Last week I stirred things up by putting Brady Quinn at the top of my Heisman list on the strength of a gut feeling that Michigan will beat Ohio State two Saturdays from now and that voters will then return to their preseason picks. This week Quinn stays on top after throwing up some huge stats against North Carolina while Troy Smith had his worst outing of the year in a narrow win over Big 10 doormat Illinois. As Bob Griese said during the LSU-Tennessee game, the award is still Smith's to lose, but that inkling of a movement that I was sensing last week is now a full-fledged challenge from Quinn.
I think we've got a race on our hands.
1. Brady Quinn, Notre Dame (last week's rank: 1). I received a lot of feedback on my Quinn pick from last week and most of it wasn't good. And I have to admit, I was starting to second-guess myself (although I would just be second-guessing a hunch, which is kind of pointless). Then Saturday rolled around and Quinn looked every bit a Heisman winner while Smith looked mediocre at best. The Irish rolled over a pathetic North Carolina team as Quinn threw for 346 yards and four touchdowns. He has now thrown for 25 touchdowns against just four picks and is averaging 286 yards a game. Smith has a better quarterback rating, completion percentage, and yards per attempt while throwing one fewer interception and taking 13 fewer sacks, but Quinn is leading in the glamour stats.
Of course, you can go on like this for hours with these two. Smith has done everything asked of him for the #1 team while Quinn has all the dramatic comebacks. Smith has more talent around him and a better line, but Quinn has a better system for producing QB stats. And so on. The bottom line is that this whole thing still comes down to November 18th when Smith faces Michigan and November 25th when Quinn travels to So Cal to play the Trojans.
2. Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State (2). People who think that Smith still has a clear lead are making the big mistake of using logic. Many Heisman voters employ no logic whatsoever, and that is how we wind up with winners like Eric Crouch. In this case, Quinn racking up the stats will sway a good number of starry-eyed voters who love a guy in a gold helmet. It certainly didn't help Smith that he had his worst game of the year on Saturday, throwing for just 108 yards with no scores and a pick against an Illinois defense that isn't known for shutting people down. A big game and a win over Michigan probably turns this back around, but right now, from my vantage point, Smith is losing ground fast.
Article comments
1 - Donnie Marler
Ray Rice and Rutgers did a heck of a job against Louisville! I don't see him winning this award, but what a year for him!