Bloguin Heisman Poll Week Thirteen

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The regular season is over for a lot of players who are up for the Heisman. The Heisman Trophy will be presented on December 10th so that makes this the next to last poll of the season for us. Andrew Luck has been the front-runner for much of the year as he has been #1 in 8 of 12 weeks. Robert Griffin III re-emerged last week at the top of the poll after seemingly having been banished from contention. Will RG3 stay on top this week coming down the final stretch? Will Andrew Luck reclaim his top spot as he rounds the final corner? Or will somebody else take the lead as the Heisman speculation is coming to an end?

Here is what you’ll see each week in the Bloguin Heisman Poll:

-The Top total vote getters and quotes from bloggers in support of their candidates.
-A list of all players that receive votes in the Bloguin Heisman Poll
-Poll Notes that look at some of the interesting facts, figures, and trends of the poll.
-The BHP Roll Call of voters, the links to their respective blogs and their twitter accounts.

Without any further adieu, the Bloguin Heisman Poll…

1) Trent Richardson (RB-Alabama) – 27 Points, 30.00%, 4 1st Place Votes

Last Week BHP Ranking: #3

Last Week: 27 carries for 203 yards, 1 reception, 1 rec TD

Season: 263 carries for 1583 yds, 6.02 ypc, 20 TD, 27 receptions, 3 rec TD

* I can’t shake one thing from my head: Regardless of position, Trent Richardson is the best football player in the sport right now.

– Aaron Torres, Aaron Torres Sports

* Richardson had his Heisman moment by rushing for more than 200 yards against rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl. That performance helped the Tide win and locked up a spot in the BCS National Championship.

– Tom Perry, Eye and Eer

* Richardson did something Andrew Luck couldn’t do, play his best game of the season on the biggest stage of the season. His 203 yards rushing dominated rival Auburn and left a lasting impression on voters.

– Ryan Yoder, Awful Announcing

* I have to continue my what have you done for me lately theme here in the voting and that’s only because RG III got injured. Had he not, he’d probably still be No. 1. But that honor goes to Richardson. He’s been overlooked by me and many others but his statement game of 203 yards against Auburn opens your eyes. On the season, he’s rushed for 1583 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’s also caught three touchdown passes.

– Ian Bethune, Sox and Dawgs

2) Robert Griffin III (QB-Baylor)- 22 Points, 24.44%, 3 1st Place Votes

Last Week BHP Ranking: #1

Last Week: 7/11 for 106 yds, 1 TD, 62 yards rushing, 2 rush TD (left game w/injury)

Season: 252/347 for 3678 yds (72.6%), 34 TD, 5 INT, 612 yds rushing, 7 rushing TD, 1 rec

This Week: vs Texas (7-4 Overall, 4-4 in Big 12)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hMm2qGMGV8Q

* Even with an injury, Griffin’s body of work surpasses anyone else this season. Even though it’s been a roller coaster season, RG3 deserves the top spot.

– Matt Yoder, Awful Announcing

* Griffin did not play a full game this week due to an injury, but he was still sensational and accounted for three touchdowns. If he plays well and leads Baylor to a win over the Longhorns, it’s tough to see him not getting my top vote in the final poll. He has been college football’s most outstanding player this year.

– Kris Brauner, Saturday Night Slant

3) Andrew Luck (QB-Stanford) – 14 Points, 15.56%, 3 1st Place Votes

Last Week BHP Ranking: #2

Last Week: 20/30, 233 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT, 20 yds rushing

Season: 261/373 (70.0%), 3170 yards, 35 TDs, 9 INT, 2 rush TD, 1 reception

* The Heisman Trophy is supposed to go to “The outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.” The phrase “excellence with integrity” implies that the award is about, or ought to be about, more than just stats. Which is why the winner ought to be Andrew Luck, who passed up NFL millions to play another year of college football, and has done so with class, poise, and tremendous consistency and effectiveness over a 3-year college career. It’s a season award, but a player’s body of work ought to be at least a tie breaker. Luck’s thrown for over 9,000 yards at Stanford, with 80 touchdowns and 21 picks. In the last two seasons he’s led The Cardinal to a 23-2 record and a pair of #4 rankings in the polls. Luck is a great quarterback and a terrific representative of college football. He started the season as the Heisman frontrunner, and has done nothing to surrender that position.

– Dale Newton, The Duck Stops Here

* Andrew Luck did pretty much all he could do against Notre Dame this week, with 4 TDs and only 1 INT. I think this is a true two-horse race between Luck and Richardson, with the west votes for Luck and the east votes for Richardson. I would like to see one more game out of each, but that won’t happen. I think the Luck has done just enough to edge out Richardson, but I wouldn’t be surprised if either man takes the hardware.

