How crazy has this Heisman race been? Well, check out our preseason Heisman Watch here.
Welcome to the Heisman race, Toby Gerhart.
Gerhart wasn’t even on the Heisman radar back in August. But after leading the upstart Stanford Cardinal to back-to-back wins over Pac-10 titans Oregon and USC, Gerhart finally cracks the Top 5 of the About.com Heisman Trophy Watch.
His arrival comes at the same time that we finally say good-bye to Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who despite great numbers simply hasn’t been able to make big plays in the clutch for the struggling 6-4 Irish.
So long, Jimmy.
Enjoy the NFL.
1. Alabama Tailback Mark Ingram
(Dave Martin/Getty Images)
Ingram leapfrogs Fresno State tailback Ryan Mathews for the top spot after a 19-carry, 149-yard, two-touchdown performance in the Tide’s 31-3 demolition of Mississippi State. The highlight of Ingram’s day? A 70-yard touchdown run that finally put the Bulldogs away for good. For the season, Ingram has now rushed for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also has 225 receiving yards and another three scores. He’s the best player on the best team in the country. And he’s your Heisman favorite.
2. Pitt Tailback Dion Lewis
(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t care that this kid is only a freshman. It’s irrelevant. What is relevant is this: Right now, there might not be a tailback in the entire country playing better than Lewis. I wrote here last week that if the freshman wanted to stay in the Heisman hunt, he needed to show up big against Notre Dame, West Virginia and Cincinnati. Well, so far, so good. Against the Irish, Lewis carried the ball 21 times for 152 yards and a score. For the year, he’s now got 1,291 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns and one receiving score. Lesean who?
3. Fresno State Tailback Ryan Mathews
(Jarrett Baker/Getty Images)
Any faint hopes that Mathews might at least get an (deserved) invite to New York likely went out the window last week. In his team’s embarrassing 52-14 loss to Nevada, Mathews carried the ball just 8 times for 32 yards before leaving the game with an injury. His status for the remainder of the season remains in doubt. But I’m leaving the kid here for one simple reason: He’s earned it. Remember, folks, even with that nightmare against Nevada on his resume, the kid has 1,491 rushing yards on the year—that’s better than Ingram, and better than Lewis—and 14 touchdowns as well.
4. Stanford Tailback Toby Gerhart
(Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
I’m sure folks out in Pac-10 country knew how good Gerhart was. But I’m not sure anyone else did. Heck, I didn’t. Well, we all know now. One week after gashing Oregon in his team’s 51-42 upset win, Gerhart did the same to once-mighty-but-no-longer USC, carrying the ball 29 times for 178 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-21 triumph. His huge days against the Ducks and Trojans have pushed Gerhart’s rushing total ahead of his top Heisman tailback competition, as he know has 1,395 yards and 19 touchdowns on the year. One more big game this week in, well, The Big Game, and Gerhart can punch his ticket to New York.
5. Notre Dame Wide Receiver Golden Tate
(Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Yes, it’s true that I dropped Tate’s Notre Dame teammate, Jimmy Clausen, from the Top 5 because of the Irish’s continued crunch-time failures. But anyone who has seen the Irish play even a little bit this year knows that none of this team’s problems can be blamed on Tate, who is quite clearly the most explosive wideout in the country. The kid can do it all. Last week against Pitt, he caught nine passes for 148 yards and a touchdown—then capped his night with an electrifying 87-yard punt return for touchdown that, for a moment, gave the Irish new life. For the season, Tate now has 74 catches for 1,172 yards and 11 touchdowns, 23 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns and a punt return for touchdown.
