The Heisman Trophy. The MVP of college football. A trophy with seemingly simple criteria to crown a winner, is often left open to debate. The front runner for this year's award has gone from Teddy Bridgewater to Johnny Manziel to Marcus Mariota to Jameis Winston, even Texas A&M tight end Mike Evans has been suggested for it by his head coach Kevin Sumlin. As is the case every year, however, there are always those players that never get the respect they deserve in the voting. Heck, some of them don't even get invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony as a finalist. Now that these aforementioned top candidates for the trophy have suffered setbacks, on the field and off, it leaves the door open for the following three players to make their mark. Two are from non-automatic qualifying conferences, but one is from a major conference. Maybe the best conference in college football. Yet, despite quarterbacking the number one team in the nation, I still don't think he's gotten the attention he deserves.
A.J. McCarron, QB, University of Alabama
From a statistics perspective, McCarron is anything but impressive. He doesn't put up video game-like numbers that some of the other front runners have. He ranks a pedestrian 45th in passing yards, behind quarterbacks from the likes of Buffalo and North Texas. So why should he be getting more attention? Consistency, efficiency, and wins. While he ranks 45th in passing yards, he ranks 10th in passer rating and 11th in completion percentage, with a 23:5 TD to interception ratio. The knocks against McCarron are that he is surrounded with four and five star recruits on offense, and is often labeled an Alex Smith-esque game manager.
Even though he has talented players around him, it's not like Alabama is playing scrub teams. They faced Virginia Tech in non-conference play, then opened up SEC play at Texas A&M, while getting Ole Miss and LSU at home. As far as the game manager label is concerned, I think he shed that in the game at A&M. Going up against fellow Heisman candidate Manziel, McCarron went 20/29 for 334 yards, four TDs, and zero interceptions, including some clutch throws late in the game. Final score: Alabama - 49 Texas A&M - 42. Manziel had an impressive performance himself, but lost the game, threw two interceptions, and should have thrown a third. This game showed not only that McCarron deserved Heisman hype, but also shed some light on why his numbers might not be as high as the others mentioned for the Heisman.
Defense might win championships, but it might also prevent a quarterback from winning the Heisman. That A&M game was the only one this season where a team was able to match Alabama point for point. They have absolutely drubbed teams this year, causing Alabama to run the ball and play their backups. Head coach Nick Saban could care less who wins the Heisman, he just wants to win the National Championship. To accomplish that goal, he's not going to leave his quarterback out there in a blowout game.
Take the Arkansas game for example, where Alabama won 52-0. McCarron only threw for 180 yards, but had three TDs and zero interceptions. Saban put in backup QB Blake Sims and pounded the ball on the ground towards the end of the game. Nothing McCarron could do. I think that if he were called upon to put up gaudy numbers, he could do it on a week to week basis. The Auburn game next Saturday will be very telling. If McCarron beats Auburn to put him in line for a third National Championship, he has to be the front runner. How can you deny a player, who could potentially win three National Championships, a Heisman Trophy at least one of those years?
Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State University
Being a fan of NIU, I must say that I hope Fresno State loses if a BCS bowl berth is on the line between them and NIU. That being said, there is no denying what Fresno's quarterback has been able to do. Unlike McCarron, Carr does have the big numbers to support his cause. He's second in the nation in passing yards with 3,948 and first in the nation with 39 TDs (only four interceptions as well). His team is undefeated and ranked 15th in the BCS as of this writing, and should go up. So why has he barely, if at all, been mentioned for the Heisman? Basically, it comes down to who he plays.
Wins over Idaho, Hawaii, and Wyoming aren't exactly going to catch the national media's eye. They're in the Mountain West Conference, which certainly brings down their level of competition. I've always thought the argument against star players from smaller schools was always unfair because people would say that they're playing a bunch of cupcake teams. They would never survive against the Ohio State and LSU's of the world. Maybe, maybe not. But it's not like these players are playing with the recruits that go to the Ohio State and LSU's of the world. A five star recruit who is the second coming of Jerry Rice isn't going to go to a Fresno State or San Jose State. Often times, these players at smaller schools have to carry the burden for their entire team and lead them to victory. And this year, Carr has had to do that more than once.
Unlike the stout Alabama defense, Fresno State's defense has been like swiss cheese this year. They have given up a staggering amount of points, forcing Fresno to often times get into high scoring contests. Bad for looking good to BCS voters, good for looking good to Heisman voters. They've now had two games go to overtime, including their first game against Rutgers where their defense surrendered 51 points. Since September 21st, Alabama's defense has surrendered a combined total of 50 points. Fresno has also had a one point victory over Boise State, and a five point victory over Hawaii.
Carr has been sensational in all of those games, saving Fresno's BCS chances. Fresno's Carr led offense has scored at least 35 points in every game this season. His passing numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Fresno has only played 10 games this year due to a postponed game in Colorado back in September, whereas most teams have played 11 games by this point. While Carr probably has the longest shot out of these three players to get invited as a Heisman finalist, I think it's criminal that he is hardly even getting mentioned in the discussion.
Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern Illinois University
Lynch and Carr pretty much have the same narrative going. Great player, great numbers, small school, under appreciated skills. Unlike Carr and McCarron who make a name for themselves throwing the ball, Lynch also has outstanding running ability. He currently ranks 7th in total rushing yards with 1,434, the highest ranking of any quarterback in the nation. While his passing numbers aren't as outstanding, he has been efficient, tossing a 21:5 TD to interception ratio and ranking 25th in passer rating. Similar to Carr, his defense has put him in some close calls this year, but he's been able to pull them out of every one as NIU is undefeated and currently ranked one spot below Fresno in the BCS standings.
The difference between Carr and Lynch however, is twofold. The first difference is that Lynch has been able to build off of momentum from last year. People at least sort of, kind of knew who he was with NIU's appearance in the Orange Bowl. Was it the stuff of legends? No, but it was national exposure in a BCS game. Now that Lynch is following up last season with another outstanding season, people are starting to realize this guy isn't a fluke. Carr unfortunately didn't have that momentum coming into this year, so he's been fighting an uphill battle since late August. The problem is I don't think he'll have turned enough heads by the time the Heisman voting comes around.
The second difference is that the Huskies have played two teams (Iowa, Purdue) from major conferences, whereas Fresno State did not get that chance. This allows us and voters to be able to compare players on different teams against a mutual opponent. Purdue has been abysmal this year, so I'll disregard them, but Iowa was a respectable opponent, particularly their defense. They currently are 7-4 and rank 13th in points against. They played NIU in Kinnick Stadium the first game of the year. Lynch was able to account for 331 of NIU's 438 total yards and passed for every one of NIU's scores as they won on a last second field goal.
By comparison, Iowa played Ohio State's Braxton Miller, arguably the Big Ten's Heisman front runner and possibly national Heisman front runner had it not been for injury, in mid-October in the Horseshoe. Miller had a great day as well, accounting for 324 total yards with two TD tosses and no turnovers. So here you have two great QBs, going up against the same defense, both getting wins, but Lynch doing it with a lesser supporting cast. There's no telling if Lynch and the Huskies could do that game in and game out in the Big Ten, but putting up better numbers than a QB in the Big Ten against the same team has to count for something right?
Given the recent on the field struggles of Bridgewater, Manziel, and Mariota, and Winston's off the field issues, it would be a travesty if Lynch isn't at least invited. Barring a disaster against Western Michigan this Tuesday, Lynch will have put up ridiculous numbers two years in a row. If NIU gets invited to another BCS bowl, that just makes his argument even stronger. Some people are already writing him off saying he won't get invited, but the way things are going, how can you not? If McCarron, Carr, and Lynch aren't at least in the discussion for the Heisman Trophy, then something is seriously wrong with the system that determines who the best player in college football is.
Matty O
