Heisman High Men Week 1

Heisman High Men is a weekly feature that analyzes the performance of the top Heisman contenders in the 2011 season.  Every week, I'll rank the top 5 Heisman contenders to this point in the season, show who's rising and falling, and what dark horses still linger in the conversation to get the renowned invitation to New York for the Heisman award ceremony.


1. Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor 
Week 1 Stats (vs. TCU): 21/27, 359 yards, 5 TDs; 10 rushes, 33 yards; 1 reception, 15 yards

Robert Griffin was absolutely breathtaking against the TCU Horned Frogs this week, and by all means has earned the top spot on this list.  He dissected the TCU defense systematically and with a surgeon's precision.  Even more impressively, four of his 5 touchdown passes were over 25 yards (35, 28, 14, 64, and 42 yards each respectively).  Griffin was only sacked once, and even got into the game as a receiver on a quirky play, as their receiver Kendall Wright (12 receptions, 189 yards, 2 TDs; also threw a touchdown pass in the first quarter) passed to Griffin for a 15 yard gain.  Griffin's an exceptional athlete, but proved on Friday night that he didn't need to use his legs to be an effective quarterback.  Do I think Griffin will top this list for long?  Not at all, but after week one, Griffin led his team to a major upset and was flawless in doing so.


2. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State 
Week 1 Stats (@ Georgia): 28/34, 261 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

Even though Boise State didn't generate much ground through their running game, and was in their first game without WRs Austin Pettis and Titus Young, you sure couldn't tell from Kellen Moore's performance.  Moore was brilliant, spreading the ball to nine different receivers, none of which caught more than 6 passes.  While the receivers were largely taken out of the game, Moore focused on hitting receivers over the middle and used TE Kyle Efaw and big WR Matt Miller quite a bit.  His stats may not be as impressive, numbers-wise, but he completed 82% of his passes, and led Boise State to what may be their toughest win of the season.  Moore gets a boost undoubtedly from the quality of the opponent, but he still performed like a Heisman finalist nonetheless.

3. Nick Foles, QB, Arizona
Week 1 Stats (vs. Northern Arizona): 34/42, 412 yards, 5 TDs

Foles leads the nation in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and is near the top in completion percentage among starting quarterbacks, so he makes it onto the list.  Foles and his top WR Juron Criner both have NFL futures, and could vault each other to Heisman candidacy.  Criner caught 6 balls for 151 yards and a TD in the game, and Foles was near perfect.  This week, Foles and the Wildcats have a major test against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on a Thursday night national TV game.  Should Arizona prevail, Foles will be vaulted onto a national stage, and start getting Heisman pub, even if it's just for the month of September.  I don't expect Foles to remain in the top 5 all year, or to end up here at year's end, but after one week, rankings are very volatile.


4.  Robert Woods, WR, USC
Week 1 Stats (vs. Minnesota): 17 receptions, 177 yards, 3 TDs

Woods caught everything thrown his way (even using his helmet on one play), and was the most productive receiver of the weekend in receptions and receiving TDs.  USC barely defeated Minnesota, and that's a scary sign for those who projected USC to return to glory this year.  This team isn't elite, and as such, Woods doesn't have much of a chance at the Heisman this year, unless he's the Justin Blackmon of last year, who puts up stats like this every game.


5.  Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
Week 1 Stats (vs. Tulsa): 35/47, 375 yards, 1 TD

Tulsa is a respectable team, and Landry Jones was at the top of my preseason list, so I'll keep him in the top 5 for now.  Jones was efficient and effective against Tulsa, but most of the touchdowns went to the RBs in the red zone, as RB Dominique Whaley scored three from inside the 10 yard line, and Brennan Clay scored a touchdown from 11 yards out.  Jones' TD totals will inflate in the coming weeks as it becomes more necessary to convert third downs, so expect him to finish with near 38 TDs again, just like the 2010 season.


