Preseason Andrew Luck Hype Screws OSU’s Brandon Weeden out of Heisman and Trip to NY

Monday night ESPN announced Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Montee Ball, Trent Richardson, and Tyrann Mathieu as the five finalists for the 2011 Heisman Trophy Award.

Missing from the Heisman invitee list is not only Case Keenum, the NCAA career leader in career passing yards (18,685) and total career touchdowns thrown (152), but more importantly the best quarterback in college football, Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden.

A credible argument can be made for four of the five Heisman finalists but not having Brandon Weeden on the list in favor of Stanford’s Andrew Luck is unforgivable. Luck’s invitation is an obvious byproduct of preseason media hype and a lack of objectivity by Heisman voters.

The Finalists

9-3 University of Baylor’s quarterback, Robert Griffin III, leads the nation in quarterback rating (192.3) while posting the second most total yards per game (386.83) to Keenum (394.15).

Griffin is No. 6 in the nation in total passing yards (3,998) and No. 4 in passing touchdowns (36). Griffin has added 644 rushing yards to his offensive output with nine rushing touchdowns.

Baylor finished the season with a 2-2 record against ranked opponents losing 59-24 to Oklahoma State and Brandon Weeden October 29.

Wisconsin’s Montee Ball leads the nation in total rushing yards (1,759) and rushing touchdowns (32). Ball has 38 total touchdowns on the season placing him one touchdown shy of tying Barry Sanders single season record for total touchdowns set in 1988.

The 11-2 Badgers won the Big Ten championship besting Michigan State 42-39.

Alabama’s running back Trent Richardson is No. 6 in the nation in total rushing yards (1,583) and No. 5 in total rushing touchdowns (20). The Tide finished the season 11-1 and No. 2 in the nation with a scheduled BCS National Championship Game against No. 1 LSU.

Comparing the two running back finalists, Ball averages 135.31 rushing yards per game to Richardson’s 131.92 ranking No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in college football.

LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu’s selection as a Heisman finalist is not without some controversy. Mathieu was suspended for the Auburn game during the season after testing positive for synthetic marijuana, leading to the question, “Is that how you want the Heisman Trophy represented?”

Mathieu is an emotional leader for the top-ranked Tigers. He has 70 total tackles, forced five fumbles, intercepted two passes and scored four touchdowns on the season. Two of his touchdowns have come in LSU’s last two games on punt returns against then No. 3 Arkansas and No. 12 Georgia.

Mathieu’s selection may not be wildly popular as his selection may be more of a team nomination than an individual achievement. University of Michigan’s Charles Woodson won the Heisman in 1997 as a cornerback/punt returner, much like Mathieu.

Stanford’s Andrew Luck has been invited to his second straight Heisman Trophy presentation by the Downtown Athletic Club. Luck finished second in the 2010 Heisman Trophy voting to Auburn’s Cam Newton.

Luck finished the 2011 season No. 24 in total passing yards (3,170), No. 5 in passing touchdowns (35), and No. 25 in passing yards per game (264.17).

Statistically speaking, Luck is the fifth best quarterback in the Pac-12 let alone college football. Arizona’s Nick Foles, Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler, USC’s Matt Barkley, and Oregon State’s Brock Mannion all passed for more yards within the Pac-12 than Luck.

The only major passing statistic that Luck led the Pac-12 in was completion percentage (70) and quarterback rating (167.5).

Matt Barkley led the conference in touchdown passes (39), had fewer interceptions thrown than Luck (7-9), and was sacked fewer times (8-9). Barkley threw for 3,528 total yards to Luck’s 3,170.

Luck will have the benefit of playing in one more game this season than Barkley - the Rose Bowl. Unless Luck throws for over 358 yards against Oklahoma State in their bowl game, he will not surpass Barkley in total passing yards for the season – even with one more game played than Barkley.

Stanford did not win the Pac-12 North Division or the Pac-12 Conference title. The Cardinal also did not beat a team ranked better than No. 20 at the time of their game during the season.

The biggest snub of the 2011 season has to be Oklahoma State’s quarterback Brandon Weeden. Weeden finished the regular season No. 3 in passing yards per game (360.67), No. 3 in completions per game (31.58), No. 6 in passing touchdowns (34), and No. 3 in total passing yards on the season (4,328).

Even with all of the gaudy numbers Weeden had a 72.6 completion percentage, second best in college football among quarterbacks with 270 or more passing attempts.

Weeden led the No. 3 Cowboys to an 11-1 record and their first Big 12 Conference Title. OSU beat all four Top 25 teams they faced.

The 2011 Heisman Trophy will be announced December 10, on ESPN. Unfortunately the Fiesta Bowl featuring No. 3 Oklahoma State versus No. 4 Stanford does not happen until January 2.

Weeden will get his chance to embarrass the Heisman “Trust” for his snub. He will also get a chance to show the nation that not only is he a better quarterback statistically but also a better quarterback than Luck in head-to-head competition.

