Tracking Robert Griffin's Improbable Run to the Top of the Heisman Trophy Charts

The Heisman trophy finalists have been released and, surprisingly, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin was one of them. Well, maybe it's not as surprising as many would think, but before the season started, nobody had him on their Heisman watch list.

He ended up having a fantastic season and helped lead the Bears to a very impressive 9-3 season. His numbers are off the charts and he now has lots of hype behind him. He could very well win this award and become the first player from Baylor to do so.

Here is how Griffin went from an afterthought to possibly the front-runner for the Heisman trophy.

Griffin Goes off on TCU and Introduces Himself Against TCU

Week 1 was when Robert Griffin really put himself and the Baylor Bears on the map. TCU came into the game highly ranked and the overwhelming favorite to win the game.

Robert Griffin must have not got the memo because he ended up throwing for 359 yards and five touchdowns. All while completing 77 percent of his passes.

The Bears' defense let the Horned Frogs get back into the game, but Baylor ended up holding on for the 50-48 victory.

Follows Up That Game with a Beatdown on Stephen F. Austin

It may have been a small victory over a below-par team like Stephen F. Austin, but Griffin still put up remarkable numbers. 

How about completing 90 percent of his passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns. This was also the game where the defense actually showed up and shut the Lumberjacks out.

Similar Game as Last Week Against Rice

Another game is just another day at the office for Griffin.

Rice is a team that doesn't play much defense, so it really wasn't a surprise when he completed 87 percent of his passes for five touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown, which was his first of the season.

At this point in the season, many were talking about how he hadn't thrown an interception and how he had more touchdown passes than incompletions.

Robert Griffin Loses Game Against Kansas State

Griffin had another fantastic game for the Bears as he threw for 346 yards and five touchdowns. But it would be the costly interception that people remember in this game.

It was not only Griffin's first interception of the season, but it set the Wildcats up for a game-winning field goal. This of course would also result in the Bears' first loss of the season and a drop in the rankings.

Griffin's Heisman hopes took a blow in this game, but he had plenty of chances to redeem himself.

Griffin Finishes with Sub-Par Game Against Iowa State

After losing a game against Kansas State the week before, Griffin responded with probably his least impressive game of the year. Sure, the Bears won the game 49-26, but he only threw for 212 yards and had two total touchdowns.

These may be solid numbers for an average quarterback, but with the performances we saw in the past, we expected more.

Maybe we were a little spoiled.

Defense Fails to Show Up in Loss vs. Texas A&M

The high-scoring Texas A&M Aggies were the first ranked team the Bears played all season. You can't really blame this loss on Griffin at all as the Bears' defense gave up 55 points.

Griffin tried his best to bring Baylor back by throwing for 430 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough. He also threw his second interception of the season in this game.

His Heisman hopes took another hit and many were questioning if he could do enough to get back in the race. Especially with Andrew Luck and Stanford cruising.

Another Loss Really Puts Griffin out of the Heisman Race

This game against the Cowboys is when many people believed that Robert Griffin fell out of the Heisman race (myself included).

This would be the Bears' second loss in a row and their third in four weeks. It was extremely hard to imagine him bouncing back from those losses and doing anything special enough to get back in the hunt for the award.

Although, you could blame the defense again for this loss as they gave up 59 points to Oklahoma State.

Griffin did throw for 435 yards and had two total touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions, which gave him four on the year.

Griffin and the Bears Bounce Back Against Missouri

After suffering two costly defeats, the Bears and their quarterback bounced back in a big way over the Missouri Tigers.

Griffin threw for 406 yards and had four total touchdowns.

It was a nice game and performance to get back on track, but those three losses were still in everybody's mind.

Griffin with Another Strong Peformance and Andrew Luck Loses

Griffin had another great performance against Kansas as he threw for 312 yards and had four total touchdowns once again.

But this time it wasn't him that helped his Heisman hopes, it was Andrew Luck who did all of the favors. The Stanford quarterback, who was the front-runner for the award, finally opened the door for other candidates as the Cardinal lost to the Oregon Ducks.

Griffin once again had a chance to get back in the conversation if he could run the table the rest of the way.

Griffin Makes History and Gets Back in the Conversation

If it was any game that was going to save Robert Griffin and his Heisman hopes, it was this one. The Bears were taking on the highly-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, a team that had never lost to the Baylor Bears.

That was until they faced Robert Griffin.

He threw for 479 yards, which was the highest of the season, and had four passing touchdowns. It was the first-ever win for Baylor over Oklahoma in 20 games, and it really put Robert Griffin back in the Heisman conversation. 

It also gave him that quality victory that Andrew Luck didn't have this season.

Griffin Gets Hurt vs. Texas Tech; Heisman Hopes Gone?

With only a couple of weeks left in the regular season, an injury was the last thing that Griffin needed. As you can see, he took a cheap shot and was held out for the rest of the game.

He did manage to throw for 106 yards and had three total touchdowns. But the numbers could have went through the roof if he had played the entire game.

This also left the season finale against Texas in question.

Griffin Impresses Against Solid Texas Team

Griffin was cleared to play against the Longhorns and left the voters with something to think about. He had four total touchdowns and threw for 320 yards in the win over Texas.

It was the first time Baylor had beaten the Longhorns in back-to-back years since 1988 and 1989.

Griffin ended up finishing the season with 3,998 passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns. He completed 72 percent of his passes and rushed for 644 yards and nine touchdowns.

His completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns are all higher than Andrew Luck's. He has also thrown three less interceptions than the Stanford quarterback.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]