Posted on 11/27/2012 9:48:27 AM PST by re_nortex
At this point of the college football season, with some crucial games still on tap for this weekend, the frontrunners in the Heisman race are A&M's sensational freshman QB Johnny Manziel and game-changer Manti Te'o of Notre Dame. Still in the hunt was once heavily-favored Colin Klein of Kansas State. Vanishing completely after an impressive start is West Virginia's Geno Smith.
I'd personally like to see Johnny Manziel win the trophy this year and the odds are evidently in his favor. But, to play the part of a contrarian, here's what could derail the hopes of those backing him for this prestigious award.
My choice would be Tommy Edwards of Occidental College, who threw for a mile and a half this season. True, the defensively-challenged Tigers are 2-7, but at least they beat the Pomona Sage Hens and the Claremont Stags, although one of their losses was to the Whittier Poets.
Try not to hate so much. Be good to yourself.
Not a big fan of the SEC, but the USC Trojans don't play them that often--and as far as I know, Occidental College has never played them at all--so I don't feel that much animosity.
I, too, hate Notre Dame, but I might root for the Domers if they played Kim Il-sung University, the University of Havana, or Islamic University of Gaza.
Go Johnny Go!!! Have you really seen him play!!! He is absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!!!
That QB Tivy has now may be a contender as well, if when he gets up there.
He was pretty slippery when we played em in Seguin... Very Quick.
But there sure were a lot of complaints about the Refs in Kerrville from thier opponents at K Tivy’s homegames.
We have refs in Kerrville? I shall complain to the school board and have them removed at once ;o)
But seriously, we've been blessed of late with hustling, slippery QB's.
And from all I've heard (Dan Patrick) Te'o is a shoe-in for the Heisman. We shall see ...
I bet its Te’o as well.
I couldn’t figure out how to say that the Hays and Lockhart fans and coaches said the Refs at the Tivy homegames seemed a bit biased...
I told em its cause they had to drive so far to get out there so everything seemed biased.
I just know that young man that is playing QB for the Antlers is good.. is he a Jr?
Tivy Quarterback Parks McNeil (7, above) tries to elude a pair of Cedar Park defenders during the Antlers’ Class 4A Division II area-round playoff against the Timberwolves Saturday in San Marcos. McNeil ran for two touchdowns and tossed a third, but Cedar Park ended the Antlers’ season at 8-4 with a 36-22 win.
Photo by Stuart Cunyus
Notre Dame is going to be crushed like a bug on a windshield, they are quite honestly not that good.
Ed Marinaro was the media's darling. The Heisman announcement was simply a special carried on one network where two announcers presided.
The two announcers announced the candidates by name, pausing at the penultimate name, Marinaro, and then went on a long media promotion of video clips and boot-licking,
They followed the worship service with "and Pat Sullivan of 'Aww-Burn."
"And the winner is . . . Pat Sullivan of Aww-burn?????"
"He led the nation in total offense or something, right?"
"Well, here in the studio we have Ed Marinaro to comment on the selection."
Sullivan set an NCAA record for yards per play and career touchdowns, total offense, and more.
So was (murderer) OJ. So was (probationed) Reggie Bush. So was (criminal) Cam Newton.
Little Johnny wasn’t so valuable against LSU and Florida, was he? As for ND, just keep thinking that way. They have been discounted and doubted and discredited all season, and look what they have accomplished.
K-State's TWO ranked opponents (IN-season rankings are hardly indicative) were ranked #11, and #23.
And given the state of the NCAA this year, the Top 7 are quite a bit better than the middle tier teams.
Comparing the stats "against ranked teams" is hardly apples-to-apples. Add in the fact that Manziel is a Freshman, and his very first game was against Top 5 Florida, and only lost by a FG, I think speaks VERY highly for Manziel's abilities. That defeat hardly counts against him as much as much as NDs three "wins" against Purdue, BYU, and Pitt indict that team... where great luck played a huge part in each shoestring victory against incredibly mediocre opponents. (Yes, I am a Hoosier who thinks ND should not be ranked #1, nor in the title game.)
A&M's only 2 losses were both close, and both to monster Top 5 SEC teams. In each, A&M has the lead with 16 min to go and with 14 min to go.
In A&M's two close-calls, one was to a 9-3 team (and it was the A&M defense giving up 630 yds that made it close... Manziel did his part by scoring 6 TDs). The other was to 6-6 Mississippi, where, after 5 turnovers, A&M was down 10 with 9 min to go. Manziel took control to score two TDs for the win.
A&M also has an historic signature win over #1 Alabama, to go with those two very excellent losses to Top 7 teams.
Spin it any way you want, but no Freshman QB has ever had a season this good against this caliber of opposition. 3 months after High School, he was put in to lead a mediocre A&M team (6-6 in 2011), and turned them into a Top Ten team, despite their first year of being in the SEC Meatgrinder. I say the kid deserves the trophy for those facts alone.
(However, being a strong proponent for underdogs, I'd be more than happy to see Klein kid get it, too. He had a great season (other than that lone 3rd qtr. I was crestfallen when K-State lost to Baylor!!)
Personally, I was rooting for Geno Smith... My luck being what it is, I was just in time to catch him for the first time on TV this year... right when he got exposed by TexasTech. *sigh*)
He was very good. The kicker on the other hand was horrible!
Heisman pundit and several others are saying it’s Manziel. What are your sources?
Heisman pundit and several others are saying it’s Manziel. What are your sources?
You are comparing OJ to a 19 year old with a fake ID. Really?
Trending Te’o according to Dan Patrick and some local SA news outlets. That could change.
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