4. Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers (4). I've taken a lot of crap for having Rice so high in this one-man poll all year, so I don't mind saying that Rutgers' 28-25 victory over Louisville brought me a great deal of joy. Rice carried 22 times for 131 times and two touchdowns in the biggest win in Rutgers history and did most of it in dominant fashion as Louisville was completely incapable of stopping the Scarlet Knights' simple toss plays. Rice showed the nation that he is tough, fast, and extremely talented and is finally getting the attention he has deserved all year long. You don't run for over 1,300 yards and 15 scores for an undefeated team without being pretty special. If the Buckeyes snuff out Hart and Rutgers finishes undefeated (which would require an unlikely win at West Virginia), Rice could wind up as the highest vote getter among running backs.
5. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas (6). McFadden is Exhibit A in my argument about voters not paying attention. I bet if you took the Heisman vote today, many wouldn't even include this force of nature on their ballots, which is a joke. McFadden doesn't have the gaudiest overall stats (although 1,219 yards, 12 TDs, and 6.2 yards per carry is nothing to sneeze at), but everything else is working for him. He's a phenomenal talent with a propensity for exciting big plays. He plays for a top-10 team with an outside chance at the national title. He's the best player in what is arguably the best conference in the country. And he's finishing the season in a blaze of glory. How is he NOT a top-five candidate in the eyes of every voter? Arkansas annihilated Tennessee on national television on Saturday night and McFadden did it all. He compiled 30 carries for 181 yards and two scores and even threw a touchdown pass out of that crazy single wing offense the Razorbacks have been running. This guy is a monster.
6. Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia (8). Slaton's hopes of winning the whole thing went up in smoke against Louisville a few weeks ago, but he's climbing back into NYC contention after rushing for 148 yards and two scores on just 12 carries against Cincinnati. The guy is averaging 7.5 yards per carry and could wind up leading the nation in rushing yards when it is all said and done.
7. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Cal (5). Whoever said that penalties were a killer must have been thinking of Lynch. This guy was - to borrow from Jim Jones' "We Fly High" - ballin! The Bears were killing people, Lynch was looking every bit like the Next Laurence Maroney, and the golf cart stunt was just the kind of attention-grabbing thing that can give an unlikely Heisman campaign legs (like Joey Harrington's piano playing). Everything was heading toward the big USC game. Whoops. A 72-yard Lynch touchdown was wiped out on a block in the back call and with that flag, everything came crashing down. The stud back finished with a quiet 102 yards and no scores and, even worse, Cal lost a stunner to Arizona. Unless Marshawn runs for 300 yards against USC and something bad happens to Rice or McFadden, he can go ahead and cancel those plane tickets to New York. (I'd still take him with a high pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, for the record.)
Article comments
1 - Kevin
FYI .. Ian Johnson is not done for the year. He just might not play in this Saturday's game. He still has one more game left after that + the bowl game.
2 - delanie
you gys are soh hot