Heisman Trophy Watch: How the Top Contenders Fared in Week 9

As we get deeper into the season, the Heisman Trophy race heats up with every performance. The nation's eyes scrutinize a little deeper into the performances of the frontrunners as they try to separate the truly deserving from the also-rans.

The men leading the charge right now are as follows:

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson

Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin

Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

Case Keenum, QB, Houston

Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson

Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma

Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State

We'll run down how each did this week as their games come to a conclusion. Judge for yourself who had the more impressive performance(s), but obviously those casting the ballots will have the final say.

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Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

Week 9 Stats: N/A (Idle)

Season Stats: 228 attempts, 174 completions, 76.3 percent, 2010 yards, 24 TD, 5 INT

Moore has had a tremendous season. He's near the front of the pack for good reason. There are very few in the nation who are as efficient as Moore is and even fewer still that can boast a touchdown ratio like his.

The biggest knock against Moore is the same criticism that is heaped on his team yearly. Yes, he's good, but anyone can look good against that kind of competition. Can't they?

The truth is, we don't really know how great Moore would look if he had to face really tough defenses week in and week out. We don't know if he would be so adept at leading his team to victory if they had to take on more than one or two ranked opponents per year and if even half of their conference brethren were within striking distance of a place in the standings.

Having said all of that, is it really fair to judge Moore so harshly based on something his team has so little control over? He (as does his team) takes on the opponents in front of him and delivers one Heisman-like performance after another.

We'll see if he can win over enough support to carry home the hardware.

Case Keenum, QB, Houston

Week 9 Stats: 24 of 37, 64.9 percent, 534 yards, 9 TD, 1 INT

Season Stats: 303 attempts, 218 completions, 71.9 percent, 3219 yards, 32 TD, 3 INT

Keenum fits in much the same mold as fellow QB Kellen Moore in terms of how he's viewed. He's a tremendous quarterback playing in a less-than-impressive league. Conference-USA boasts some interesting teams, but very few that garner a ton of respect.

If you don't respect Keenum though, you really should. The 534-yard performance he put up against Rice was a thing of beauty—as nearly all his performances have been.

At a particular point between the second and third quarters, the stat sheet reads like a broken record. "pass from Case Keenum for a touchdown, pass from Case Keenum for a touchdown..." The Houston gunslinger tossed five consecutive touchdowns, racking up 35 unanswered points to boost the Cougars to a 52-20 lead.

His touchdown-to-interception ratio is over 10-1 and he's averaging over 400 yards per game passing. Keenum isn't a great dual-threat quarterback. He's old school, and he's awesome at it.

Behind his leadership, the Cougars are 8-0 and have worked their way into the BCS standings, forcing the nation to take notice of their team and their Heisman-hopeful quarterback.

Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

Week 9 Stats: 33 of 50, 425 yards, 66 percent, 1 TD, 2 INT

Season Stats: 233 attempts, 176 completions, 75.5 percent, 2375 yards, 23 TD, 4 INT

Unfortunately for Griffin, his star is fading somewhat as the season wears on. He started uber-hot, at one point throwing more touchdowns than incomplete passes. That's no longer the case and his performances are starting to look a little less spectacular as the competition heats up.

His completion percentage against Oklahoma State was decent and you can't argue against 425 passing yards. With the running game struggling to grab meaningful yards against the Cowboy defense, Griffin provided the bulk of Baylor's offense.

However, losses don't help your Heisman case and Griffin has failed to deliver a victory for the third time this season as Oklahoma State thumped the Bears 24-59. On top of that, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns is killer for a Heisman drive.

Baylor still has five games to prove their worth and for "RG3" to impress Heisman voters, but this game could stick out like a sore thumb when those voters are splitting hairs to decide the trophy recipient.

Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State

Week 9 Stats: 24 of 36, 66.7 percent, 274 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT

Season Stats: 345 attempts, 246 completions, 71.3 percent, 2710 yards, 22 TD, 7 INT

Between the dueling Heisman quarterbacks, Weeden had arguably the better day and may have made a bigger impact on his chase for the hardware.

Weeden didn't have as many yards as Griffin, coming up over 150 yards shy of Griffin's numbers there. However, Griffin could only manage one touchdown and two interceptions while Weeden was mistake-free and tossed three scores.

However, Weeden was facing a pass defense that allowed an average of 239.7 yards per game. In that sense, Baylor's pass defense was better statistically than Oklahoma State's. It stands to reason that Griffin threw more yards.

Weeden did what he was supposed to do and what he needed to do. He had a strong average, picked up decent yards, scored points while not creating turnovers, and led his team to a decisive victory against a conference opponent.

I'm not sure if this will be enough to help propel Weeden over some of the bigger names (like Andrew Luck), but it was a quality performance and he certainly didn't hurt his stock in this game.

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

Week 9 Stats: N/A (Idle)

Season Stats: 149 carries, 989 yards, 6.64 average, 17 TD

Richardson is in a somewhat difficult position. He's a tremendous asset to the Crimson Tide, but he's a running back in a class full of Heisman-hopeful quarterbacks that have been dominating the Heisman discussion.

When you stop and think about it, carrying an average well above six yards per carry this late into the season is something pretty outstanding. Just a couple years ago, it was pretty special to see a running back hold onto a four-yard-per-carry average through the course of the season.

Richardson has exploded past the 100 yards mark in six of eight performances.

However, he put up only 37 yards on 13 carries against Kent State (2.85 average) and racked up just 77 yards against Tennessee. Against the Volunteers, he did average 4.8 yards per haul and scored two touchdowns.

However, in a year like this, you practically have to have video game numbers every week to stay at the front of the pack. Will those two performances hurt him when the final votes are tallied? Will the ballot-casters think that mediocre performance against Kent State was damning enough to deny him the pose?

