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Heisman Watch 2007-8, Week 10
November 6, 2007 | By Benjamin Miraski
One man kills his chances, one man comes back into the running. Leave it to Steve Spurrier to make a mess of the Heisman race. His defense's collapse against Arkansas for yet another year has allowed Darren McFadden to climb from obscurity and back onto the leader board.
Unlike half of the country, I am not yet ready to say that McFadden has done what it takes to be #2 or #3. Yes, he had a monster game, half of a record setting contest, but he has also had some games which smell. Even worse, some of those games came when his team needed him most.
With McFadden back, Matt Ryan is gone. Out of the past 120 minutes of football, Ryan has had only 3 stellar minutes. That was enough to have him at #2 on my list last week. However, three interceptions, combined with the two against Virginia Tech before he found himself means it is sayonara time. I am so down on Ryan that he has fallen to my "hype"-only list. Of course, McFadden was there prior to this week, and Chase Daniel is pulling himself back into the public eye.
Climbing back up this week was Tim Tebow, who set a rushing record for quarterbacks in the SEC with two more touchdowns this week. Add the three from his arm and you have a nice weekend.
Nice but not nice enough to unseat Dennis Dixon. Dixon threw for four touchdowns, and beat a superior opponent in Arizona State. Oregon is also in a much better position in terms of team which in a year like this, will be a huge factor in the race for the Heisman.
Here is how I would rank the candidates on my ballot after Week 10.
- Dennis Dixon (QB Oregon) - 67.9%, 2074 yds, 20 TD, 3 INT, 549 yds rush, 8 TD - Still #1 and gets a week off to recover from a slight knee injury. Three more games against less that awesome opponents should only pad Dixon's numbers a little more.
- Tim Tebow (QB Florida) - 67.7%, 2228 yds, 21 TD, 4 INT, 598 yds rush, 14 TD - Darren McFadden tore up South Carolina's rush defense this week, maybe Tebow can add a little more to his already record setting numbers.
- Pat White (QB West Virginia) - 70.0%, 1070 yds, 9 TD, 2 INT, 656 yds rush, 9 TD - Biggest game of the year against Louisville. White needs to show that he is the star on the team, not any of the true running backs.
- Michael Hart (RB Michigan) - 1188 yds, 12 TD, 5.5 avg.- Those two games lost to injury really hurt him. He came back this week, but it wasn't mind-blowing. I keep him ahead of McFadden only because of his consistency this season. Truth is that #4 and #5 are definitely a few steps behind where I have my top three.
- Darren McFadden (RB Arkansas) - 1314 yds, 12 TD, 5.9 avg, 2 pass TD - What can you do against Tennessee? We know they can be run on. Let's see two good weeks in a row.
People with still a chance to make this list: Chase Daniel (Big XII offensive player of the week, again. Welcome back from obscurity), Andre Woodson (Will you lose to two inferior opponents in a row? Better not)
People who will still get some hype, but should be done: Matt Ryan, Colt Brennan, Brian Brohm, DeSean Jackson, Steve Slaton, Rashard Mendenhall
Posted November 6, 2007 2:00 PM
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