Last week, Marcus Mariota broke out of a two-week tie with Jameis Winston for second place and gained ground on our frontrunner, Dak Prescott. This week, Prescott and Mississippi State struggled to beat Arkansas while Mariota and Oregon cruised over Stanford. Meanwhile, Winston and FSU pulled off yet another comeback in their victory over Louisville. Let’s take a look at how this past weekend affected our Heisman Poll:
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What you’ll see each week in the Bloguin Heisman Poll:
* The top five total vote getters, with quotes from the voters 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, with links to their respective blogs and twitter accounts
Here’s the newest Bloguin Heisman Poll:
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1) Marcus Mariota (QB – Oregon): 20 points, 37.04% of votes, 6 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 2
Last week: Beat Stanford (5-4), 45-16
Game Stats: 19 of 30 passing (63.3%) for 258 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT; 85 yards rushing with 2 rushing TD
Season: 169 of 248 passing (68.1%) for 2,541 yards with 26 TD and 2 INT, 410 yards rushing, 7 rushing TD, 1 reception
This week: at No. 17 Utah (6-2)
COMMENTS
Mariota had two touchdowns passing and two rushing in leading the Ducks to a 45-16 exorcism of “the Stanford Problem” in Autzen Stadium Saturday night. For the season he’s thrown 26 touchdowns with just two interceptions, 2,541 yards passing, 410 yards on the ground, with 7 more scores.
– Dale Newton, The Duck Stops Here
The nation’s top-rated passer, Marcus Mariota threw his second interception of the year, but also added four total touchdowns to get the rather large Stanford monkey off his back. Mariota has 33 total touchdowns on the season and the Ducks in line for a playoff spot.
– Mike Ferguson, Noled Out
For the second time this season Mariota seemed to have some success against a team known for its defense. With 258 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, Mariota helped Oregon pull away form Stanford. Now let’s see what happens this week against a pretty good Utah defense.
– Kevin McGuire, The Student Section
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2) Dak Prescott (QB – Mississippi State): 16 points, 29.63% of votes, 1 first-place vote
Last week BHP ranking: No. 1
Last week: Beat Arkansas (4-5), 17-10
Game Stats: 18 of 27 passing for 331 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT, 61 yards rushing
Season: 132 of 216 passing (61.1%) for 2,025 yards, 16 TD vs 7 INT, 137 carries for 725 yards and 10 rushing TD, 2 receptions, 1 receiving TD
This week: vs UT Martin (5-5)
COMMENTS
Dak did not have a great game in the victory over Arkansas, but Mississippi State is 8-0 and is the No. 1 team in the country. Prescott’s play and leadership are huge reasons for that. Under Dan Mullen, the Bulldogs have never won more than nine games and have never lost fewer than 4. What’s the difference this year? Prescott. He has led the Bulldogs to victories over three top-10 teams (at the time of victory), and with dates still left against Alabama and Ole Miss, there is no doubt that Mississippi State and Dak Prescott will have a lot to say in the Heisman and national championship races (which is something I never thought I would have said before the season started).
– Kevin Causey, The Student Section
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3) Jameis Winston (QB – Florida State): 7 points, 12.96% of votes, 2 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 3
Last week: Beat No. 25 Louisville (6-3), 42-31
Game stats: 25 of 48 passing for 401 yards with 3 TD and 3 INT
Season: 174 of 259 passing (67.2%) for 2,279 yards, 16 TD vs 9 INT, 3 rushing TD
This week: vs Virginia (4-5)
COMMENTS
Let’s be honest: Winston is the best player in college football. Sure, he struggled in the first half, but he still managed to throw for 401 yards and 3 TDs against the nation’s best defense (at the time). More impressively, he’s still undefeated in 21 games a starter. If that metric doesn’t scream out “the most outstanding player,” what does?
– Terry Johnson, The Student Section
JW wasn’t particularly amazing so much as Louisville was sort of awful in Florida State’s comeback, but he makes the plays that are there to be made and the Noles keep winning, and the run continues for the most special player in college football.
