College Football Heisman Watch: Which Candidates Are About to Fade Away?

We’re heading into the homestretch of the Heisman race, and now it’s time to really start separating the contenders from the pretenders.

Right now, the three big names that are dominating the conversation are Stanford QB Andrew Luck, the consensus front-runner, Alabama RB Trent Richardson and Boise State QB Kellen Moore.

You’ve also got some quarterbacks like Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden, Houston’s Case Keenum and USC’s Matt Barkley, who are all making a strong push.

Then you’ve got some fringe contenders like Baylor QB Robert Griffin III, Clemson WR Sammy Watkins, Oregon RB LaMichael James, Oklahoma QB Landry Jones, Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson and San Diego State RB Ronnie Hillman.

As we continue narrowing down the list of favorites, that means we’re going to have to start cutting players out of the equation in the final few weeks of the season.

Let’s start with Baylor’s Robert Griffin III, who has been one of the most electrifying and exciting players of the season. The fact that Griffin already has three losses on his resume (two of them blowouts) and games against Oklahoma and Texas left, means that his 2011 season will likely turn out to be just a nice audition for the 2012 Heisman campaign.

Clemson’s Sammy Watkins has been without a doubt the top freshman in the country this season, and he’s really helped carry Clemson to a Top 10 national ranking, but now that the Tigers are out of the national title race, it’ll be hard for him to earn an invitation to New York City,

Oregon RB LaMichael James, last year’s third-place Heisman finisher, entered the year as one of the favorites to win the award, and he started off the season strong, but a Week 6 elbow injury that forced him to miss games really cost him dearly.

James will have a chance to make a statement tomorrow when Oregon takes on No. 4 Stanford, but if the Ducks come up short, it will likely knock him out of the Heisman race for good.

Ultimately, as it stands now, I think the five players that will end up in New York are Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson, Kellen Moore, Case Keenum and either Brandon Weeden or Landry Jones, depending on who wins the Bedlam game.

We’ll see how it all plays out, but right now, it’s Luck’s award to lose.