Three weeks into the 2010 season and there are already clear favorites for the 2010 Heisman Trophy. Here is an early season look at a few of the frontrunners.
1. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
62-95, 873 yards, 8 TD, 1 INT
With all the early season hype surrounding Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson, a lot of people are forgetting the steady Moore.
What you see is what you get with Moore — an excellent college quarterback and an outstanding leader of the Broncos’ offense. He isn’t as flashy as Robinson or Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor, but Moore is going to put up big numbers while not turning the ball over.
BSU has already played its two marquee games and Moore was the best player on the field during both. Moore led BSU on the game winning drive against Virginia Tech and played a near perfect game last week against Oregon State.
Why is Moore the favorite? He has an easy schedule the rest of the way. Will playing a cupcake schedule the rest of the way hurt Moore like it hurts his team?
2. Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan
57-80, 731 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 79 carries, 688 yards, 6 TD
No player in the country has had a more impressive start to the season than Robinson. His stats are mind blowing. His 688 yards on the ground lead the NCAA and that would be excellent if he was a running back, but is just astonishing as a quarterback.
Unlike other running quarterbacks, he has thrown the ball well too. An injury knocked him out of last week’s win over Bowling Green and knocked him off of my top spot on the Heisman watch. However, he still ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns last week, in ten minutes.
It appears that Robinson is not going to miss any time with the injury, which is good for college football fans, because he is the most exciting player in the nation.
Will he keep it up as the Wolverines enter Big Ten play? The conference is a physical grind and getting hit could affect Robinson. An injury seems like the only thing that will keep his monster season from garnering Heisman consideration.
3. Terrelle Pryor, QB, Ohio State
71-107, 939 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT, 43 carries, 269 yards, 3 TD
Like Robinson, Pryor can do it all. He even one-upped his Big Ten counterpart by catching a touchdown pass last week, while accounting for six OSU touchdowns total.
With the Buckeyes expected to contend for a national title, Pryor is going to be in the Heisman mix all season long. Pryor is a veteran who has been through a tough conference schedule before and knows what to expect.
If he has days like last Saturday against Big Ten favorites, he could easily vault to the top of this list.
4. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
33 carries, 308 yards, 4 TD
The defending Heisman winner missed Alabama’s first two games of the season with an injury, but has put up monster numbers since returning. Ingram is averaging 9.9 yards per carry and helped the Crimson Tide win a tough road contest against Arkansas last week.
Missing two games will make it hard for Ingram to make up the necessary ground to catch the guys above him on the list. Plus the Heisman committee doesn’t like to give the trophy out to the same player more than once, which will also hurt his case.
He will need to have huge numbers to win in 2010.
5. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
64-102, 912 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT, 163 yards rushing, 1 TD
Luck didn’t have his best game of the season last week against Notre Dame, throwing his first two interceptions of the season. The fact of the matter is that Stanford was still victorious and stayed unbeaten on the season.
Luck is a rare talent, combining a great arm with mobility. This week is a big one for Luck’s candidacy as he leads the Cardinal into Eugene to face Oregon. A big game and a huge road win may vault him higher on the list.
If he plays to his potential, Stanford will have its second Heisman candidate in two years.
Other Candidates:
Patrick Peterson CB/KR LSU, John Clay RB Wisconsin, Cameron Newton QB Auburn, LaMichael James RB Oregon, Ryan Mallett QB Arkansas, Russell Wilson QB North Carolina State, Ryan Broyles WR Oklahoma
Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu
