Danimal Award (Week 1)
According to ESPN, the top three Heisman candidates (updated 9/6) are Andy Luck, Kellen Moore, and Landry Jones. Here’s what I find most interesting about those rankings: we are one week into college football and those guys are considered the most outstanding players in the game.
1. Andrew Luck has a passer rating of 146.0, good enough for 41st in the country.
2. Kellen Moore has a passer rating of 170.1, placing him 21st.
3. Landry Jones has a passer rating of 148.5, giving him a strong hold on 37th in the country.
Those numbers wouldn’t even win prom king - the ultimate measure of a popularity contest - how the hell are they leading the Heisman race? Mr. Moore gets some credit for going up against Georgias’s defense but Luck and Jones played against San Jose State and Tulsa, respectively. Sure those are three excellent players, no argument there, but you cannot claim that Heisman rankings are based on play. This is a popularity contest. Does Luck have the tools necessary to be a badass QB? Yes. Did he have an amazing year last year? Yes. Does that mean he belongs in the discussion for most outstanding player in college football this year? Not until he performs at the level worthy of the most outstanding player this year! This isn’t a political election where you base someone’s merit on what you think they might be capable of doing (look how well that turns out: see anything congress has done in 10 years). The merit for this award is supposed to be based on performance.
I’m tired of ESPN using their influence to advertise players they feel should get the Heisman. I’ve decided to create the “The Danimal Award” which is a t-shirt that says “I’m Awesome” and is awarded to the most oustanding player on the field during the course of a season.
Here are the candidates after week 1:
1. Robert Griffin III (RG3) - QB Baylor. This RG3 and crew went up against #14 TCU whose defense has spent the better part of a decade ranked in top 5 in most statistical categories. RG3 also plays for Baylor. Baylor finished with a winning record (7-6) last season for the first time since at least 2002 (I stopped looking, it might be longer). RG3 threw for 359 yards and 5 touchdowns including 38 rushing yards on 10 scampers. His QB rating of 250.6 puts him 25 points ahead of ANY QB IN THE COUNTRY. He is currently in 4th on the ESPN Heisman Watch.
2. Oregon State’s Malcolm Agnew ran for 221 yards and 3 TD’s in the Beaver’s OT loss to Sacramento State. He accounted for 45% of OSU’s total yards and 75% of their points - those numbers are worthy of the most outstanding player. I know the Beaver’s lost to a FCS team but it certainly was not Agnew’s fault. Did I mention he’s a true freshman? The Beaver’s are headed to Camp Randall this weekend and I’m excited to see what Mr. Angew can do against some a ranked team.
Here are the remaining candidates worthy of honorable mention.
The aforementioned Kellen Moore did complete 82.4% of his passes for 261yds 3 TD’s against an SEC defense. The entire Boise team also carries their reputation into every single game like this. Lose one and all national respect for Boise is gone. That’s pretty outstanding considering the pressure.
While I dock USC’s Robert Woods- like the rest of the Trojans- points for going scoreless in the second half and letting the Gophers come back from a 19-3 halftime deficit, 17 catches for 177 yards and 3 scores is pretty damn impressive - even against Minnesota. He is presently 4th in the country in receiving yards. [GT’s Stephen Hill is currently #3, no love, Dan? ~Z]
Michigan’s Brandon Herron set a school record at the winningest program in college football history by returning a fumble and interception for TD’s in a rout of Western Michigan. Anytime you set a record at Michigan like that, it’s impressive.
Kendall Wright of Baylor was RG3’s principal target making 12 catches for 189 yards (50% of RG3’s total yards) and 2 TD’s. That puts Mr. Wright #2 in the country in receiving yards. That is 45 yards and 2 TD’s more than ESPN’s Experts Poll top wide receiver Justin Blackmon. I had the luxury of watching this game and it does bring together an interesting point. Is RG3 just that good or did his track team of receivers make him look that good? Only time will tell and that’s the beauty of the Heisman Race.
