College Football Rankings: Stanford No. 4 Will Boost Andrew Luck's Heisman Bid

Whether Andrew Luck wins the Heisman Trophy or not, he is still the best player in college football. At least, the most NFL-ready.

However, trophies are nice. Especially very famous ones.

So far this season, Luck has thrown for 786 yards and eight touchdowns. These are solid numbers, but not necessarily Heisman caliber.

The release of the new AP Top 25 poll could bring new life to Luck's Heisman hopes. The Stanford Cardinal have moved up one spot from No. 6 to No. 5. The more the Cardinal climb, the more attention Luck will get. Every casual football fan will immediately point to Luck as the reason for the climb. This will make his numbers suddenly look more appetizing.

Quarterbacks are judged differently than every other position on the field. For signal-callers, it is not just numbers but also winning. Win big games, small games, bowl games. Win every game. If you are a quarterback, just win.

Look to the NFL for a few examples.

Trent Dilfer was an average NFL quarterback. However, he won a Super Bowl as the starter under center for the Baltimore Ravens. Now, people will remember his name regardless of his marginal statistics.

Dan Marino. Perhaps one of the most well-known quarterbacks of all time. One of the best pure talents in terms of arm and ability. However, Marino never won a Super Bowl in his career. He is second all-time in career passing yards. But he will forever be looked at as great, but not elite because he never won the big one.

The point is, the more a team wins the more credit the quarterback will get. Outside of the coaching staff, wins are put on a quarterback's head more than anyone else.

Luck will only benefit from his team's slight rise up the rankings. The extra attention, plus the winning mentality, will have Heisman voters satisfied that Luck is the complete package.