Heisman Watch 2011: The Pros and Cons of Andrew Luck and Trent Richardson

It still remains to be seen just who will make it to New York City for the Heisman ceremony on Dec. 10, but it’s safe to say that Alabama RB Trent Richardson and Stanford QB Andrew Luck will both be in attendance.

They’ll probably be joined by guys like Baylor QB Robert Griffin III, Houston QB Case Keenum and maybe even Wisconsin RB Montee Ball, but much of the spotlight of the night will be focused in on those two superstars.

Richardson and Luck have been two of the top performers in college football this season, and you can make the case that both of them deserve the award, given how much each of them has meant to their team this season.

But when it comes right down to it, which player will end up standing on that stage?

Logically, you would have to first turn to Richardson, who has bulldozed his way for 1,583 yards and scored 23 touchdowns in his first season as the full-time starter in Tuscaloosa.

The 5’11’’, 225-pound junior powerhouse has been a nightmare to try to tackle this year, and you can make a case that he’s been the MVP of an Alabama team that looks destined for the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans.

He’s also, however, benefited from running behind arguably the top offensive line in college football, and he’s also played opposite one of the most historically stacked defenses we’ve ever seen in the college ranks.

Those two factors need to be considered when measuring Richardson’s impact for Alabama this year.

Luck, on the other hand, has been magical at times for a Stanford team that overall, lacks the true athleticism and skill-position talent of a team like Pac-12 foe Oregon.

There is talent at Stanford, and you can’t exactly say that Luck has been the Peyton Manning of college football, but without him in the lineup, the Cardinal would have been a six-win team this year.

The consensus future No. 1 pick may have came up short against Oregon in the most meaningful game of the season, but 11-1 is nothing to shake a stick at.

Still 3,170 passing yards, a 70 percent completion percentage and a 35-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio isn't too shabby either.

As you can see, Luck and Richardson both give the average Heisman voter a lot to like, but where this race begins to get weird is when you start considering that the winner will be a player who came up short in his biggest showcase game of the season.

Richardson came up short against LSU, and Luck came up way short against Oregon.

Another odd occurrence is that this year’s Heisman winner won’t be from the No. 1-ranked team in the country, in this case, LSU. You don’t see that very often these days, unless the No. 1 team lacks a true star at both quarterback and running back.

That’s simply just the way this year’s race played out, though.

Luck entered the season as the consensus Heisman favorite, but that one crucial slip-up against the Ducks opened the door for Richardson to inch into the lead.

Now it’s the Alabama back who will be the favorite going into the upcoming ceremony.

It’s easy to make a case for either of these two great players to win the Heisman Trophy this year, but in the end, I have a hunch that the SEC will produce a Heisman winner for the fourth time in five years when it’s announced that Trent Richardson is the 2011 winner of the award on Dec. 10.