Heisman Watch 2008 – 9, Week 7

Texas fans are really going to dislike me this week. If it wasn’t bad enough that Texas won and still fell from the top spot in my computer rankings, their quarterback also did not take over the top spot in my Heisman ranking this week.

I still believe that Sam Bradford is the better quarterback so far this year.

Don’t get me wrong, Colt McCoy is doing a lot to help his team: he is a leader, he is efficient, he runs in addition to passing the ball.

Sam Bradford is just the arm that his entire team revolves around, and he wasn’t the reason for Oklahoma’s loss. Bradford did almost everything he could short of playing on defense to try and get his team the victory.

It just didn’t work this time.

Having watched Bradford over the past two years, I am sure he would say he would rather win the championship than an individual award. But holding that trophy can sure change things quickly.

Gone from my leader board is Chase Daniel, but he is not out. If he can bounce back against Texas this weekend, he could find himself right back in the mix. But now he will have a lot of ground to make up.  You can’t throw your team into a loss. You have to be smarter, you have to be accurate. Daniel just wasn’t those things against Oklahoma State.

The Big XII is still the conference to beat in this race. It still has three quarterbacks at the top of the list. It still has Daniel lurking on the outside waiting for the others to stumble. And it is likely to have a team in the national championship if all holds going forward.

Here is how I would rank the candidates on my ballot after Week 7:

1. Sam Bradford (QB Oklahoma) – 71.8%, 2052 yds, 23 TD, 5 INT – Lose and move up? Bradford almost willed his team to victory against Texas. A few miscues (read 2 INTs), but overall the best quarterback out there right now with Daniel slipping. Oklahoma didn’t lose because Bradford had a bad game. They lost because Texas is a better team right now.
2. Colt McCoy (QB Texas) – 79.4%, 1557 yds, 17 TD, 3 INT, 348 yds rush, 4 TD – The ultimate in field generals at this point. It was a toss-up between Colt and Bradford this week, but Colt didn’t have the stats against Oklahoma to move him to the top. He is still very good and very much a contender in a race that is decidedly anyone’s at this point. Another tough head-to-head against Missouri awaits.
3. Graham Harrell (QB Texas Tech) – 67.9%, 2311 yds, 20 TD, 3 INT – Under control would be a good way to describe Harrell against Nebraska. He didn’t throw for 750 yards. Instead he calmly led his team to a victory over a team they struggle to beat. Chalk up a big win and a nice little jump in the rankings for this Red Raider.
4. Javon Ringer (RB Michigan St.) – 1112 yds, 14 TD, 4.5 avg – Moves into the lead for rushing yardage. Ringer was a big piece of Michigan State’s win against Northwestern. But he still pales compared with the contributions of the other contenders ahead of him.
5. Daryll Clark (QB Penn State) – 64.4%, 1360 yds, 10 TD, 2 INT, 145 yds rush, 6 TD – It was hard to knock Daniel out of the top five, but Clark has Penn State at the top of the Big Ten, my computer rankings, and contending for a national title. His stats might not be as flashy as those other guys, but Clark has yet to make the big mistake, and sometimes that is what has you holding the big trophy (see Troy Smith).

People with still a chance to make this list: Chase Daniel (No.1 to No. 6. It might be harsh but he was really bad against Oklahoma State, a team he should have beat.), Max Hall (Is he too unknown at this point, even with BYU’s record?), Knowshon Moreno (Hanging by a thread in this group),

People who may get hype but are done: Tim Tebow (Nice game against LSU, but I have to believe he had too many poor ones early to compete with the Big XII boys), Mark Sanchez (He didn’t keep it up. 3 INTs is too many when you are on the edge.), Charles Scott (Did he even dress against Florida?)