Rising:


WR Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma), Michael Floyd (Notre Dame), Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State):  These are quite possibly the three best wideouts in the nation, and all of them performed as such in their season debuts.  Broyles caught 14 balls for 158 yards and 1 TD, Michael Floyd caught 12 balls for 154 yards and 2 TDs, and Blackmon piled up 144 yards on 8 receptions.  They should all log 100 catches and about 1,500 yards this year, so their teams' performances will be what separates them (read: Michael Floyd is not going to get Heisman consideration.


QBs Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M), Case Keenum (Houston): Ryan Tannehill was flawless against SMU, going 21/26 for 246 yards and 2 TDs.  Every incompletion was a smart decision, and I was thoroughly impressed with his pocket presence and escapability.  He's going to be in the conversation throughout the season, the same way Andrew Luck will be.  Case Keenum went 30/40 for 310 yards and a touchdown against UCLA in Houston's victory.  That was their biggest roadblock in all likelihood, and Keenum was very solid against a Big Six defense.  His numbers will inflate against C-USA competition, so his Week 1 performance shows he's completely back from his injury, and will challenge every major NCAA passing record.


RBs Cyrus Gray (Texas A&M), Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina), Vick Ballard (Miss. St.):  Gray ran with great patience and discipline on his way to 131 yards and 2 TDs against SMU.  His biggest roadblock?  The backup RB, Christine Michael (85 yards and 2 TDs).  Gray wouldn't be the starter this year, but Michael got injured last year and gave way to the dynamic Gray.  Gray will stay in contention as long as A&M stays undefeated or in BCS contention.  Lattimore ran for 123 yards and 3 TDs in the win over East Carolina on Saturday.  He looked pretty good, and this is about what we can expect all year.  If Lattimore puts up a similar effort against Georgia, who bottled up Boise State's running game, he'll be pretty tough to keep out of the top 5 next week.  Vick Ballard ran for 166 yards and 3 TDs on only 10 carries in Mississippi State's blowout of Memphis.  Ballard is a supreme talent in the backfield and will be heavily leaned upon in the SEC, as they run the ball quite a bit.  Ballard probably won't stay in contention, but it's week 1, many of the names here won't have much staying power.


Falling:


RBs LaMichael James (Oregon), Trent Richardson (Alabama), Montee Ball/James White (Wisconsin):  James only managed 54 yards on 18 carries as Oregon was dominated by LSU's defense.  Unless Oregon wins out, and LaMichael goes for big games in Oregon's last 12 games, he's out of Heisman talks.  Trent Richardson ran for a mere 30 yards on 13 carries against Kent State.  He did manage three touchdowns, but still, he needs to post about 1,600 yards in all likelihood if he's going to garner Heisman attention.  Additionally, Alabama's QB situation looks very iffy, and the team may not be good enough for him to get consideration for the award.  Montee Ball, James White, and Russell Wilson all ran for 60 yards against UNLV, and the predictable has happened, Bret Bielema is going with a split back approach that is going to prevent either from legitimate Heisman contention.


QBs Darron Thomas (Oregon), Andrew Luck (Stanford):  Darron Thomas needed 54 pass attempts to manage 240 yards passing, and only threw one TD along with his one INT.  The LSU game may have broken his and LaMichael James' Heisman contention dreams in one fell swoop.  Andrew Luck was taken before game's end, and only threw for 171 yards and 2 TDs in Week 1.  Luck obviously is a major contender for the award, and his performance will pick up once he plays real teams.  Luck's contention will be based more on his team's performance than his compiling stats.  Last season he only threw for 3,338 yards and 32 TDs, but finished as runner-up as Stanford finished 4th overall in the BCS polls.


Dark Horse:


QB Geno Smith (West Virginia):  Smith looked fantastic in his abbreviated performance against Marshall on Sunday.  The Holgorsen offense spread the ball all over the field and was looking good in the first real trial run.  Smith looked efficient and made fantastic decisions all game long, including scrambling for two big first downs.  You'd like for Smith to log more than 249 passing yards and 2 TDs, but this is a good start, and his performance should improve further as his familiarity with the offense increases.