After the game maybe the Downtown Athletic Club will change the date of their Heisman Award presentation from during the season to after the final game has been played?

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HogManInLA’s Heisman Watch List: Week 14 Heisman Top Five-ish

Even though Robert Griffin III only got to play in the first half due to concussion like symptoms, he still finished Saturday’s game with three total touchdowns in a non-defensive game against Texas Tech winning 66-42… and Big 12 fans don’t understand why their high scoring offenses lose in BCS Bowl Games?

Trent Richardson put on another running back clinic against Auburn. The only hole to poke in his game was zero rushing touchdowns. Not very Heisman like, but again, that’s poking holes against a guy that rushed for over 200 yards.

Montee Ball continued his assault on college football’s single season rushing records. Wisconsin will play Michigan State in the Big 10 Conference Championship, another opportunity to gain on Trent Richardson who not get to add another game’s worth of stats in the SEC Championship Game this year.

If Brandon Weeden has a shot to win the Heisman Trophy and gain new voters, this weekend’s game against Oklahoma will be his chance. The Bedlam Series not only could decide the BCS National Championship teams, assuming OSU can win big over OU, but also the Heisman Trophy winner. Weeden has two concerns coming out of the Big 12, 1) will Heisman voters split votes between Weeden and Justin Blackmon and 2) will Heisman voters split votes between Weeden and Landry Jones?

All talk may be for not if Heisman voters are still stuck on Andrew Luck. Despite the fact that Luck’s total numbers are pedestrian and he only has one quality win on his resume, somehow he is still a frontrunner according to media pundits?

Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) Bye

Robert Griffin (Baylor) vs. Texas Tech

7-11 for 106 yards passing, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions

14 rushes for 62 yards, 2 touchdowns

Trent Richardson (Alabama) vs. Auburn

27 rushes for 203 yards, 0 rushing touchdowns

1 catch for 5 yards, 1 receiving touchdown

Montee Ball (Wisconsin) vs. Illinois

25 rushes for 156 yards, 4 rushing touchdowns

2 catches for 0 yards, 1 receiving touchdown

*Ball is five touchdowns shy of Barry Sanders 1988 single season rushing touchdown record of 39.

Case Keenum (Houston) vs. SMU

33-46 for 457 yards passing, 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions

Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State) Bye

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HogManInLA’s Heisman Watch List: The Week 13 Heisman Top Five-ish

Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) vs. Iowa State

42-58 for 476 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 3 interceptions

*Third in FBS with 373.73 passing yards per game

OSU lost to ISU

Robert Griffin (Baylor) vs. Oklahoma

21-34 for 479 yards passing, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions

18 rushes for 72 yards, 0 touchdowns

*Fifth in FBS with 357 passing yards per game, tied for third with 33 passing touchdowns, leads FBS in total yards per game averaging 412.20

Trent Richardson (Alabama) vs. Georgia Southern

32 rushes for 175 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns

1 catch for 4 yards, 1 receiving touchdown

*Averaging 125.45 rushing yards per game

Montee Ball (Wisconsin) vs. Illinois

38 rushes for 224 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns

2 catches for 0 yards, 1 receiving touchdown

*Leads FBS in total rushing yards, tied for most rushing TDs in FBS with 25

Case Keenum (Houston) vs. SMU

30-45 for 318 yards passing, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions

4 rushes for 19 yards, 1 touchdown

*Leads FBS in passing yards per game with 388.09, passing touchdowns with 38 and only 3 interceptions thrown,

Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State) vs. Iowa State

10 catches for 99 yards, 1 touchdown

*Leads FBS with 15 receiving touchdowns, sixth in total receiving yards with 1,241

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HogManInLA’s Heisman Watch: Top Performers of Week 8

Trent Richardson vs. Ole Miss

17 rushes for 183 yards with four touchdowns

2 catches for 30 yards

Kellen Moore vs. Colorado State

26 of 30 for 338 passing yards with 4 passing touchdowns and no interceptions

Tajh Boyd vs. Maryland

26 of 38 for 270 passing yards with 4 passing touchdowns and one interception

11 rushes for 37 yards

Andrew Luck vs. Washington State

23 of 36 for 336 passing yards with 4 passing touchdowns and one interception

Landry Jones vs. Kansas

29 of 48 for 363 passing yards with 3 passing touchdowns and one interception

2 rushes for 9 yards

Brandon Weeden vs. Texas

23 of 41 for 218 passing yards with one passing touchdown and one interception

Russell Wilson vs. Indiana

12 of 17 for 166 passing yards with one passing touchdown and no intercetions

2 rushes for 42 yards

Montee Ball vs. Indiana

14 rushes for 142 yards and three touchdowns

1 catch for 46 yards

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College Football Preview: Oregon State (0-1) vs. #8 Wisconsin (1-0)

Oregon State (0-1) vs. #8 Wisconsin (1-0)

Wisconsin Overview

OSU has a tough game on the road this week taking on Big Ten powerhouse Wisconsin. Wisconsin easily took care of UNLV in their first game of the season winning 51-17. UNLV ran the Pistol Offense which Wisconsin was not prepared to defend. The Badgers gave up 292 yards on defense but made stops when it counted early in the game. The Badgers offense outmatched the Running Rebels defense behind the quarterback play of North Carolina State transfer Russell Wilson.

