1. Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): 27 car., 128 yds, 3 TD vs. Middle Tennessee State - Oklahoma needed a win in a bad way after the debacle that was the Oregon game. Peterson helped the Sooners to do just that. The yardage may not look very impressive, but Peterson is sure picking up the scoring numbers and providing a huge spark on offense that is even helping Paul Thompson become a real quarterback. He takes over the top spot this week after another average week by a large number of the candidates. Now, it is a matter of staying power, and that will take a big day against Texas in two weeks.
2. Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 12/22, 115 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT vs. Penn State - Ok, Brady Quinn fans, here is your chance to complain. Quinn lit up the Penn State defense, and Smith looked just average against them. However, if I didn't move Quinn out of the top five after his dismal performance against Michigan, I feel like I can give Smith the benefit of the doubt this week. He loses the lead for now, just by proving he is human, but has a chance to come back still.
3. Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois): 22 car., 198 yds, 4 TD vs. Indiana State - Before you go complaining about why he is third, let's talk about Mr. Wolfe. He is currently the leading rusher in Division 1-A, and is leading by almost 200 yards. Now, I know you are going to say that he is doing it against inferior competition. Think back though to the first game against Ohio State, the #1 team almost unanimously across the country. Wolfe only managed almost 300 yards of offense on his own in that game. That is definitely not against inferior competition. Now Wolfe just has to hope that his 2-2 Huskies squad comes around so he will have a chance to touch the ball a lot more and stay in this race.
4. Brady Quinn (QB ND): 20/36, 319 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT vs. Michigan State - As stated above, it is amazing what a little hype and some leadership skills can do for you. Quinn's interception looked like it was going to seal the loss for Notre Dame. Quinn never gave up though and he climbed back into the game and also into the Heisman race.
5. Chris Leak (QB Florida): 15/26, 267 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT vs. Kentucky - Leak is the ultimate in slow starters. The Florida offense just takes about two quarters to get going, but when they do, look out. Referencing the numbers discussion that I had on Quinn, Leak is the 4th highest rated passer in Division 1-A. And yet, I am still placing him 5th for now. I think he needs to show a little bit more against the tough defenses of some of the SEC teams coming up on his schedule to move any further up the line.



6. Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 24 car., 80 yds, vs. East Carolina - Steve Slaton finally found a team that was his equal on Saturday. He finally didn't run for over 200 yards or some insane like amount on only 6 or 8 carries. The Pirates tested Slaton and came out the better, even if they lost the game. Slaton will need to bounce back quickly. The Big East schedule is not so difficult where he will have a chance to prove himself against a great defense time and time again. He may have lost any momentum he had and his chance to go to NYC.
7. Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 23 car., 91 yds, 1 TD vs. Wisconsin - At least Hart broke the end zone with his sub-100 yard rushing performance. He is clearly the only player on the Wolverines that will get consideration at this point. Sure Mario Manningham has caught 5 touchdowns in the last two weeks, but receivers have a steep hill to climb and unless he goes off for three more next week, Hart's name will be the only one appearing on ballots.
8. Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal): 17 car., 124 yds, 2 rec., 33 yds, 1 TD vs. Arizona State - Cal used the passing game that was almost non-existent against Tennessee to help them beat Arizona State this weekend. Lynch was a big part of that, catching one of the four touchdowns from Nate Longshore to help in the win. He also averaged over seven yards a carry on the ground which is sure to be demoralizing to the defense. Lynch didn't start the season strong and is still trying to catch up, but a multi-dimensional performance like this sure helps.



9. JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU): 17/23, 198 yds, 2 TDs vs. Tulane - It doesn't take much to beat Tulane, but JaMarcus Russell did more than enough as the LSU Tigers bounced back from their tough loss to Auburn last week. Russell has been very consistent all season, but hasn't yet impressed enough to move up to the top five. Right now, he isn't even the best quarterback in his conference. Russell has to hope to make up the loss somewhere along the way so that LSU might have a chance to take the SEC West and get himself to the SEC championship and earn another game in the voters' minds.
10. John David Booty (QB USC): 24/39, 179 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT vs. Arizona - Booty is going to be hurting after this week. He loses his top receiver Dwayne Jarrett for the next two to four weeks and will have to find someone else to pick up the slack. Jarrett was definitely supporting Booty's numbers and candidacy. He now will have to be more creative to hope to not fall out of this list.

Outside chances: Erik Ainge (Tennessee)

Dropped from my watch list:

• Teddy Ginn, Jr. (Slash Ohio State): 2 rec., 15 yards vs. Penn State - Ginn had some return yards too, but I already warned last week that he was in danger. When you only total 15 yards on offense, you are going to have trouble staying in the Heisman watch. Ginn is still one of the top scorers in the league, but you need to do more than catch five yard passes to win the award.
• Chad Henne (QB Michigan): 18/25, 211 yds, 2 TDs, 3 INTs - Henne is back off the list. I might have been too quick to pull him back on originally. After his slow start, he had a brilliant game against Notre Dame. However, this week, he was back to his shaky ways. Sure 18/25 looks nice, but three of the misses were into the other team's arms. The Big Ten schedule doesn't get any easier for him, so he better watch out that this doesn't become a pattern if he wants the undefeated showdown with Ohio State at the end of the season.

Heisman-like Performance

This week's player: Ian Johnson - RB, Boise State
Line: 29 car., 178 yards, 2 TD vs. Hawaii
Boise State seems to always have issues when they play Hawaii. Still, they managed another win on the blue turf at home and Ian Johnson was a big part of it, rushing for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson wasn't the only part of the Boise State offense that was working as his quarterback Jared Zabransky also put up big numbers. Johnson is the same back that had five touchdowns against Oregon State earlier this season, something that almost earned him the Heisman-like Performance then. Instead, he gets it a few weeks later for a game that is definitely more meaningful for his team this season. Johnson is only a sophomore, so we may be hearing big things about him over the next few years as he competes with Steve Slaton and Jonathan Stewart to be the top running back in the country.

Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com