The Heisman leader, Marcus Mariota, and the Oregon Ducks were idle this past weekend. Last week’s runner-up, Dak Prescott, had a rough outing as his Mississippi State team fell to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles continued to struggle in the first half but deliver the goods in the second half. Would there be a shakeup in the poll in light of the performances of some of the players outside the top three? 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) Melvin Gordon (RB – Wisconsin): 22 points, 36.67% of votes, 3 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 4
Last week: Beat Nebraska (8-2), 59-24
Game Stats: 25 carries for 408 yards (16.32 ypc) with 4 TD
Season: 223 rushes for 1,909 yards (8.56 ypc) and 23 rushing TD, 8 receptions, 2 receiving TD
This week: at Iowa (7-3)
COMMENTS
If ever there was a “Heisman moment” this season it came Saturday from Gordon. He’ll easily top 2,000 yards and with the possibility of four games left could be headed towards the single-season rushing record. That’s “Heisman Trophy winner” if you ask me.
– Andrew Coppens – Madtown Badgers
It’s very reactionary to Saturday’s performance but HOLY HELL MELVIN GORDON RAN FOR 408 YARDS IN 3 QUARTERS. ON 25 CARRIES. That was one of, if not the best, single-game performances of all time. Gordon could have run for 500 yards in that game. He’s run for 613 yards and 5 touchdowns the last two weeks. That alone ranks him as the 123rd-best rushing team in the nation. Such a phenomenal effort by Mel Gor, who had been gaining momentum on my ballot. I don’t know how else to describe him other than a rushing robot set to kill.
– Scott King – Bearcats Blog
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2) Marcus Mariota (QB – Oregon): 21 points, 35.0% of votes, 5 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 1
Last week: Idle
Season stats: 186 of 277 passing (67.1%) for 2,780 yards with 29 TD and 2 INT, 524 yards rushing, 8 rushing TD, 1 reception
This week: vs Colorado (2-8)
COMMENTS
Mariota is the leader unless or until he slips. Both he and Gordon have been extremely consistent in terms of measuring every snap of every game, but Mariota’s production carried his team through difficult times in September, when Oregon lost multiple offensive linemen. What Mariota did to guide the Ducks through a difficult game at Washington State lingers as the kind of game Heisman winners deliver to their teams. Gordon, by comparison, could not turn his individual brilliance (and he IS brilliant) into a win over 4-6 Northwestern. That remains the difference between Mariota and Gordon.
– Matt Zemek, The Student Section
Marcus Mariota’s Ducks were idle this week, but that didn’t stop the nation’s top-rated passer from holding on to the top spot in the Heisman race. Mariota has 36 total touchdowns and just two interceptions this season as Oregon remains in line for a spot in college football’s first playoff.
– Mike Ferguson, Noled Out
He was off this week, but what a glorious bye week it was. No player executed as cleanly on the bye week as Mariota. He also saw the top quarterback challenger (Dak Prescott) take a loss to stumble in the Heisman running.
– Kevin McGuire, The Student Section
Mariota’s steady brilliance gives him a lead over Gordon, who’s vaulted into second after a spectacular, record-setting game versus Nebraska Saturday. While Mariota had the weekend off, Gordon battered the Nebraska defense for 408 yards and 4 touchdowns, eclipsing the NCAA record held by Ladainian Tomlinson.
– Dale Newton – The Duck Stops Here
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3) Jameis Winston (QB – Florida State): 7 points, 11.67% of votes, 2 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 3
Last week: Beat Miami (6-4), 30-26
Game stats: 25 of 42 passing for 304 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT
Season: 221 of 336 passing (65.8%) for 2,844 yards, 18 TD vs 12 INT, 3 rushing TD
This week: vs Boston College (6-4)
COMMENTS
Once again, Winston lead the Seminoles to a come-from-behind victory. With him under center, Florida State can overcome any deficit. If that doesn’t scream out “college football’s most outstanding player,” what does?
– Terry Johnson, The Student Section
I don’t know … you feel like you can write the same thing every week about him … not amazing or perfect, but does what has to be done to win. He’s 1-0 as a QB every Saturday, and that’s my favorite statistic.
– Bart Doan, The Student Section
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4) J.T. Barrett (QB – Ohio State): 4 points, 6.67% of votes, 0 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 5 (tie)
Last week: Beat Minnesota (7-3), 31-24
Game Stats: 15 of 25 passing for 200 yards with 3 TD and 1 INT, 17 carries for 189 yards rushing with 1 rushing TD
Season: 165 of 258 passing (64.0%) for 2,356 yards, 29 TD vs 8 INT, 136 carries for 771 yards and 9 rushing TD
This week: vs Indiana (3-7)
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5) Amari Cooper (WR – Alabama): 3 points, 5.00% of votes, 0 first-place votes
Last week BHP ranking: No. 5 (tie)
Last week: Beat No. 1 Mississippi State (9-1), 25-20
Game Stats: 8 receptions for 88 yards and 1 TD
Season: 87 receptions for 1,303 yards and 11 TD
This week: vs Western Carolina (7-4)
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Also receiving votes: Trevone Boykin (QB – TCU), 1 point; Bryce Petty (QB – Baylor), 1 point; Tevin Coleman (RB – Indiana), 1 point
Dropped Out: Dak Prescott (QB – Mississippi State); Jarvion Franklin (RB – WMU); Ameer Abdullah (RB – Nebraska)
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Poll Notes:
– At this point in the 2011 season, Robert Griffin III finally broke through and took the lead away from Andrew Luck; in 2012, Collin Klein’s four-week reign at the top was ended by Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o; in the 2013 poll, Jameis Winston held on to the lead for the second straight week.
– How close were the other races at this point in past seasons? In 2011, Griffin had a 12% lead. He went from having a 23% lead in week 10 to just a 2.35% lead in week 11. In 2012, Te’o had an 11% lead over Klein. In 2013, Winston had a commanding 23% lead on Johnny Manziel.
– Despite having a week off, Marcus Mariota didn’t slide much in the polls. Mariota did lose two first place votes but lost only three overall points. He’s still in prime position to win the trophy.
– For the third consecutive week Dak Prescott lost votes, but after his team fell to Alabama, he lost all of them. That, of course, opened the door for Melvin Gordon.
– With his record-setting day, Gordon shot up in the rankings. He received only three first-place votes to Mariota’s five, but Gordon was on 100% of the ballots while Mariota was left off two.
– Jameis Winston has his supporters but at this point it doesn’t look like he’s gaining or losing any traction from week to week. For the last four weeks he hasn’t gained or lost more than one point in the voting.
– This week the top five vote getters all have games against teams outside the Top 25. The candidate with the toughest assignment is Melvin Gordon as his Badgers face off with the 7-3 Iowa Hawkeyes.
– While this should be a pretty quiet week in terms of Heisman talk, you never who might get upset and who might pull a Melvin Gordon.
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)
