Heisman headin’ toward a quarterback?
Two weeks into the college football season, and already Heisman Trophy favorites are starting to emerge.
And quarterbacks are the ones rising to the top.
Tim Tebow and Chase Daniel look like the class of the bunch right now, which I’ve reflected in my latest vote for the heismanpundit.com/Orlando Sentinel poll. Tebow had another big week, this time in Florida’s beat down of Miami. He threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 55 yards. I know Miami is no great shakes, but that’s still a solid day.
Daniel was darn good, too. Granted, Missouri was playing a foe even worse that Miami — Southeast Missouri State — but Daniel completed 14 consecutive passes during one stretch. That’s stout no matter who you’re playing against. He finished the day with 245 yards passing and three touchdowns.
Three other quarterbacks are likely to figure seriously into the Heisman discussion before the year’s over.
Pat White dropped a bit this week because of West Virginia’s loss to East Carolina and because of his so-so performance. He had 72 yards passing and 97 yards rushing, and the Mountaineers managed only three points. Thing is, White is too good to fall off the Heisman radar forever.
The other two quarterbacks likely to factor in are USC’s Mark Sanchez and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford.
Sanchez could make a big-time statement this week against Ohio State. He threw for a career best 338 yards this past weekend, and if he has another day like that against the Buckeyes, he’ll be in the mix.
Bradford is also stacking up great outings. After a nearly flawless opening week against hapless Tennessee-Chattanooga, he was stellar once again in the second week of the season. He threw for 395 yards and five touchdowns against Cincinnati. It was a performance that caught the attention of the Davey O’Brien Award voters, who chose Bradford as the quarterback of the week, and if he keeps up these kind of numbers, it won’t be long before lots of people take notice.
Here’s a look at my vote for the Heisman after Week 2:
1. Tebow: The Gators have a bye this week, but a big game looms at Tennessee in a couple weeks.
2. Daniel: The big numbers should continue with Nevada up next.
3. Beanie Wells, Ohio State: The Buckeye running back didn’t play against Ohio, and we saw how much Ohio State missed him. Ohio nearly scored a big upset. A big day against USC this week might vault him to the top of my ballot, where he was before being injured.
4. Knowshon Moreno, Georgia: The Bulldog running back is being overlooked a little. He shouldn’t be. He’s averaging 8.7 yards a carry; he’s just not getting many carries against the likes of Georgia Southern and Central Michigan. The next three weeks will be telling — at South Carolina, at Arizona State and vs. Alabama.
5. White: Even though he had 169 yards of offense against East Carolina, quarterbacks are judged on wins. Losing to the Pirates doesn’t kill his Heisman chances but it sure hurts them.
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