Bloguin Heisman Poll Week Eleven

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It seemed like we were headed for a mess of undefeated teams arguing over who should be playing for the Crystal Trophy. The last few weeks have thinned the herd considerably. This week it was Stanford and Boise becoming the latest victims. Kellen Moore had his chance to seize his “Heisman Moment” but fell short against TCU. Andrew Luck wouldn’t have that chance as his Cardinal got grounded by the mighty Ducks of Oregon. Would this signal an end to Andrew Luck’s six week reign of terror at the top of the Bloguin Heisman Poll?

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) Andrew Luck (QB-Stanford) – 22 Points, 25.88%, 4 1st Place Votes

Last Week BHP Ranking: #1

Last Week: 27/41, 271 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT

Season: 221/313 (70.6%), 2695 yards, 29 TDs, 7 INT, 2 rush TD, 1 reception

This Week: vs California (6-4 Overall, 3-4 in Pac-12)

* I know a lot of voters are going to downgrade Luck after throwing two picks in a big loss to Oregon, but he’s still the best player in the college game. Luck didn’t have his best game, but he wasn’t horrible either. To pin that loss on Luck is just wrong. He tried to put the Cardinal on his shoulders and lead them to a win, but the Stanford defense was abysmal against Oregon’s speed.

– Tom Perry, Eye and Eer

* Although Andrew Luck’s stock fell this week, while Brandon Weeden’s stock continues to climb, Luck remains the favorite to take home the Heisman. He does not get a pass for the second consecutive loss against Oregon, but with 17 wins in between, he can sustain a hit at this point.

– Pete Sonski, College Football Zealots

* Luck gave the voters something to ponder the next few weeks as his performance against Oregon left something to be desired. 271 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 INT with the late pick 6 was not the outing he wish he had, but you could have thrown most NFL QBs in that same spot and gotten the same result. The Oregon O was running rip shot over Stanford’s D, and Luck could have thrown 5 TDs and 0 INT and still would have lost that game. But since this was the first time he looked “human”, the gap is now razor thin.

– Hamilton Riley, Lambeth Field

2) Brandon Weeden (QB-Oklahoma State)- 20 Points, 23.53%, 5 1st Place Votes

Last Week BHP Ranking: #5

Last Week: 31/37 for 423 yds, 5 TD, 0 INT

Season: 313/428 for 3635 yds (73.1%), 31 TD, 9 INT

This Week: at Iowa State (5-4 Overall, 2-4 in Big 12)

* Yes his numbers have been skewed by his abnormally high number of pass attempts (428). It also makes his 73 percent completion percentage that much more impressive.

– Aaron Torres, Aaron Torres Sports

* In a what have you done for me lately world, Weeden has simply been getting the job done. He has Okie State team at 10-0 after another impressive performance. In his team’s 66-10 win over Texas Tech, he completed 31-of-37 passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns. Solid performances in his final two games against Iowa State and Oklahoma could give the Heisman voters someone else to think about.

– Ian Bethune, Sox and Dawgs

* As Oklahoma State’s starting QB, Brandon Weeden has been bombarding opponents with a 3,635 yard air war that has led to 31 touchdowns and a pass completion rate of 73.1%. His leadership has proven to be vital to the Cowboys undefeated season and he’s even gaining traction among big-name analysts as a longshot Heisman pick.

– Jamie Gilkey, Suns Stuff’t

3) Trent Richardson (RB-Alabama) – 16 Points, 18.82%, 1 1st Place Vote

Last Week BHP Ranking: #3

Last Week: 32 carries for 127 yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions for 26 yards

Season: 204 carries for 1205 yds, 5.91 ypc, 18 TD, 25 receptions, 1 rec TD

This Week: Georgia Southern (9-1 Overall, 7-1 in Southern Conference)

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

* Trent continues to roll along, evne though his performance against Mississippi State was rather ordinary, at least by his lofty standards. Richardson stands out to me as the nation’s most outstanding, and most consident, college football player through 11 weeks.

– Kris Brauner, Saturday Night Slant

* He is the Alabama offense. That should say it all.

– Ritch, Leftover Hot Dog

4) Case Keenum (QB-Houston)- 11 Points, 12.94%, 2 1st Place Votes

Last Week BHP Ranking: #2

Last Week: 22/29 for 325 yds, 3 Passing TD, 0 INT

Season: 279/376 for 3951 yds (74.2%), 37 Passing TD, 2 Rushing TD, 3 INT

This Week: SMU (6-4 Overall, 4-2 in C-USA)

* He’s the last man standing, is putting up ungodly numbers, and will likely do so as Houston (likely) posts an unbeaten season heading into a BCS bowl game. The other frontrunners have refused to take this Heisman as their own.

– Matt Yoder, Awful Announcing

* I got suckered in by Andrew Luck last week. It was only the second week I had him on my ballot and I put him at #1 for the first time. He let me down and now I’m riding shotgun with the gunslinger out of Houston. 37 TD and 3 INT? I don’t care if he’s playing Aaron Torres State, those are impressive numbers. Did I mention that he is the All-Time leading TD thrower in FBS history? A few of the former Heisman winners he past to reach that award? Matt Leinart, Danny Wuerffel and Ty Detmer. A vote for Keenum is a vote for democracy.

– Kevin, College Football Zealots

Also Receiving Votes: Robert Griffin III (QB- Baylor) 5 pts, Justin Blackmon (WR- Oklahoma State) 3 pts, Colin Klein (QB- Kansas State) 3 pts, Montee Ball (RB- Wisconsin) 2 pts, Kellen Moore (QB- Boise State) 1 pt, Matt Barkley (QB- USC) 1 pt, David Wilson (RB- Virginia Tech) 1 pt

Dropped Out: Ryan Broyles (WR- Oklahoma)

New to the Poll: Colin Klein, Montee Ball, Matt Barkley

Returning to the Poll: David Wilson

For Your Consideration: Colin Klein (QB- Kansas State)

* I view the Heisman as an MVP award. For me, Klein is making the biggest contribution to his team’s success this year. K-State is squeezing every last drop out of a very limited talent pool. The Wildcats are probably the third-best team in the Big 12, which may be the best league in the country top to bottom. That’s a tribute to coach Bill Snyder, but Klein as well. Purple Kansas’ almost weapon-less offense revolves entirely around Klein, and he’s coming up big.

– Allen Kenney, Blatant Homerism

Poll Notes

– Andrew Luck took a tumble of 14.12% from last week and lost 60% of his first place votes. Somehow, Luck managed to hold off a hard charging Brandon Weedon and stay on top for the seventh consecutive week.

– Brandon Weedon gained 5 first place votes and increased his percentage of points by 15.75% but still fell short as he trails Luck by only 2.35% of the vote.

– Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson and Brandon Weedon all placed on the same exact number of ballots. The difference besides the first place votes? Andrew Luck didn’t place third on a single ballot, all of his votes were either first or second.

– Andrew Luck and Stanford are glad to be done with Oregon but now they move on to face a team that is statistically strong against the pass. Cal is #1 in the Pac-12 giving up 199.2 yards per game. Cal has given up 14 TDs and has 11 INT on the year.

– Brandon Weeden and the Cowboys take on Iowa State. The Cylcones surprisingly boast the #2 passing defense in the Big 12 giving up 217.3 yards per game. They given up 12 TD on the year but have only 5 INT.

– Trent Richardson will have a chance to pad his stats this week as the Crimson Tide play an FCS team. Georgia Southern gives up an average of 123 yards per game on the ground but has given up over 230 yards on the ground to both Chattanooga and The Citadel.

– Game Day is coming to Houston so this is Case Keenum’s chance to really make up some ground as the Cougars host June Jones and the Mustangs of SMU. SMU gives up 215.9 yards per game through the air and has intercepted the least amount of passes in Conference USA (4). SMU’s stats are somewhat tainted as they gave up 0 yards passing to Navy on two attempts, 77 yards to Northwestern State and only 153 to Memphis. If you take those games out of the equation they are giving up 275 yards per game.

– Last week, I told you to keep an eye on David Wilson (Virginia Tech) in the Hokies game against Georgia Tech. Did you listen? He finished the game with 175 yards rushing and was a key to the Hokies beating Georgia Tech by 11 on the Flats. Did I mention that Wilson leads the FBS in rushing? Maybe he deserves a little more consideration, especially if the Hokies continue to win and move up the poll.

– This week I’m going to throw the spotlight on LaMichael James of Oregon. He’s only played in 8 games this year but he’s still the 6th leading rusher in the FBS. He’s also averaging 7.89 ypc and is fresh off a 3 TD outing against a previously undefeated Stanford team. This week Oregon takes on a USC team that has done pretty well against the run this year but did give up 4 TDs to Stanford. If James can bust through against USC he’s one to watch in the Heisman picture as the season winds to a close.

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)