his team to a victory that is almost assuredly going to lead them to the BCS title game.
As a result, he's made a massive jump in the pecking order for the Heisman Trophy.
It was certainly enough for him to crack my top five.
I'll grade those five based on the entire season. After all, this is the time of year to do so. With conference championship games in the past, it is time to start talking bowl games and the Heisman Trophy.
Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
1 of 5
Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel has turned in an another excellent season. However, he can kiss winning a second Heisman goodbye.
A rough finish to the season, with the Aggies picking up consecutive losses to slip to 8-4, is going to doom Manziel's chances.
So, he isn't going to get a lot of hype for this award even though his numbers are comparable to last season:
2013 Passing Stats
| Yards | TDs | Ints | Cmp% |
| 3,732 | 33 | 13 | 69.1 |
2013 Rushing Stats
| Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 686 | 5.2 | 8 |
Manziel's rushing numbers took a big dip from last season, but his passing numbers are slightly improved. In the overall scope of Manziel's career, that is a good progression. It won't do him any favors in the race for the Heisman, however.
Season Grade: B+
Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern Illinois
2 of 5
Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch had a chance in his last game to push his Heisman bid into overdrive. He was playing in the nationally televised MAC Championship on Friday night.
On the big stage, the Huskies flopped. They fell 42-27 to Bowling Green to lose their unbeaten status and a shot at a BCS bowl game. It also doomed Lynch's chances of winning the Heisman.
He needed to overwhelm in victory, and it didn't happen. He rushed for over 100 yards in the game, but he also threw one touchdown to two interceptions.
Still, with stats like this for the season, he can't be completely ignored when discussing the Heisman:
2013 Passing Stats
| Yards | TDs | Ints | Cmp% |
| 2,676 | 23 | 7 | 63.1 |
2013 Rushing Stats
| Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 1,881 | 6.9 | 22 |
Lynch's prodigious rushing is a record for FBS quarterbacks, and his 45 combined touchdowns is impressive no matter how you look at it.
The Huskies came just a game away from a likely date in a BCS bowl, and without Lynch, this team would be struggling just to be bowl eligible.
Season Grade: A-
Andre Williams, RB, Boston College
3 of 5
After a workhorse season, Andre Williams was forced from Boston College's game with Syracuse with an apparent injury. He picked up just nine carries for 29 yards and a touchdown.
This brought to an end what had been a scintillating finish to his season. In the five games prior to that, he had rushed for an average of 247 yards per game and nine total touchdowns.
This helped push him over the 2,000-yard mark for the season:
2013 Rushing Stats
| Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 2,102 | 6.4 | 17 |
If Williams had the same stats for a team in the national-championship picture, his Heisman campaign would have a mountain of momentum. Boston College is just 7-5, however, and Williams' chances of hoisting the Heisman are slim to none.
Still, I don't see any reason to hold his team's struggles against him when it comes to his grade. The dude carried the ball 329 times this year. He's earned this grade.
Season Grade: A+
Tre Mason, RB, Auburn
4 of 5
Tre Mason essentially built an entire Heisman campaign in one game. The Auburn running back had a historic effort in the SEC Championship game.
Going against Missouri, Mason carried the ball a massive 46 times for 304 yards and four touchdowns. It was a remarkable performance on a huge stage for a team that is going to wind up playing for a national championship.
This is exactly the kind of performance Heisman voters long to see from top candidates at the end of the season.
This is not to discredit the rest of Mason's season. He had a wonderful year:
2013 Rushing Stats
| Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 1,621 | 5.7 | 22 |
In terms of winning the Heisman, these are pedestrian numbers.
Mason shared the rushing load with quarterback Nick Marshall. The mobile signal-caller also rushed for over 1,000 yards. This helped the Tigers run to the SEC Championship and give Mason his massive stage in the first place, but I have to believe his relatively modest numbers will keep him from the trophy.
Season Grade: A-
Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
5 of 5
It certainly looks like we are headed to our second straight freshman winner of the Heisman trophy. Jameis Winston has put up huge numbers for the No. 1 team in the nation:
2013 Passing Stats
| Yards | TDs | Ints | Cmp% |
| 3,820 | 38 | 10 | 67.9 |
2013 Rushing Stats
| Yds | Avg | TDs |
| 193 | 2.5 | 4 |
Looking at the race on a strictly statistical basis, Manziel's stats are certainly comparable. Manziel lags behind a bit in passing yards and touchdowns, but he easily has more impressive rushing statistics.
We can just forget about Winston's rushing numbers. He doesn't need them anyway.
Winston was at the helm of an offense that scored at least 37 points in every single game this season. Also, he put up these numbers despite being pulled from numerous blowouts before the final whistle.
Winston is going to win this coveted award in a landslide.
Season Grade: A+
-(2).jpg?w=600 "SmackDown Grades Before Night Of Champions")
