The back story College football suffered a major shakeup last week, with five top ten teams losing. Heck, Louisiana State even overtook USC for the No. 1 slot in the Associated Press poll. But here in the Heisman Watch, our No. 1 suffered no such fate. Here are the frontrunner candidates to receive college football’s most prestigious award come December. Last year’s award was given to Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith.
Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
Last week 138 yards, 2 TDs
Season 657 yards, 6 TDs
McFadden’s done nothing to lose the top spot, and until he has a down game, he’s the odds on favorite.
Andre’ Woodson, QB, Kentucky
Last week 301 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT
Season 1,309 yards, 16 TDs, 1 INT
It’s time to see if Woodson is truly one of the top passers in the country or if he’s just beating up on inferior competition. His next game is at No. 11 South Carolina. Not to look ahead, but after that the Wildcats host No. 1 LSU and No. 9 Florida.
Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
Last week 201 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 75 rushing yards, 1 TD
Season 1,297 passing yards, 433 rushing yards, 19 total TDs, 2 INTs
The defending champs finally lost, but don’t blame Tebow. Sure, he threw his second pick of the season, but he also contributed 12 points. This kid’s the real deal.
Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
Last week 204 yards, 1 TD
Season 1,545 yards, 11 TDs, 5 INTs
Another senior quarterback leading his team into the top ten, Ryan has a few more weeks to pad his stats against Bowling Green and Notre Dame before he gets to the tough part of the schedule.
Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia
Last week 54 yards
Season 556 yards, 9 TDs
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The West Virginia duo of Pat White and Steve Slaton make for one of the top rushing tandems in the country, but the Heisman Trophy is an individual award, and Slaton is the better of the two. Even with his subpar performance against South Florida, he remains in the top five.
While five candidates lead the current Heisman race, there are always darkhorses that have the ability to have big week after big week en route to catapulting their names into the big mix of things. Brian Brohm or Louisville, Ray Rice of Rutgers and Colt Brennan of Hawaii are the darkhorse candidates on the outside looking in so far this season.
Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
Last week 251 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Season 1,948 yards, 16 TDs, 4 INTs
Even with Louisville having two losses, Brohm’s not out of it yet. What will really catch the eyes of voters is how he fairs against West Virginia and Rutgers, until then he just needs to pad his stats.
Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers
Last week 97 yards, 1 TD
Season 528 yards, 9 TDs
The Scarlet Knights went down, but Rice found the end zone and averaged 4.6 yards a carry.
Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii
Last week 369 yards, 4 total TDs, 5 INTs
Season 1,631 yards, 20 total TDs, 6 INTs
You’re bound to throw a few picks if you throw the ball as much as Hawaii does, but five in one game is a bit too much. Brennan has a lot of work to do if he wants to be a serious candidate in this competition.
Compiled by Cash Kruth
