2010 Heisman Trophy Rankings: Denard Robinson Clings to Narrow Lead
We're at the halfway point of the season, and it's time for theย latest edition of Bleacher Report's 2010 Heisman Trophy Rankings, presented by Heismanpundit.com.
The Heismanpundit.com Heisman poll is made up of 13 Heisman voters from across the country. They vote for three players each week. Tabulations are made on a 3-2-1 basis, with three points awarded for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote.
In the past two years, the Heismanpundit poll was the most accurate in the country, picking five of the top six finishers in the Heisman vote in 2008 and the top four in 2009.
Members of the panel include: Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, Teddy Greenstein and Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune, Olin Buchanan and Tom Dienhart of Rivals.com, Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman, Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com, J.B. Morris of ESPN The Magazine, Austin Murphy, B.J. Schecter and Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, plus Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News.
Chris Huston, owner of Heismanpundit.com and a Bleacher Report contributor, coordinates and also votes in the weekly poll.
The poll is featured here on Bleacher Report each Tuesday during the college football season.
Here are the top players in the poll heading into Week 7...
No. 7: Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraskaโ1 Point
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Nebraska freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez checks in at No. 7 in this week's poll with one point.
Martinez is coming off a 241-yard, four-touchdown rushing effort against Kansas State (he also added 128 passing yards and a TD) and is on a torrid pace for the season. If he keeps it up, Ron Dayne's freshman rushing record of 1,863 yards is in grave danger.
He is fourth nationally in rushing at 147 yards per game, and his yards per carry average is an astronomical 10.8 and leads all of college football. It's no shockย that the Husker offense is tops in the nation with 10 plays of 50 yards or moreโMartinez is a big reason for that!
But can a freshman really challenge for the Heisman? Since 1999, both Michael Vick and Adrian Peterson have finished in the top three as freshmen. If Martinez can keep doing what he's doing and Nebraska stays undefeated,ย he might be hanging out on Broadway in December.
No. 6: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanfordโ4 Points
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Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is sixth in this week's poll with four points.
Luck showed his leadership skills this past weekend by calmly leading Stanford to a game-winning field goal drive to beat USC. That's the kind of performance Heisman voters love.
He threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns against the cursed-by-Luck Trojans and now leads the Pac-10 in passing efficiency.
To have a chance at the Heisman, though, he'll need the players ahead of him to slip up and for Stanford to win out. While he's alreadyย the favorite ofย many to beย the top pick in next year's draft, Luck still has a ways to go before becoming a favorite amongst Heisman voters.
Look for a strong finish to the season for Luck, but he'll need a lot of good fortune to get to New York.
No. 5: Cameron Newton, QB, Auburnโ9 Points
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Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton gained some ground this week, tallyingย nine points.
The 6'5", 250-pounder continues to shine and remains the candidate with the most upside in this race. He is coming off 210 passing yards and 198 rushing yards (with four touchdowns) this past weekend against Kentucky.
He has clearly emerged as the only remaining SEC candidate with a real shot at winning the Heisman. It helps that he is second nationally to Kellen Moore in passing efficiency and also 17th in rushing. Oh, and he leads the SEC in rushing too.
He can make a strong move in the race with big games the next two weeks against Arkansas and LSU. If he leads Auburn to an undefeated season and keeps performing at this high level, heโll have a great shot at the Heisman.
No. 4: Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio Stateโ14 Points
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Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor is fourth this week with 14 points, including two first-place votes.
Pryor bounced back this past weekend with a fine performance against Indiana, andโthough he is fourth in this week's pollโhe maintains his status as the player most likely to actually win the Heisman.
He really kicked it up a notch in theย air, throwing for 334 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-30 passing. Due to a tender thigh, he did little runningย and ended upย with negative-19 yards on the ground.
Pryor gets a chance to highlight his candidacy on Saturday with a high-profile game against Wisconsin. Now that the Buckeyes are No. 1, teams will beย trying even harderย toย knock them off their perch.
Ifย Pryor can keep Ohioย State on top and keep performing at his current high level, heโll be tough to beat in this race.
No. 2 (tie): LaMichael James, RB, Oregonโ16 Points
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Oregon sophomore running back LaMichael James is tied for second in this week's poll with 16 points, including two first-place votes.
Jamesโ Heisman hopes were helped by Alabamaโs loss, as Oregon moves up in the rankings and now has a clear shot at a BCS title game berth.
The speedsterย rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries and added an 84-yard reception for a score against Washington State. He now leads the nation in rushing yards per game at 169.6.
James is the only running back left in college football withย a chanceย at winning the Heisman in 2010.ย His production is very good, but not yet where it will need to be in order to overcome the players in front of him, so he needs toย increase his outputย in the next coupleย weeks.
The key to his Heisman hopes might lieย in how he plays in theย two end-of-season showdowns with Arizona and Oregon State.
No. 2 (tie): Kellen Moore, QB, Boise Stateโ16 Points
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Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore bounces back up in this week's survey, totaling 16 points and four first-place votes.
Five game into the season, Mooreโs production has been outstanding. He now leads the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 183.28.
After a 267-yard, three-touchdown performance against Toledo, he now has a remarkable 14-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, which is entirely in keeping with his 39-3 ratio from last season. In the last 19 games, he has thrown 53 touchdown passesย with just four interceptions.
Unfortunately for Moore, Boise State wonโt seep back into the public consciousnessย until November (though the BCS rankings next Sundayย will createย some buzz).
In the meantime, heโs doing what he has toย doโputting up great numbers and winning impressively.
No. 1: Denard Robinson, QB, Michiganโ18 Points
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Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson holds on to the top spot in this poll for the fifth week in a row, totaling 18 points and five first-place votes.
This is a significant dropย from last week, when he captured all 13 of the first-place votes (and 39 points) from the Heisman panel.
Still, neophyte Heisman observersย have been tooย quick to dismiss Robinson from the race after his three-interception performance in a loss to Michigan State this past Saturday. Discerning viewers shouldย note that he still put up good numbers on the day and kept his march toward the magical 2,000/2,000ย mark alive.
Throwing for 217 yards and rushing for 84 is hardly a poor performance, and if he continues to produce the rest of the way, few Heisman voters will remember or care aboutย the couple bad throws he made against the Spartans.
Weโll know a whole lot more about Robinsonโs Heisman hopes after this Saturday, when the Wolverines take on Iowa. At this point, it is not criticalย forย Michigan to actually win (though it would help), but we do need to see Robinsonย prove that he can put up good numbers against aย good defense while singlehandedly keeping his team competitive.
Full Poll Results
(first-place vote in parentheses)
1. Denard Robinson, QB, Michiganโ18 points (5)
2. (tie) Kellen Moore, QB, Boise Stateโ16 points (4)
2. (tie) LaMichael James, RB, Oregonโ16 points (2)
4.ย Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio Stateโ14 points (2)
5. Cameron Newton, QB, Auburnโ9 points
6. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanfordโ 4 points
7. Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraskaโ1 point
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