Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Heisman Hopefuls: Auburn's Cam Newton Now Number One

Cameron Newton took advantage of the spotlight this week to make a push for the top of the leader board. It didn’t hurt that Denard Robinson had the week off, and that LaMichael James played on Thursday night. There is still a lot of football to play. I have to put Newton number one right now, but I would like to see a little more balanced effort. The rushing yards are impressive, but let’s see at least triple digits on the passing yards as well.

The Oregon defense isn’t doing LaMichael James any favors. He is still the top running back, but he needs to stay in the game long enough to get more than 20 touches per game to keep pace in this race.

The Michigan defense is also hurting Robinson, but for a different reason. Even if Robinson reaches the 2,000/2,000 plateau, it will be hard to vote for a player on a 0.500 team.

This week we have four of the nation’s top five rushers, and four of the eight most efficient passers in the country.

PLAYERS WHO STOOD OUT: Cameron Newton has a bulls-eye on his chest, but defenses still can’t slow him down. He is now the second leading rusher in the nation and the third most efficient passer. He set the SEC record for most rushing yards by a quarterback.

Taylor Martinez, the passer, led Nebraska to a big win over previously undefeated Oklahoma State. Someone must be using this column as bulletin board material. Whenever a player appears under the “Toeing the Line” section, they explode the next week. I attacked Martinez for his passing abilities, so what does he do? He throws for over 300 yards and 5 touchdowns, while adding 112 yards on the ground. He is back in the thick of it.

Kendall Hunter was not to be outdone by Martinez. Hunter rolled up 201 yards on just 26 carries in the shootout with Nebraska.

PLAYERS DROPPED: No players were dropped this week.

PLAYERS TOEING THE LINE: Andrew Luck wasn’t very impressive against the woeful Washington State Cougars. Luck doesn’t have the rushing ability to complement his passing numbers, so he needs to have monster games to stay in this race. Luck looked outstanding earlier, but is starting to be more ordinary.

PLAYERS ADDED: No players were added this week.

LaMichael James, Oregon
2009: 230 rushes, 1546 yards, 14 TD
2010: 134 rushes, 971 yards, 11 TD
Last: 20 rushes, 123 yards, 2 TD

Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
2009: 89 rushes, 382 yards, 1 TD
2010: 161 rushes, 1,031 yards, 12 TD
Last: 26 rushes, 201 yards, 2 TD

Terrell Pryor, Ohio State
2009: 167-295 (56.6%), 2094 yards, 18 TD, 11 Int / 162 rushes, 779 yards, 7 TD
2010: 134-203 (66.0%), 1,775 yards, 18 TD, 6 INT / 79 rushes, 408 yards, 3 TD
Last: 16-22 (72.7%), 270 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT / 4 rushes, -2 yards

Denard Robinson, Michigan
2009: 14-31 (45.4%), 188 yards, 2 TD, 4 Int
2010: 97-143 (67.8%), 1319 yards, 9 TD, 5 Int / 137 rushes, 1096 yards, 9 TD
Last: Bye

Taylor Martinez, Nebraska
2009: N/A
2010: 66-111 (59.5%), 1,046 yards, 8 TD, 3 Int / 100 rushes, 870 yards, 12 TD
Last: 23-35 (65.7%), 323 yards, 5 TD, 0 Int / 19 rushes, 112 yards, 0 TD

Matt Barkley, USC
2009: 211-352 (59.9%), 2,735 yards, 15 TD, 14 INT
2010: 138-211 (65.4%), 1869 yards, 20 TD, 4 Int
Last: Bye

Andrew Luck, Stanford
2009: 162-288 (56.3%), 2575 yards, 13 TD, 4 Int
2010: 133-200 (66.5%), 1728 yards, 19 TD, 5 Int
Last: 20-28 (71.4%), 190 yards, 3 TD, 1 Int

Kellen Moore, Boise State
2009: 277-431 (64.3%), 3,536 yards, 39 TD, 3 INT
2010: 105-151 (69.5%), 1567 yards, 16 TD, 1 Int
Last: Bye

Cameron Newton, Auburn
2009: Junior College
2010: 90-138 (65.2%), 1,364 yards, 13 TD, 5 Int / 157 rushes, 1,077 yards, 14 TD
Last: 10-16 (62.5%), 86 yards, 0 TD, 0 Int / 28 rush, 217 yards, 2 TD

ON THE RADAR: Ricky Stanzi, Iowa; Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State; Vai Taua, Nevada, Robert Griffen III, Baylor, Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State.

Other recent posts on COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAVEN:
Monday Musings: BCS = Broken Championship System
Poll Results: Will either #1 Oklahoma or #2 Oregon play in the BCS National Championship Game?
College Football Haven Top 25, Week 8, 2010
Game of the Week: LSU Tigers at Auburn Tigers
Game Predictions, Week 8, 2010
Weekly Trivia: LSU starting 7-0

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