Another Saturday packed full of surprises, another week of wondering just who deserves this Trophy. Has there ever been another year in which this race was so undecided?

No.

We can argue that point because, even when three or four candidates headed to New York with a fair chance to win it, at least those players were deemed worthy recipients of the Heisman. A case could be made AGAINST virtually every remaining candidate, and it's difficult to make a case FOR any one of them.

On that note, try to excuse our skeptical tone in this week's recap ...

Continue reading "Week 12 Recap" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Cue Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" ...

In a Heisman race that has hailed Darren McFadden, and Tim Tebow, and Andre Woodson, and Matt Ryan, and now Dennis Dixon, the only thing that has remained constant is the uncertainty surrounding it all. On Thursday, Dixon suffered a knee injury in the first quarter before his Oregon Ducks fell apart on national television to an under-matched Arizona squad. It was the same knee he hurt earlier this month, and it didn't look good as he slithered on the field in pain.

We hinted in our weekly Strike the Pose rankings that the game might be Dixon's last test before bowl play. That proved true. Now, Dixon will soon be out of the frontrunner's spot in this race, leaving the Trophy once again up for grabs.

Check back later today for our weekend Heisman preview ...

Posted by Mike Beacom at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Does anyone want this award? Anyone? Darren McFadden was back on the fast-track last week after a huge performance. This week McFadden did well against Tennessee, but his Razorbacks failed to show much support. Assuming his team beats Mississippi State and loses to LSU, can we really justify voting for a back who had an up-and-down year for a 7-5 club?

So who will it be then? Well, read on ...

Continue reading "Week 11 Recap" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Could it be? Is Darren McFadden back in the Heisman hunt? On Saturday, McFadden rumbled to 321 yards in a win over a ranked South Carolina squad. Originally McFadden was given 323 yards, which would have been a SEC record, but later two yards were taken away to give him a tie with Frank Mordica of Vanderbilt (1978). Whatever the total, the effort grabbed the attention of Heisman voters in search of a candidate to hang their hat on come December. McFadden was the frontrunner throughout the off-months and early into the season, but he fell off fast when the Razorbacks began to lose. If he finishes the year with a couple more blistering performances, he just might get enough hype to climb back into the race.

One note: teammate Felix Jones also had a big night against the Gamecocks. He gained 166 yards on 13 carries, and his 12.8-yard average was a full three yards better than McFadden's average. For Heisman voters willing to look deep into the numbers this stat matters; Jones has performed as well, if not better, than McFadden in most of this year's contests.

Continue reading "Week 10 Recap" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, one could argue that Tim Tebow's gutty performance on Saturday in the loss to Georgia was Heisman-worthy. Playing with an aggravated right shoulder, Tebow stuck his body in harm's way, leading with the shoulder to pursue a poor snap (the Bulldogs recovered to end the contest). Still, as much as we must respect Tebow's talent and all he does for his club, fact is his Gators have now lost three games and until Boston College loses a game we don't see him overtaking Matt Ryan in any poll.

Continue reading "Week 9 Recap" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Andre' Woodson had the better numbers, but the Heisman race is about winning games as much as it is about numbers and Woodson's Wildcats did not have enough to out-do Tim Tebow's Gators. Woodson completed 70 percent of his throws for 415 yards and five touchdowns. He converted on fourth down throws and never allowed his team to fall out of the contest. But Tebow was equally impressive. He threw four touchdowns, rushed for another, and got the Gators back into contention in the SEC. Fans will remember the jump pass from this game; we'll remember one short run where Tebow get pushing the pile despite a number of Wildcat defenders joining in on the tackle.

Continue reading "Week 8 Recap" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fans are already asking what Hawaii's come-from-behind win over San Jose State will do for Colt Brennan's campaign. The short answer: not much. Now for the long answer .. for one, this was San Jose State, not LSU. If anything, the game should serve as a reminder that Hawaii faces a weak schedule and that Brennan would never pass for 545 yards against Auburn or Ohio State or, heck, even Notre Dame. Brennan is good against not-so-good teams, and his performance on Friday, while heroic, loses value when put in perspective.

Continue reading "Week 7 Wrapup" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As we head into mid-October, the Heisman race is entering that period when things usually start to heat up. As we witnessed this weekend, however, this year the race gets colder with each passing Saturday. Who wants the Trophy? No one, apparently.

