5. Darren McFadden (NR). I know that this doesn't make a ton of logical sense. After all, McFadden only had six carries (for 71 yards and two scores) in Arkansas' 63-7 win over Southeast Missouri State and he was the third-leading rusher on his own team. That said, it feels like we need someone representing the SEC in the top five. At this point, it is either McFadden or Erik Ainge, and because I think McFadden might have a 300-yard game in him, I wanted to get out in front of the story. If anyone comes out of nowhere with a monster second half, it might be this guy. If nothing else, find a way to watch a Razorback game, because this dude is sick.
6. Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers (6). Rice only picked up 93 yards and lost a fumble, but I'm keeping him at #6 because Rutgers handled a Navy team that was supposed to give them trouble and the Scarlet Knights remain a great story. Plus, while Rice didn't really boost his stock, he still ranks fourth in the nation at 149.8 yards per game and has scored 11 touchdowns. The possible unbeaten Slaton-Rice showdown remains intact.
7. Garrett Wolfe (2). The Little Guy takes a hit. A rather damaging one. I think Wolfe can get back into the top five and earn a trip to NYC for the award ceremony, but his chances of winning went up in smoke on Saturday. Playing against a nondescript Western Michigan team, Wolfe had a shocking 25 yards on 18 carries as his Northern Illinois Huskies lost 16-14. It doesn't get much worse than this when you are trying to pull off a miracle Heisman run from a MAC school. Ouch.
8. Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech (9). Johnson could have used a game on Saturday, because 150 yards and a couple of scores would have sent him zooming up the board. As it stands, he still gets a bump while sitting this one out with a bye.
9. Erik Ainge, QB, Tennessee (10). See above.
10(tie). James Davis, RB, Clemson (NR) and Marshawn Lynch, RB, California (NR) Both of these talented running backs deserve some consideration. Lynch shook of an ankle injury he suffered in the Oregon game last week and gashed Washington State for 152 yards and two touchdowns and despite a relatively quiet year, is ninth in the country with 757 rushing yards while playing for a top 10 team (BCS rankings). As for Davis, he is right behind Lynch with 745 yards, but trails nobody in rushing touchdowns as he leads the country with 14. And with Clemsen ranked #12 and looking every bit like the class of the ACC, he should get a little buzz as well.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
1. Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State
2. Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame
3. Mike Hart, RB, Michigan
"... I'm ducking the inevitable 'Midwest bias!' comments"
Yeah, but see, you never really think of Notre Dame as Midwest, much like you never think of USA TODAY being published in Virginia. When you think of Indiana, you think of IU and Purdue. Never UND.
Maybe if they ever moved to the Big Ten, on the other hand ...
2 - Adam Hoff
Good point. I keep waiting for that national media to realize how exciting that Rice/Slaton, Rutgers/WVU matchup could wind up being. It is flying way below the radar right now.
I also wonder what people will say if West Virginia winds up in the #2 BCS spot. If USC wins out, they will erase most doubts by beating Oregon, Cal, and ND, which would be pretty impressive. Whoever wins the Ohio State-Michigan game will get all the credit in the world. But what about the Mountaineers? Will wins over Louisville and Rutgers be enough to quiet the "bad schedule!" calls around the nation? I'm not sure. If there are just two undefeated teams in Big Ten WInner and WVU, I really hope Auburn isn't the #3 team with one loss, because we are going to hear a whole lot of complaining from them.
But I digress.
3 - Adam Hoff
I was feeling good about my Heisman Poll, but I just got done reading Terry Bowden's at Yahoo Sports and they look a little too similar for my liking. Son of a ...
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
We here at BC Sports safely assume that anything that looks similar to one of our stories was most likely stolen from us.
5 - Adam Hoff
That is a pretty good policy, I have to say. Although I was more referring to the fact that if I am agreeing with Terry Bowden, I am worried about my sanity. It wasn't so much a copyright issue as it was a "oh crap, I'm agreeing with him?" issue. Either way, good to know.