– Hamilton Riley, Lambeth Field

* Luck has 35 touchdowns on the year with nine interceptions, and still has the hype machine behind him.

– Ritch, Leftover Hot Dog

4) Montee Ball (RB-Wisconsin) – 9.5 Points, 10.56%, 1 1st Place Vote

Last Week BHP Ranking: #5

Last Week: 25 carries for 156 yards, 4 TD, 1 reception

Season: 248 carries for 1622 yds, 6.54 ypc, 29 TD, 17 receptions, 5 rec TD

This Week: Big Ten Championship Game vs Michigan State (10-2, 7-1)

* The Heisman contest has become wide open again and is likely to come down to a what-have-you-done-for-me lately vote. Among the leading contenders, Monte Ball has center stage in the inaugural Big 10 championship game, and voters in his region should be united behind him with the teammate Russell Wilson having slipped from active consideration. The pitfall could be a bad game hurts his chances while many others are idle.

– Pete Sonski, College Football Zealots

5) Case Keenum (QB-Houston)- 6.5 Points, 7.22%, 0 1st Place Votes

Last Week BHP Ranking: #4

Last Week: 33/46 for 457 yds, 5 Passing TD, 0 INT

Season: 342/467 for 4726 yds (73.2%), 43 Passing TD, 3 Rushing TD, 3 INT

This Week: Conference USA Title Game vs Southern Miss (10-2, 6-2)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N9CQLabkEvw

* Keenum continues to torch the record books as he torches his weak C-USA competition this year. It’s just a shame we won’t get to see him tested against the big boys in a playoff.

– Matt Yoder, Awful Announcing

Also Receiving Votes: Matt Barkley (QB- USC) 5 pts, Colin Klein (QB- Kansas State) 3 pts, Tyrann Mathieu (DB- LSU) 3 pts

Dropped Out: Kellen Moore (QB- Boise State)

Returning to the Poll: Tyrann Mathieu

Poll Notes

– Last week RG3 finally unseated Andrew Luck but his stay at the top was very short lived. Trent Richardson finds himself at the top of our poll for the first time this year. Impeccable timing.

– Trent Richardson becomes the second SEC Running Back to be at the top of our poll. Do you know the first one? Way back in week three, Marcus Lattimore grabbed the lead with 7 first place votes and 25.49% of the vote.

– Since week ten, Andrew Luck has lost support every week. He has gone from 40% of the vote to 25.88% to 20.00% to 15.56%.

– Three of the top five vote getters will be in action this weekend. RG3, Case Keenum and Montee Ball will all have a chance to bolster their Heisman resumes with big performances this week.

– RG3 is coming off of a second half injury against Texas Tech but should be ready to go against Texas this week. Baylor will face a stiff test as Texas has the top passing defense in the Big 12 giving up 201.8 yards per game.

– Montee Ball and his Wisconsin Badgers get a re-match with the Michigan State Spartans this week in the B1G Championship Game. You remember what happened last time, right? Ball had a good game against Sparty last time (18 carries for 115 yards and 2 total TDs) but he’s going to need more this time if he wants to move up the Heisman food chain.

– Case Keenum leads his undefeated Houston Cougars into the C-USA Championship Game against the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss. Southern Miss has the #4 ranked passing defense in C-USA giving up 221 yards per game.

– Looking for a darkhorse candidate to watch this weekend? Look no further than the Bedlam Series as Oklahoma travels to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State. Both Landry Jones and Brandon Weeden have faded from the Heisman discussion but a “Heisman Moment” in a critical spot like the de-facto Big 12 Championship Game would go a long way to getting them back in the discussion.

Bloguin Heisman Poll Roll Call

Aaron Torres Sports– Aaron Torres (@aaron_torres)

Awful Announcing– Matt Yoder (@myoder84)

Awful Announcing– Ryan Yoder (@RYbbc34)

Bearcats Blog– Scott (@bearcatsblog)

Blatant Homerism– Allen Kenney (@blatanthomerism)

College Football Zealots– Kevin (@CFBZ)

College Football Zealots– Pete Sonski (@29Sonski)

Eye and Eer– Tom Perry (@eyeandeer)

In The Bleachers– Michael Felder (@InTheBleachers)

Lambeth Field– Hamilton Riley (@lambethfield)

Leftover Hot Dog– Ritch (@LOHDgamecocks)