Heisman Watch 2011: Five Dark Horse Candidates with Legitimate Chances

The Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious award in all of college football. You win it and your life will change forever, as you enter a group of elite players.

Before entering every season, everybody throws out several players who have a chance at winning the award. Some are favorites; others are dark horses who have an outside shot if they are able to play to their potential. 

Reality is, there are many talented college football players, but only a handful have a chance to win the Heisman.

Here are a few Heisman dark horses that have a legitimate argument if they continue the solid play.

San Diego State RB Ronnie Hillman

San Diego State running back Ronnie Hillman is third in the country in rushing yards with 606. The only players ahead of him are Marcus Lattimore and LaMichael James and that's only by five and seven yards respectively.

He averages 6.2 yards a carry and has scored eight touchdowns in just four games.

I know you're saying he plays in the MWC, the competition isn't good enough for him to have a chance. Well, he ran for 109 yards on 21 carries against Michigan last week. The Aztecs also have TCU and Boise State left on the schedule.

There's a good chance Hillman will lead the country in rushing yards once the season is over. If that's the case, you have to give him a look for the Heisman trophy.

LSU DB Tyrann Mathieu

The LSU Tigers have one of the best defenses in the country, so, the best player on that side of the ball should get some credit.

Mathieu has a knack for knowing where the ball is going to be and has been getting a ton of comparisons to Ed Reed. In only four games he has 30 total tackles, five passes defended, two fumble recoveries and one interception. 

He makes big play after big play for this Tigers defense.

There has only been one defensive player to ever win the Heisman trophy but Mathieu could be the second if he continues this type of play.

Temple RB Bernard Pierce

Ever heard of Temple running back Bernard Pierce?

Well, he has 496 rushing yards on just 87 carries which makes for a 5.7 yards per touch average. Touchdowns are always a sexy statistic when talking about the Heisman and Pierce has 12 in four games which is the most in college football.

Temple doesn't really have any National games on their schedule but Pierce is on pace to challenge Barry Sanders rushing touchdown record of 37 in a season.

If he breaks it, that would be pretty impressive, whether he is invited to New York or not.

Clemson QB Tajh Boyd

With the limited play of Tajh Boyd last season, who would have ever thought he would be on a list like this?

Boyd has helped lead the Tigers to an impressive 4-0 record including big wins over Auburn and Florida State. He is completing 65 percent of his passes, has thrown for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns, which is tied with Robert Griffin for third in the country right now.

The most impressive stat is probably him limiting his turnovers and only throwing two interceptions.

Clemson has several big games left including Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and South Carolina.

If the Tigers continue winning and Boyd continues to light the scoreboard up, he will get an invite and will have a great shot of winning the Heisman.

Florida RB Chris Rainey

The speedster running back is a huge reason the Gators are one of the surprise teams so far in college football.

Rainey has 411 rushing yards and averages 6.5 yards a touch. He also averages 19.5 yards a catch. He has scored two touchdowns running the ball, two touchdowns receiving and returned a punt for a touchdown. Did I mention he also blocks punts on special teams?

He does it all for Florida and anytime they need a big play they go to Chris Rainey.

What helps him out as well is the Gators schedule as they play Alabama, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina and Florida State.

Don't count the little guy out just yet.