Heisman Watch: The Low Point of Every Heisman Finalist's Season

The Heisman Trophy is the most prestigious award in college football. The trophy winners are among the most elite players. Win it, and your life will change forever.

Before every season, everybody throws out several players who have a chance at winning the award. Some are favorites while others are dark horses who, if they are able to play to their potential, have an outside shot of winning the trophy.

The reality is that there are many talented college football players, but only a handful have a chance of winning the Heisman.

With the five finalists already named, here are the low points of each candidate's season.

Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck was the Heisman favorite coming into the season and is still considered the favorite by many. He threw for 3,170 yards and 35 touchdowns while completing 70 percent of his passes.

The low point of his season was Stanford's loss to the Oregon Ducks. The Cardinal didn't just lose the game, they were embarrassed by a score of 53-30.

That was really Luck's only chance this year to really make a Heisman statement. With a weak Pac-12 schedule, Stanford really doesn't have a quality win this season.

That was Luck's worst game of the season, as he threw two costly interceptions.

Tyrann Mathieu

Tyrann Mathieu has been everything for this LSU team, as he has made clutch play after clutch play all season long. When the Tigers needed a big play on defense or special teams, Mathieu always came through.

However, this season hasn't exactly been sweet for Mathieu off the field, as he tested positive for synthetic marijuana earlier in the year. Mathieu, along with a few other players, was suspended for the game against Auburn. 

Although it didn't cost his team a victory, it did make people think twice about his character. It may have also impacted the voting if he was more of a serious candidate.

Montee Ball

Montee Ball is on a record-setting pace. He's having a monster season, rushing for over 1,700 yards and 38 total touchdowns. In the last five games alone, he's ran for 907 yards and 17 total touchdowns.

If he was in the NFL, he'd be a fantasy owner's dream.

Although there weren't many low points this season for Ball, I'd say his was in the beginning of the season. Sure, he continued to score touchdowns, but the yards really weren't racking up for him early on.

In Wisconsin's first four games, he only rushed for over 100 yards three times.

Imagine how his numbers would be if he was off to a great start in Week 1.

Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin went from having very few people talking about him to being one of the front-runners to win the award. He threw for 3,998 yards and 36 touchdowns, and completed 72 percent of his passes.

There was a point in the season where he had more touchdown passes than incompletions.

The low point for the Baylor quarterback was when he threw his first interception of the season against Kansas State. That set up the game-winning field goal for the Wildcats, which resulted in the Bears' first loss of the season. 

It didn't get any better when they lost two more games in three weeks.

Trent Richardson

Trent Richardson was pretty much the entire Crimson Tide offense, as they struggled to throw the ball all year long. He rushed for over 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns while averaging six yards per touch.

He was consistent all season long, but when Alabama took on LSU, he failed to show up.

He did have 169 total yards, but averaged under four yards per carry and failed to get into the end zone for the only time this year. That was Richardson's chance to create his Heisman moment and separate himself from all of the other candidates. 

Richardson has been consistent all season long, but many will remember that the LSU loss defined his season.

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