College Football: Heisman Trophy Watch Heading into Week 8

Another solid week of college football is in the books so let's get right into this week's Heisman Trophy watch.

This is turning into the top quarterbacks rankings, but let's face the facts, there are so many signal callers having tremendous season's at the moment that they all truly belong on this list.

We do have a new No. 1 though, so let's jump right into things and find out who it is.

10. Tyrann Mathieu

Last Week's Ranking: 8

Even though this list is littered with quarterbacks, I elected to keep Mathieu on it. He's the most impactful player on the No. 1 team in the nation. He deserves the nod.

9. Geno Smith

Last Week: Bye

Last Week's Ranking: Not ranked

2011 Stats: 2,159 passing yards, 16 touchdowns

Smith cracks the rankings for the first time despite the Mountaineers having the week off. He is having a fantastic season and seems to get better in Dana Holgorsen's offense every week and is on pace to put up insane numbers.

He gets the nod over Houston's Case Keenum, who ended up being the last man out of the list this week.

8. Denard Robinson

Last Week:  123 passing yards, 42 rushing yards, two touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: 3

2011 Stats: 1,257 passing yards, 804 rushing yards, 19 touchdowns

Robinson takes the huge tumble down to No. 8 in the rankings. Saturday was a tough loss for his Wolverines and for the first time this season, his numbers weren't there.

7. Kellen Moore

Last Week: 338 passing yards, four touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: NR

2011 Stats: 1,729 passing yards, 21 touchdowns

For the first time in three weeks, Moore had a Heisman-type stat line. To get back into the Heisman race, Moore will need to keep throwing up games like this.

6. Tajh Boyd

Last Week: 270 passing yards, 37 rushing yards, four touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: NR

2011 Stats: 2,012 passing yards, 22 touchdowns

Boyd shook off an injury from a week ago to lead the Tigers to a 7-0 start to the season. He's been as impressive as any of the guys ahead of him and has an outside shot to bring home the award if he keeps it up and Clemson keeps winning.

5. Andrew Luck

Last Week: 336 passing yards, four touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: 2

2011 Stats: 1,721 passing yards, 19 touchdowns

Luck shook off a horrible first half to end up having a pretty nice day in a Stanford win. Yet despite probably his best statistical day of the season, it's time to stop handing Luck the Heisman Trophy and make him earn it.

He's been good so far in 2011 but he hasn't been the best player in the nation.

4. Robert Griffin III

Last Week: 430 passing yards, three touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: 4

2011 Stats: 1,830 passing yards, 330 rushing yards, 25 touchdowns

Griffin III was awesome yet again, but remains stuck at No. 4 for the moment. That still gets you invited to the ceremony though.

Baylor's loss really doesn't hurt his positioning that much, but the three guys ahead of him have a solid case to be there.

3. Trent Richardson

Last Week: 183 rushing yards, four touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: 6

2011 Stats: 910 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns

Richardson was absolutely fantastic for the Crimson Tide on Saturday and is somehow the only running back on the list.

He's eclipsed the 100-yard mark in six-straight games and is a touchdown machine, averaging over two scores per game.

2. Landry Jones

Last Week: 363 passing yards, three touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: 1

2011 Stats: 2,160 passing yards, 18 touchdowns

Jones remains hot, having his third consecutive 300-yard game in another Oklahoma win. Yet he drops one spot down to No. 2.

You can really make the case that any of the top five guys are worthy of holding the No. 1 spot, but I decided to make a change.

The new No. 1 is:

1. Russell Wilson

Last Week: 166 passing yards, 42 rushing yards, 25 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Last Week's Ranking: 5

2011 Stats: 1,549 passing yards, 226 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns

It may seem odd that Wilson moves up to the top spot after not having his best statistical day, but he didn't play the whole game in a Wisconsin blowout win.

You can also make the case that Wisconsin hasn't faced the toughest competition to this point in the season and that's a valid argument, but the impact he's had on the Badgers can't be measured in numbers and right now he's playing at as high of a level as any player in the nation.

For that reason, Wilson claims the top spot heading into Week 8.