Heisman Watch 2011: How Will LaMichael James' Injury Affect the Heisman Race?

The big news that came out of Thursday Night's Cal Golden Bears vs. Oregon Ducks game was not Oregon's big win.

No, the big news came from this play.

Oregon running back LaMichael James, who is the nation's leading rusher and finished in third place in Heisman Trophy voting in 2010, is out indefinitely.

While the injury is apparently not as bad as it initially looked, James will miss significant time this year. As great as he's been, his Heisman chances are pretty much done.

But will that actually change Heisman voting?

For a second, let's say that James' injury never happened. If both Andrew Luck and James continued their great play, then the Heisman would probably be decided in the November 12 game between Stanford and Oregon.

But this wasn't exactly a two-man race. Robert Griffin III is one of several other players in contention at this point of the season.

But now with the injury, you would have to assume that James won't factor into the Heisman voting. We don't know how much time he'll miss, but at least too much time to think that anyone would vote for him.

So, other than James not getting votes, how does that impact the race?

Well, those votes are going to go somewhere. This has changed a little bit in recent years, but Heisman voting is still largely regional.

So, James' votes will go largely to guys like Kellen Moore and Luck. That's not insignificant.

The truth is that it's way too early to accurately forecast Heisman Trophy voting. All that we can do now is speculate. But, when a player steps up and takes over a big, late season game, he's going to go a long way in vaulting himself above other candidates. 

Obviously, we're not deep enough in the season to have that happen.

But is there a pretty good chance that this injury will help other candidates who play out west? Yes, I would call it probable at this point.