College Football 2011: Predicting the Top 5 Heisman Candidates After Week 1

Former Heisman winners Cam Newton and Mark Ingram are in the NFL, which leaves the 2011 Heisman Trophy race wide open.

The Bodog.com Heisman odds are out, and the current favorite is Stanford’s all-everything quarterback Andrew Luck at 7/2.

He is widely considered to be the top returning player this year and is projected as the No. 1 NFL draft pick for 2012.

But how will Week 1 change the Heisman race? Will Luck still be the leader or will another player steal his thunder with his incredible play?

Let’s find out.

Just Missed the Cut

Trent Richardson

Justin Blackmon

Chris Polk

Denard Robinson

Case Keenum

5. Marcus Lattimore

Lattimore will face East Carolina in his first game, and that means he’ll be getting a lot of yards.

The Pirates’ defense surrendered more yards in 2010 than every team in the country except for Eastern Michigan, Kansas State and New Mexico.

South Carolina is going to light up the scoreboards but no one will more so than Lattimore. A 100-yard game is essentially a given, and if Steve Spurrier leaves the stud running back in for enough time, a 200-yard game is not out of the question.

4. Landry Jones

After being thrown into the fire in 2009, Oklahoma’s Landry Jones has been nothing short of spectacular.

He threw for 4,718 yards last season with 38 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions. He and Ryan Broyles make the best quarterback-wide receiver combination in the country, and both are Heisman hopefuls.

However, it’s been a long time since a wide receiver won the award, and Justin Blackmon is likely to gain more total yards this season.

Against the worst pass defense in the country last season, expect Landry Jones to get a ton of yards. He may even be forced to stay in the entire game because of Tulsa’s high-flying offense, which would only further his numbers.

3. LaMichael James

Last year’s top running back LaMichael James will face off against LSU to open the season, and an Oregon win would solidify his spot in the Heisman race.

After rushing for over 1,700 yards and finishing third in last year’s race, James is ready for even bigger things despite having Kenjon Barner behind him.

This ranking is highly contingent on the Ducks beating the Tigers to open the season in Cowboys Stadium, but with what appears to be a looming suspension for LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson, Oregon should be favored in the matchup.

If the Ducks lose or if James is completely stuffed, this ranking will rapidly drop. It just doesn’t seem likely that will happen.

2. Andrew Luck

The amazing quarterback plays against San Jose State to open the season. He’ll get more than enough numbers to maintain a high ranking in the Heisman race.

Luck is the real deal and combines accurate passing with outstanding pocket awareness and strength. In addition to throwing for over 3,300 yards, 32 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, he ran for 453 yards.

He finished second in last year’s Heisman voting and is almost the sole reason why Stanford is ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Poll. But after Week 1, someone will take over the top spot with some heroics of his own.

1. Kellen Moore

The Boise State legend that is Kellen Moore faces off against Georgia to open the season and the result is another chance to prove himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

The Broncos may have their weaknesses with a new offensive coordinator and a group of unproven receivers, but running back Doug Martin will have a good enough game to open up the passing lanes.

Should Boise win this game, Moore will almost certainly get the credit over Martin despite them both being equally talented. And with everyone on Georgia’s running back depth chart currently injured, Moore may just need to engineer a few clutch drives in order to overtake Andrew Luck in the Heisman race.