Last week was a classic "just don't screw it up" kind of moment for the Heisman elite, where the top candidates simply needed to avoid disaster to maintain the status quo. Big numbers are just a drop in the bucket at this point and wins were expected against the likes of Indiana, Northwestern, and Air Force. With the big Ohio State-Michigan and USC-Notre Dame games looming, it was just survive and advance for Troy Smith, Brady Quinn, and Mike Hart. Beneath the Big Three? That was a different story altogether.

The story of the Week Six Heisman Poll is the validation of running backs Ray Rice and Darren McFadden.

1. Brady Quinn, Notre Dame (last week's rank: 1). Both Quinn and Troy Smith had easy games with big stats last week, which actually helped the latter more than the former. In fact, I think that Smith was able to halt the momentum of Quinn's furious charge with his four touchdown passes against Northwestern and now is firmly back in the "his award to lose" position. However, I'm still going with Quinn in the #1 spot, because my gut feeling hasn't changed. I've been feeling a Michigan win over Ohio State all year and if that happens, the Buckeyes are going to tumble. They are already ranked behind Rutgers in the computers (the most underreported story in college football right now) and if the Wolverines bounce them, they could miss out on the title game and Smith could suddenly become a far less popular choice for the Heisman. And as I've been predicting for weeks, if that happens, all eyes will turn back to where they first gazed when the season kicked off: South Bend.

2. Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State (2). Again, if this were an attempt to capture the whole "if they were to vote today" dynamic, Smith would probably have to be #1. But it's not, so he's not.

3. Mike Hart, RB, Michigan (3). Like the stud quarterbacks, Hart handled his business on Saturday, cruising for 92 yards and a score in an easy 34-3 win over Indiana. He's still in a position to pull off a monster upset in this race, drafting behind Smith and Quinn like a rejuvenated Cole Trickle. If the Wolverines crush Ohio State behind a monster game from Hart and Quinn melts down at the Coliseum in two weeks, Hart could sneak past them both. It's unlikely (mainly because voters refuse to reevaluate things from week to week), but possible. Of course, Hart's hold on the title of "best running back" isn't even secure anymore thanks to ...