It might take an awfully strong showing throughout the remainder of the year to keep Richardson at the front of the Heisman list.

Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma

Week 9 Stats: 35 of 47, 74.4 percent, 505 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT

Season Stats: 350 attempts, 236 completions, 67.4 percent, 3094 yards, 26 TD, 9 INT

Jones made another strong statement in the Heisman race this week. Kansas State doesn't have a tremendous pass defense, but they came into the game allowing 243.3 yards per game passing. Jones more than doubled that number against a team that appeared to be gaining in strength with every passing week.

The numbers don't really do justice to what Jones did in this game. After a quick start that saw the Sooners jump up 14-0, the Wildcats stormed back and took a 17-14 lead in the second quarter.

At that point, Landry took control of the game and led the Sooners to 44 unanswered points, leaving no question that Oklahoma is one of the premier teams in the Big 12 again this year.

On the whole, Jones' completion percentage isn't as good as some others on this list and his touchdown-to-interception ratio lags behind more than one of his contemporaries. His total yardage is in line with everyone else and he's led his team to a 7-1 start and has kept them in the discussion for a Big 12 title.

What separates Jones from most of the men (with the exceptions of Weeden and Richardson) is that his team is still loosely in the discussion for the BCS Title. Yes, the loss a week ago to Texas Tech hurt those chances considerably, but the Sooners are still in the Top 10 of the BCS standings and several of the top teams will still fall.

If Oklahoma can stay the course and upend Oklahoma State on December 3rd, they could still find their way into the biggest bowl of the season.

History has shown us that leaders of teams that play for titles get a little extra consideration. It just seems to mean more when a player can lead his team to the ultimate glory.

The loss to Tech was his worst performance in terms of percentage, but he still threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns. This rebound victory over Kansas State should help assuage any doubt voters may have had about his ability to lead this team to victory against tough opponents.

Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson

Week 9 Stats: 23 of 40, 57.5 percent, 295 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT

Season Stats: 318 attempts, 195 completions, 61.3 percent, 2674 yards, 25 TD, 5 INT

Boyd had been scorching his way into the discussion as he'd led Clemson to an unexpected 8-0 start to the season. Boyd has led his team to victories over Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech—on consecutive weeks, no less.

His performance against Georgia Tech was much less Heisman-like though and it's going to hurt him considerably in the voters' minds.

Throwing for 295 yards is nothing to sneeze at. However, completing less than 60 percent of his passes won't keep him among his peers and throwing two interceptions to just one touchdown hurts an awful lot.

Worst of all, not only did Clemson lose their first game, they lost big falling to the Yellow Jackets 17-31.

Looking at his overall stats, Boyd is still doing great things. His 5-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is incredible and his passing yards are pretty solid.

However, he may have to hope he can get a mulligan for this performance as it stands in stark contrast to what he's done up to this point this year.

Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson

Week 9 Stats: 10 catches, 159 yards, 1 TD

Season Stats: 64 catches, 978 yards, 10 TD

Typically, you'd like to think "as goes the QB, so goes the WR", right? That is, unless there's a second quarterback. The only person to throw the ball this week besides Tajh Boyd was...Sammy Watkins.

Despite a somewhat pedestrian performance by Boyd, Watkins was once again a force for the Clemson Tigers. He provided the only offensive touchdown the Tigers managed all game.

Unlike running backs or quarterbacks, receivers are (or should be) judged a little differently. Quarterbacks can lead teams to victory through their choices of targets and the accuracy of their passes. Running backs can lead teams to victory with their consistency and explosiveness when running the ball.

Both positions have a measure of control over their performance. Wide receivers are largely at the mercy of their coaches and quarterbacks. They have to be thrown to and they have to have passes thrown where it's at least somewhat humanly possible to catch them. Plus, they have to have coaches willing to call the pass plays that might bring the ball their direction in the first place.

Watkins has made the most of his opportunities, so it's a little difficult to blame him for Clemson's loss to Georgia Tech.

On the season, he's been phenomenal. However, will a receiver be able to supplant the quarterbacks as a leader in the Heisman race?

We'll see.

Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin

Week 9 Stats: 20 of 32 passing, 62.5 percent, 253 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 6 carries, -12 yards rushing, 0 TD

Season Stats: 181 attempts, 129 completions, 71.3 percent, 2033 yards, 19 TD, 3 INT, 38 carries, 200 yards, 3 rushing TD

Here come the questions that only time can answer. Will Wisconsin's second consecutive defeat sink Wilson's Heisman hopes? After all, we keep hearing how true champions lead their team to victory regardless the opponent or circumstances.

Wisconsin found themselves in another tough battle, this time against Ohio State and for the second week in a row, they fell short 29-33.

Wilson can hardly be blamed for that loss though. He was efficient with his passes, scored three touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over.

Some of his throws were simply brilliant.

However, he couldn't do enough and he couldn't be as effective as we've seen him at other times this year. He didn't do anything on the ground and couldn't provide that extra "something" that has been the key to Wisconsin's incredible start to the year.

His overall numbers are still highly impressive and his performance this week wasn't bad by any stretch. It just wasn't good enough to get the win and that might be enough to knock Wilson out of the Heisman race.

Andrew Luck, Stanford

Well, if he didn't win the Heisman against USC, he at least solidified his hold on the top spot in many people's eyes.

Luck kept Stanford's unbeaten streak going at 16 straight after a wild 56-48, three overtime victory at USC. He was 29-for-40 for 325 yards and three touchdowns, and although he threw a Pick-Six interception that briefly gave Southern Cal the lead, Luck came right back and drove the Cardinal 76 yards in 10 plays and a score that tied the game in regulation with 38 seconds left.

Luck also ran the ball nine times for 36 yards, including a 15-yard TD scamper.