– Bart Doan, The Student Section
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4) Melvin Gordon (RB – Wisconsin): 4 points, 7.41% of votes, 0 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 6 (tie)
Last week: Beat Rutgers (5-4), 37-0
Game Stats: 19 carries for 128 yards (6.74 ypc) with 2 TD
Season: 173 rushes for 1,296 yards (7.49 ypc) and 18 rushing TD, 8 receptions, 1 receiving TD
This week: at Purdue (3-6)
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5) Amari Cooper (WR – Alabama): 3 points, 5.56% of votes, 0 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 6 (tie)
Last week: Idle
Season: 71 receptions for 1,132 yards with 9 receiving TD; averaging 141.5 receiving ypg
This week: at No. 19 LSU (7-2)
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Also receiving votes: Trevone Boykin (QB – TCU), 1 point; Everett Golson (QB – Notre Dame), 1 point; Jarvion Franklin (RB – WMU), 1 point; Nick Marshall (QB – Auburn), 1 point
Dropped Out: Ameer Abdullah (RB – Nebraska); Tevin Coleman (RB – Indiana)
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Poll Notes:
– At this point in the season, the 2011 poll was once against led by Stanford’s Andrew Luck; the leader in the 2012 poll for the third consecutive week was Collin Klein; in the 2013 poll, Marcus Mariota passed Jameis Winston for the lead.
– How close were the other races at this point in past seasons? In 2011, Luck had a 23% lead over quick riser Case Keenum. In 2012, Collin Klein doubled his lead on Manti Te’o from 15% to 30%. In 2013, Mariota had a 8.37% lead on Winston.
– Out of sight, out of mind? Ameer Abdullah left the Nebraska game with an injury after rushing six times for just one yard. He fell from fourth place to out of the poll entirely.
– Out of sight, not out of mind? An off week gave some voters time to reflect on Alabama’s Amari Cooper as he rose into the top five after an off week, which is a very rare occurrence.
– After Oregon dispatched Stanford, Marcus Mariota has taken pole position for the first time this season. He’s been here before but will he be able to stay this time? Oregon’s remaining schedule is Utah, Colorado and Oregon State, so that doesn’t scream television viewership. Mariota, who is an extremely steady player, needs to have that “Heisman Moment” to fend off some of his competitors.
– It’s a down week for Prescott and Mississippi State, as they dip down to the FCS for a game. It will be interesting to see if he takes a hit for this. Of course, with Bama and Ole Miss left on the schedule, he has ample opportunity to make up any lost ground.
– One game to watch with Heisman implications is Texas A&M-Auburn. Auburn’s Nick Marshall got only one vote this week, but after a big win over Ole Miss, the Tigers are 7-1 and ranked third in the nation. Marshall will likely put up Playstation-like numbers on the Aggies’ defense.
– Keep one eye on No. 9 Kansas State against No. 7 TCU. Trevone Boykin will have a big spotlight and if he shines brightly, you can expect his stock to go up.
– One last game to watch: Everett Golson and Notre Dame play at No. 14 Arizona State. The Irish have some big games down the stretch (they also play Louisville and USC), so Golson has a great chance to gain momentum in the national spotlight.
– The Student Section‘s managing editor, Matt Zemek, has chosen to abstain from voting until the second poll of November (next week).
Bloguin Heisman Poll Roll Call
Andrew Coppens – Madtown Badgers (@andyonfootball)
Bart Doan – The Student Section (@TheCoachBart)
Dale Newton – The Duck Stops Here (@DSH_Newton)
Kevin Causey – The Student Section (@CFBZ)
Kevin McGuire – Nittany Lions Den/The Student Section (@kevinoncfb)
Matt Zemek – The Student Section (@SectionMZ)
Mike Ferguson – Noled Out (@Noled_Out)
Scott King – Bearcats Blog/The Student Section (@bearcatsblog)
Scott Halasz – Buckeye Battle Cry (@ohiostatescott)
Terry Johnson – The Student Section (@SectionTPJ)
