Gameday Guide 10/26
After his performance against the West Virginia Mountaineers last Saturday, the new Heisman Trophy favorite is K-State senior quarterback Collin Klein. Despite having 40 total touchdowns as a junior, Klein didn’t get a lot of Heisman recognition coming into his senior season because he was considered too one-dimensional. As of this week, however, he is the new clear-cut favorite.
Klein made a big statement when he took the Wildcats into Morgantown to take on then-No. 13 West Virginia Mountaineers and arguably had the best game of his career. With seven total touchdowns as well as completing 90.5 percent of his passes and no turnovers, Klein looked like a man possessed.
Through seven games, Klein has passed for 1,397 yards and 10 touchdowns, while completing 70.5 percent of his passes. On the ground, Klein has added 551 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Despite the eye-popping numbers, Klein’s most impressive stat is that he has led the No. 3 K-State Wildcats to a perfect record through seven games, which includes road wins against multiple top-25 teams. Klein will have a chance this weekend to continue to pull away from the pack when he takes on the No. 14 ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Is it possible for a player to be under-appreciated because of the talent he has around him? In many cases this is the truth for University of Alabama junior quarterback AJ McCarron. As quarterback of the No. 1 team in the nation, could it be that voters think that he simply has too much around him to be considered a real Heisman contender?
My answer: numbers never lie.
McCarron has completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,476 yards and 16 touchdowns. Another number that does not lie is zero, as in the number of interceptions that McCarron has thrown so far this year. Another question mark comes from the schedule that Alabama has played thus far. The Crimson Tide have only faced one ranked team this season so far, but the schedule is about to get a lot more difficult. Alabama will face top-25 teams each of the next three weeks.
Notre Dame’s senior linebacker Manti Te’o will just not go away, as many defensive players do when it comes to Heisman talk. As well as leading the No. 5 Fighting Irish in tackles, he also is tied for first in interceptions among linebackers.
Te’o has a chance to make a big statement as a legitimate Heisman contender this weekend. With Notre Dame traveling to No. 8 Oklahoma for a square off with one of the best offenses in the country, Te’o could put that signature win on his resume.
For the last three to four weeks, West Virginia’s senior quarterback Geno Smith has been the heavy Heisman favorite, but that’s no longer the case. Through his first five games, Smith had thrown for 24 touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
In his last two games, however, the Mountaineers have been blown out by both Texas Tech and K-State, with Smith unable to put points on the board. With two touchdown passes and two interceptions in the last two games, Smith has almost completely fallen out of the Heisman race.