Notes to Wisconsin’s game versus UNLV

Russell Wilson led scoring drives on each of the eight series he played; seven touchdowns one field goal. Wilson ended the game 10-13, 255 yards passing, with two touchdowns and two rushing attempts for 62 yards and one touchdown.

Wisconsin’s running game looked sharp rushing for 241 net yards. James White had 64 yards rushing on 11 attempts with a score and Montee Ball had 62 yards rushing on 10 attempts with three touchdowns.

The Badgers defense did not create a turnover against UNLV but they also did not open up their defense against UNLV either.

Oregon State Overview

Oregon State did not start off the season the way Mike Riley had hoped. The Beavers found themselves down 21-6 at the end of the third quarter before storming back to tie the game 21-21 at the end of regulation. OSU scored first in overtime on true freshman running back Malcom Agnew’s 18-yard touchdown run. Sacramento State scored a touchdown on their first possession in overtime and converted their two-point conversion for the win. The final score was 29-28.

The good news for OSU is they appear to have found a replacement for Jacquizz Rodgers with Malcom Agnew on offense. The bad news is OSU’s pass defense is in trouble. Sacramento State threw for 296 yards against OSU’s defense that only returns three starters. Sacramento State is not on the elite level of Stanford, USC, Oregon, or this week’s opponent, Wisconsin. Any team looking to run the score up on OSU will have their opportunities until OSU can find a consistent pass rush and limit coverage mistakes.

Notes to Oregon State’s game versus Sacramento State

Malcom Agnew ran 33 times for 223 yards with three scores. Riley may have ran him too much too soon, in the similar way that Steve Spurrier ran Marcus Lattimore last season, as Agnew is out versus Wisconsin.

OSU needs wide receiver James Rogers healthy to open up the offense for Agnew for the rest of the season.

Markus Wheaton had six catches for 108 yards for the Beavers.

Ryan Katz was benched after compiling an 11 for 22, 87 yards passing, with an interception stat line. Katz has been named the starter versus Wisconsin. How many series he plays before backup quarterback Sean Mannion steps in will depend on the play of Katz and Mike Riley.

OSU defense did recover two fumbles against the Hornets.

Keys to the Oregon State vs. Wisconsin Game

Wisconsin head coach Bert Bielema and OSU head coach Mike Riley are buddies. Both run a similar style offense thus they know each other’s offense well. The game will come down to execution, motivation, and talent. This favors Wisconsin, especially with Agnew out for OSU.

OSU has something to prove against Wisconsin after last week’s stumble through the first three quarters of play against the Hornets. Look for OSU to play tougher against the Badgers from the start of the game. How that translates on the scoreboard is another story.

OSU has a bye next week before starting conference play against UCLA thus they have everything to play for with nothing to lose. Wisconsin plays Northern Illinois in Chicago, a recruiting trip for the Badgers that the Fighting Illini must hate. Wisconsin will not be caught in a trap game or looking past the Beavers.

OSU’s defensive front is undersized. Wisconsin should be able to run at will against OSU’s defensive front, especially later in the game if they make a commitment to run the ball early. OSU has good linebackers which should help limit some of Wisconsin’s possible breakaway runs.

Notes to the Game

Wisconsin:

Starting left guard Travis Fredrick is out after spraining his knee against UNLV.

Starting kicker Phillip Welch is a game time decision to play against OSU.

Backup quarterback is out indefinitely after having surgery on his elbow.

Oregon State:

Will the 9:00 a.m. PST start time have a sluggish effect on the Beavers’ team?

Senior defensive tackle Kevin Frahm (6’2”, 275 lbs) is expected to play against Wisconsin after missing last week’s game.

Malcom Agnew is out against Wisconsin; hamstring injury.

Outcome

Don’t look for the score to be run up purposely. The head coaches are friends and Bert Bielema will not look to embarrass his friend on a national stage. Still Bielema will want to see his new quarterback and team in action against a better opponent than UNLV. Wilson may see action well into the third quarter. Ball and White should have great games for the Badgers.

OSU found their stride late last week but against a weaker opponent. Was the slow start a sign of a lack of preparation, motivation, experience, or combination of everything? Riley will have to use this game to get his team in line for the rest of the season. Watch for different lineups and several opportunities for inexperienced OSU players to prove themselves before conference play begins against UCLA.

Wisconsin should have a repeat performance of last week’s game against UNLV except they will be prepared for OSU’s offense. Wisconsin should have this game in hand before the first quarter is over.

Final Score

Wisconsin 48 – Oregon State 13

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