Heisman Watch 2011: Top Week 3 Heisman Matchups

The race for the Heisman starts at the first kickoff of the season, and some say it may even start before that with preseason media hype.

There are some matchups in Week 3 that will test the 2011 Heisman candidates and force them to prove whether they deserve a trip to New York City at the end of the season.

Some players will be facing off against tougher opponents while others will just be trying to step out from the spotlight of another player. Here are seven of those matchups.

Landry Jones/Ryan Broyles vs. Florida State’s Secondary

Oklahoma played Tulsa to start out the season, and the Golden Hurricanes are not exactly known for their defense.

They played the game without their best player, receiver Damaris Johnson, and still lost 47-14.

Florida State returns its entire secondary, including Xavier Rhodes and Greg Reid, which ranked 37th in the country in pass efficiency defense. This is easily the best group of defensive backs the Sooners have faced since at least the Big 12 championship when they only scored 23 points.

Taylor Martinez vs. Chris Polk

Both of these players hope to run all day, but Martinez has the better team and will likely win more games.

These teams will be playing for the third time in a calendar year, and Martinez lit up Washington on the road last year and it propelled him into the heat of the Heisman talk. In the bowl game, Polk racked up a whopping 177 yards on the ground, which was 101 more yards than Martinez had in passing and rushing combined.

He can’t afford to get shown up by Polk again because his Heisman campaign is barely off the ground after a disappointing finish to last year.

Kellen Moore vs. Toledo

Toledo nearly pulled off the upset last week at Ohio State. If Kellen Moore can shred this team, it would say a lot about Moore and about Ohio State.

Assuming it actually happens, couldn’t you just picture the guys on ESPN saying, “Kellen Moore accounted for more touchdowns than the entire Ohio State team?”

He proved he was up to the task two weeks ago when they played Georgia, and he isn’t the kind of player to overlook a team or be mentally unprepared for a game.

Andrew Luck vs. Arizona Back 7

The Heisman front-runner takes on the same defense that Brandon Weeden and Oklahoma State shredded last week.

That means Luck will have to put up some serious numbers in order to adequately compare to his fellow running mates. Weeden threw for 397 yards and two touchdowns on 42 completed throws.

Stanford will run the ball more and get off less plays, but if Luck can’t put up 250 yards at the barest minimum, then people will wonder if he has the stuff to impress against better defenses.

Michael Dyer vs. Andre Ellington

Cam Newton is gone, but Michael Dyer is the new face of the Auburn Tigers, and he’s been running away with it. Dyer has averaged over 100 yards per game while splitting significant time with Onterio McCalebb.

But the nation isn’t familiar with Andre Ellington, and he can put up equally impressive numbers and gets more carries than Dyer. He has averaged 127 yards per game, which is 14th in the country.

Road games proved a big problem for Auburn last year and Death Valley will be intense. If Dyer gets outdone by the unknown Ellington, it would almost certainly end his Heisman campaign.

Russell Wilson vs. Montee Ball and James White

Russell Wilson is finally a household name, and the guy deserves it. People are saying he is a Heisman candidate, but he has to outshine his team as well as the opponents in order to prove them right.

Montee Ball and James White make the best running back combination in the country, and Northern Illinois has been putrid against the run this year. To make matters worse, their defensive line is 64 pounds lighter than Wisconsin’s offensive line on average.

It’s almost guaranteed that Ball and White will have stellar performances, and if Wilson can’t outshine them, the Heisman focus may shift to one of these backs.

Denard Robinson vs. Brady Hoke

Denard Robinson has everything the Heisman committee looks for. Except for the wins.

Michigan’s defense and surrounding offensive players have yet to help out Shoelace, and head coach Brady Hoke is transitioning into a pro-style offense, which Robinson is not great at running.

He had a Heisman moment last week against Notre Dame, but he was just awful until the fourth quarter. Robinson will need more quarters like that to become a front-runner for the award, but Hoke’s team and scheme may keep it from happening.