Welcome to the third year of the Bloguin Heisman Poll on Crystal Ball Run. We are now approximately one-third of the way through the season and some players are starting to make a case for being invited to the Downtown Athletic Club for the 79th Annual Heisman Trophy Dinner Gala. Despite a rough off-season, Johnny Manziel returns to defend his Heisman but he will have to beat out a number of game competitors this season.
What you'll see each week in the Bloguin Heisman Poll:
* The top five total vote getters and quotes from bloggers in support of their candidate
* A list of all players receiving votes
* Poll notes that look at some interesting facts, figures and trends of the poll
* The BHP Roll Call of voters, the links to their respective blogs and twitter accounts
Without any further adieu, the Bloguin Heisman Poll…
1) Johnny Manziel (QB- Texas A&M) – 16 points, 29.63% of votes, 3 first place votes
Last Week: 23 of 30 for 261 yds passing with 2 TDs, 59 yds rushing
Season: 100 attempts/140 completions (71.4%) for 1489 yards passing with 14 TD and 4 INT, QB rating of 188.06, 314 yds rushing and 3 rushing TDs
This Week: Bye week
* It seems a little predictable to have Johnny Football ranked first, but hey, sometimes things are very predictable. He's got a bit of an uphill battle because of Manziel backlash, TAMU may lose a couple of games and Heisman voter fatigue seems like a very real thing, but his stats still jump off the page. He's a hell of a player. It can be hard to separate his play from the hype machine. That doesn't mean he's not one of the best college players in the Nation.
– Scott, Bearcats Blog
* Yes, he lost the Alabama game and repeating as the Heisman trophy winner is hard as beating Alabama two times in a row, but Manziel is the best, most entertaining player in the country's best conference. He is a gunslinger and his stats are through the roof again. He may not win the Heisman this year, but right now, he should be the frontrunner.
– Jonathan Biles, Crystal Ball Run
2) Marcus Mariota (QB- Oregon) – 13 points, 24.07% of votes, 3 first place votes
Last Week: 11 of 25 for 114 yds with 2 TD and 0 INT, 33 yds rushing and 1 rushing TD
Season: 60 of 107 (56.1%) for 1,003 yards with 9 TD and 0 INT, 295 yds rushing (14.05 ypc) and 5 rushing TD
This Week: at Colorado (2-1)
* As someone who was on the other end of an Oregon beat-down, it seems that even without Chip Kelly, this Ducks offense is actually better. Just like Johnny Football last season, Mariota is not only shouldering the running and passing load, but executing the read-option so well that it is hard to see if he handed the ball off or kept it. Mariota does not have as good of an arm as the reigning Heisman winner, but he is super efficient. Until someone can turn this offense into something manageable, he needs to be on the top.
– Hamilton Riley, Lambeth Field
3 (tie) Tajh Boyd (QB- Clemson)- 7 points, 12.96% of votes, 1 first place vote
Last Week: 17 of 24 for 311 yds passing with 3 TD and 0 INT, 69 yds rushing with 1 rushing TD
Season: 73 of 114 for 994 yds passing with 9 TD and 0 INT, 163.33 QB rating, 159 yds rushing with 4 rushing TDs
This Week: at Syracuse (2-2)
* Boyd has a #3 ranking, a 4-0 record and 100 career TDs. He has a signature win over Aaron Murray and #6 Georgia in which he accounted for five TDs. Showdowns with #8 FSU (Oct 19th) and #13 South Carolina (Nov 30th), plus the ACC Championship Game right before ballots are due should determine whether his Heisman hopes rise or fall.
– Dale Newton, The Duck Stops Here
3 (tie) Aaron Murray (QB- Georgia) – 7 points, 12.96% of votes, 1 first place vote
Last Week: 20 of 34 for 298 yds passing with 4 TD and 1 INT, 1 rushing TD
Season: 79 of 116 for 1338 yds passing (68.1% completions) with 11 TD and 3 INT, 3 rushing TDs
This Week: at Tennessee (3-2)
* The best way to win the Heisman is to play your best games on the biggest stage. Murray has done just that, making up for a disappointing loss at Clemson with two spectacular performances in wins over South Carolina and LSU. He won me over on Saturday. In those two wins he threw for 607 yards with eight TDs and only one pick. That's enough to put him in front right now.
– Josh Parcell, Crystal Ball Run
5) Teddy Bridgewater (QB- Louisville)- 4 points, 7.41% of votes
Last Week: Bye week
Season: 79 of 110 for 1,214 yds passing (71.8% completions) with 14 TD and 1 INT
This Week: at Temple (0-4)
Also receiving votes: Sean Mannion (QB- Oregon State) 3 pts, Jordan Lynch (QB- NIU) 2 pts, Melvin Gordon (RB- Wisconsin) 1 pt, Brandin Cooks (WR- Oregon State) 1 pt
Poll Notes
– In our 2011 poll, after week five it was Stanford's Andrew Luck that was in front with 26.04% of the vote. At that point, RG3 was 3rd with 10.42% of the total vote.
– In our 2012 poll, after week five it was West Virginia's Geno Smith that was leading the way with 46.05% of the vote. As of that point, Johnny Manziel wasn't even a blip on the Heisman radar.
– Oregon State QB Sean Mannion leads the Nation with 2,018 yards passing. The second place QB, Keith Wenning of Ball State, has thrown for 1,650 yards. Mannion also leads the Nation with 21 TDs and has the most pass attempts and completions.
– There are a bunch of road trips coming up this weekend for our Top 5 Heisman vote getters. Mariota, Murray, Boyd and Bridgewater all have road games while Manziel gets to max and relax in the shade with a bye week. Will he lose ground due to being out of the voters mind?
– Aaron Murray leads the Nation with TD passes against ranked teams so far this year with 8. Of course, only him and Cal's Jared Goff have played against more than 2 ranked opponents.
– Speaking of Murray…over the last sixteen years, only four teams have faced three top ten opponents in their first four games. Georgia is the only team to win at least two of those games.
Bloguin Heisman Poll Roll Call
Aaron Torres- Crystal Ball Run (@aaron_torres)
Andrew Coppens- Crystal Ball Run, Madtown Badgers (@andycoppens)
Dale Newton- The Duck Stops Here (@DSH_Newton)
Hamilton Riley- Lambeth Field (@lambethfield)
Jonathan Biles- Crystal Ball Run (@Jonathan_Biles)
Josh Parcell- Crystal Ball Run (@joshparcell)
Kevin Causey- College Football Zealots, Crystal Ball Run (@CFBZ)
Kevin McGuire- Crystal Ball Run (@kevinoncfb)
Scott- Bearcats Blog (@bearcatsblog)
Tom Perry- Crystal Ball Run, Eye and Eer (@eyeandeer)