Continue reading "Week 6 Wrapup" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another frontrunner, another quick death. It was a night to forget for Kentucky's Andre Woodson, who just this week jumped to the top of the Strike the Pose top 20 and the CSTV.com Heisman Watch. But, against South Carolina, Woodson was responsible for a turnover-filled loss on a national stage. Woodson played his worst football of the year -- perhaps of his career -- and the loss will send No. 8 ranked Kentucky plummeting down the polls, we're sure. Here's a recap of Woodson's blunders: a first quarter fumble recovered in the end zone, a costly red zone interception, a lateral returned for a score -- the sad part of it was that Kentucky wasn't blown out of the game, Woodson single-handily took his team out of this game.

It raises the question: what the #@*! is going on in this Heisman race!? There is no clear frontrunner because (a) too many quality candidates are playing on losing teams (ie Darren McFadden and Mike Hart) and (b) too many candidates have had that one embarrassing performance in front of a large audience (ie Woodson and John David Booty).

Some suggest the only possible savior is Florida's Tim Tebow. If he beats LSU this week, the Trophy is all but his. If his Gators lose for a second straight week ... well, the rest of this race will be fun to watch.

Posted by Mike Beacom at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It was a whacky weekend for college football ... and for the Heisman race. Five weeks into the 2007 season, this Heisman race is as wide open as any year in recent memory. The nation's top team, USC, was not-so-impressive against Washington and for its performance it should lose the No. 1 ranking (in my opinion, anyhow). The Trojans quarterback, John David Booty, was partially to blame for USC's woes and for it WILL lose his No. 1 ranking when the Strike the Pose top 20 is released this Tuesday.

Continue reading "Week 5 Wrapup" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What do losses mean to Heisman campaigns? They're not good, even if the candidate posts monster numbers. Read on ...

Continue reading "Week 4 Wrapup" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was a wild week. One big-name Heisman candidate took a tumble, another arrived on primetime -- and the Wolverines won a game. Read on to find out which Heisman candidates did well this weekend ...

Continue reading "Week 3 Wrapup" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday's game pitting West Virginia and Maryland was close through two quarters -- much closer than expected. But then West Virginia took flight (or, a more appropriate cliche, the running game picked up steam). Soon, this contest could be considered the game that separated West Virginia's dynamic pair of Heisman candidates, quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton. It was also the game that a Heisman star of tomorrow got his first taste of the spotlight ...

Continue reading "Slaton steps in front; a freshman arrives" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We took a closer look at Pat White's campaign last week, in part because the talented West Virginia QB has been overlooked for so long. He jumped in our rankings yesterday, but not as much as he did in another ranking. The Heisman Pundit moved White into its No. 4 slot, three spots ahead of teammate Steve Slaton. While we're not sure White deserves to be ranked that high yet (he's two spots lower in our ranking), it's good to see other sites are taking notice. We suspect voters are, too. To view the rest of Pundit's rankings, click here.

Posted by Mike Beacom at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The folks at College Football News do an excellent job with their coverage. Their weekly player poll (not Heisman specific) lists someone who has received little buzz in Heisman circles thus far -- Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. Seems CFN likes him so much, he's already climbed to No. 2 in the overall ranking after earning player-of-the-week honors for this past weekend. Fans of this column can expect to see Bradford enter our weekly top 25 ranking on Tuesday, though not nearly as high as CFN has him.

Posted by Mike Beacom at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When Friday morning arrives some will argue that the Louisville Cardinals had no business being in a tight ball game against an under-matched Middle Tennessee State squad. And, they're right. But with regard to Louisville's outstanding quarterback Brian Brohm ... well, let's just say that without him, the Cardinals' head coach, Steve Kragthorpe, would be calling Lloyd Carr this weekend asking for damage control advice.

Continue reading "Thursdays belong to Brohm" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everyone knew Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was a special player. And, of course, Hawaii has had some superb passing offenses under the guidance of June Jones. But six touchdowns and 416 yards in the first half!? This week Brennan will be the biggest mover when our updated top 25 ranking is released on Tuesday. The biggest faller? Read on.

Continue reading "Brennan on the move" »

Posted by Mike Beacom at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)