Heisman 2012 [Sports Vanity]

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.

JF did fine against them, made the game close. Without him they are not that great. You forget they beat Bama at their home stadium.

On the other hand, ND had to go to OT to beat Pitt, and really should have lost (yeah, think about that long and hard). Michigan creamed them in every way, except they would hand ND the ball at the end of every possession. Even at their own stadium, with 7 turn overs and Robinson's worst game as a collegiate, the game was in the balance until the final minute. UM made them look bad after being destroyed by Bama.

ND had a tough time against a very poor, Barkley-less USC team, and had sub par games against other listless, lifeless and mediocre teams.

Who did they beat?

I've watched ND a few times, and have been unimpressed each time. They are a decent team, maybe belong around # 10 or so but they do not belong in this game. Bama is going to smoke them, no contest, it will be an embarrassment they were even in the NC game.

We'll see won't we. I love collegiate football, but may not watch this one it's going to be so lopsided.

But, they didn't lose, which is the point. Perhaps you should "think about it long and hard" that ND missed a FG and fumbled as a running back hurled himself over the goal line . . . which twice could have won the game prior to Pitt's missed FG. It was a wet, sloppy day in which ND had 34 first downs to Pitt's 13 but fumbled the ball 3 times. And Pitt isn't nobody; their defense is ranked #17, which is a lot higher than all but one of the defenses Bama faced.

As for Michigan, you've got to be kidding! I attended the game. Denard Robinson and company never reached the endzone, and Manti Te'o had two interceptions as the defense forced poor throws and picked off five Michigan passes and recovered one fumble. Golson was a freshman starting his 3rd game ever, threw a pick as ND was about to score. Rees came in and went 11 for 14 (Robinson was just 13 for 24). The Defense stepped up. Michigan didn't score at all until the 4th quarter.

As for USC, you don't understand the series. Throw out the record books. And Barkley's replacement, Wittek, is good (he has a future) and, if inexperienced, you still had a freshman QB on the other sideline. USC's vaunted running backs were shut down. Notre Dame's were not. They had 222 yards rushing (with 217 passing) and outrushed USC 143-19 inside the tackles. USC had 30 yards after the catch. And 53 of Lee's 75 yards came on one play. The game was also on the road, in the Colosseum, against a team ranked #1 pre-season, still ranked #5 in sacks (they didn't get to Golson), and with the best wide receiver in the country. He got loose once, and was intercepted once.

Who else did Notre Dame play? I guess you consider handily beating Oklahoma (an 8 point favorite) in Norman, no less, and holding Oklahoma's #9 ranked offense to 13 points, to be inconsequential. And I am sure you must consider Stanford, headed for the Rose Bowl, a "lifeless and mediocre" team. Thay rank first, nationally, in quarterback sacks (Bama is ranked 21st) and are one of the best defensses in the country. In fact, four of the defenses Notre Dame faced are ranked in the top 17 defenses, including #2, #3, #12, and #17. (Bama faced only one, #7 LSU; the Texas A&M defense that stopped Bama is ranked #62). In rushing defense, those same four teams faced by Notre Dame are ranked #2, #3, #4, and #15. They also faced two of the top passing defenses, including Michigan's, ranked #4.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame is ranked #1 in the nation in points allowed (10.3), #1 in run defense (92.4) and #6 in total defense (286.8 ypg).

I could go on. But, the point it simply that your post is both misguided and insulting . . . and typical of SEC arrogance, if that is where you hang your hat. I hope for your sake that you don't watch the game. You won't enjoy being proved wrong.

I'm surprised you're contradicting me about the UM game, if you went to that game then you likely weren't watching closely. Michigan out gained ND (it's clear from the stats) in spite of the turnovers, they only let them score 13 points, and it was the 7 turnovers that you won by, almost all of them self inflicted and not created by ND. Sorry, you missed the plot line, you won 13-6 after being literally given the ball 7 times at home. It was surprising, because I thought you'd be better than you looked.

You almost lost to Purdue, Brigham Young, looked bad against a pitiful BC; Pitt stunk, really stunk, had a mediocre season at best, lost to Youngstown State, Connecticut, and Syracuse, and they still should have won that game. USC wasn't a good team even with their 5 star senior QB, you played them without him. Oregon put up 62 points on them, they lost to Arizona and had a very weak schedule. Sad.

So what I'm saying is congrats on an undefeated season, it must have been fun as a fan, but you're not that good and you're gonna get beat badly by the first top ten team you play. I'll even make you a wager, proceeds given to FR that Bama beats you. I've seen them three times, they're good, and they're not losing to a team that had a weak schedule and still struggled against mediocre competition.

I'm not a Bama fan, nor an SEC fan, I'd actually prefer for ND to win, I'm calling it as I see it, not because I don't like ND or root for Bama.

I think the kid from ND is definitely got it for character from what I’ve read.

However, I think from the player stand point, I think Manziel is the guy. There were times watching him, and I thought he got sacked and somehow he missed it and got a touchdown. I don’t even know how he gets out of some of the situations he’s been in.

I really hope Manziel grows to be a good leader morally. A&M is a school known for the good character of it’s students.

My son is a freshman there. We live in California, and he chose it over the UCs and other Cali schools he got into. A lot has changed since I went to A&M, but my son says that the kids are very, very nice. He went to a conservative private Christian school, and he says the A&M kids are nicer.

Well, of course the offense with a freshman QB was green very early. And they have grown considerably. Purdue is always a grudge match. The Michigan stats were low on both sides; Denard Robinson is no pushover. The defense stepped up, just as they did at Michigan State. BYU has a top-notch defense, as does Pitt, which lost games, sure, but they also beat Virginia Tech and Rutgers, not bad. And you don’t mention Miami or Oklahoma or Stanford. Essentially, you focus on the negative. I focus on the positive. The schedule was stronger than Bama’s, against much tougher defenses, but I explained that. You can choose to believe what you want, in spite of the numbers, and I gave you plenty of good ones. I’ll stick with the numbers, thanks.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.