Heisman Watch 2011: Stock Report for the Nation's Top Contenders
The power ranking of Heisman hopefuls went into complete disarray after last week. Kellen Moore and Andrew Luck both lost and, according to ESPN’s Heisman Watch, they were the two leading candidates.
With no legitimate candidate coming out of LSU, the award is up in the air for the first time in a very long time.
Here’s how the top nine contenders fared in their games.
LaMichael James
1 of 9James realistically isn’t a candidate to win the Heisman because of his injury, but that shouldn’t limit him. He is averaging an incredible 150 yards per game and had 156 yards from scrimmage with three touchdowns in Oregon’s monster win over Stanford.
He’ll certainly be back in the discussion, but the odds of him winning the award are slim.
Russell Wilson
2 of 9So Wisconsin lost two games on Hail Mary plays. That doesn’t take away from the absolutely amazing job Russell Wilson has done at Wisconsin.
He is on pace to absolutely shatter the NCAA’s passing efficiency record with a 201.6, and only has three interceptions to 25 touchdowns. Last week, he completed a whopping 94% of his passes and had four touchdowns while adding 19 yards on the ground.
David Wilson
3 of 9Most people outside the ACC and Blacksburg, Virginia don’t know this, but David Wilson leads the NCAA in rushing yards. Through ten games he has 1,360 yards with a 6.48 yards per carry average. There are only three running backs averaging more than 100 yards per game with a better average.
On Thursday night, he had 175 yards rushing with a 7.6 ypc average. He’ll get a chance to impress on the national stage this Thursday as well against North Carolina.
Landry Jones
4 of 9Jones had a bye week after a dreadful performance against the worst pass defense in the country, Texas A&M. He completed less than 50% of his passes and things don’t look much better for the future because he will be without Ryan Broyles.
Kellen Moore
5 of 9There will be few more celebrated college quarterbacks than Kellen Moore, but one thing he won’t be adding to his list of accomplishments is a Heisman Trophy. His Broncos lost to TCU at home, but he still had a strong showing, completing over 70% of his passes for two touchdowns.
It just wasn’t meant to be between Moore and Heisman.
Case Keenum
6 of 9Keenum is putting up video game like statistics, but he’s doing it against some of the weakest competition—he has only faced one team that is over .500%.
But, as long as those numbers and wins keep coming, he will still be in the Heisman running.
Trent Richardson
7 of 9The Alabama running back is certainly back in the running with Stanford and Boise State losing. Richardson has been remarkably consistent this year, but the problem is that he does not lead in any major statistical category.
With a “Heisman moment” against Auburn, he could become the leader, especially if Oklahoma State loses.
Andrew Luck
8 of 9Luck may be the No. 1 NFL Draft pick but he may not win the Heisman after the Cardinal fell to Oregon last week.
He has been efficient all season but, like Richardson, hasn’t been dominate at one single thing. The only tough game remaining for Stanford is against Notre Dame, so there is a chance for him to make a statement, but he may have to hope the next guy slips up.
Brandon Weeden
9 of 9The fact that Weeden is on an undefeated team may just be enough to earn the 28-year-old the Heisman. Oklahoma State has played one of the toughest schedules in the country and it is putting up over 50 points per game.
He can lock up the award with a big performance against Oklahoma at the end of the season.
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