Twitterland is going nuts tonight over this game. Tons of fun to watch, but an utter embarrassment to anyone who loves college football. McCoy had a great night and I have to assume all those voters that only read the stats lines tomorrow will all of the sudden LOVE McCoy. He had ludicrous stats against an abysmal defense. 110th ranked against the pass. 76th ranked against the rush. One of the ten worst pass defenses in college football. Anyone who actually watched this game saw this is not due to world-class, unstoppable offenses. I’ve been reading that the award is coming down to McCoy and Ingram. If so, can’t say I won’t be disappointed. McCoy is another Big 12 quarterback who WILL be exposed in the bowl game and it will further tarnish the award in the mind of the fans.
Not too long ago I hoped and hoped for the better part of a summer that the rumors were true and CJ Spiller would transfer to Florida. The guy has skills and should be a great player at the next level. That being said, there must be some desperation from the previous running back winners to add to their numbers. Whether you believe that the Heisman is an award for great statistical performances or an MVP award, Spiller hasn’t had a Heisman year. He’s an all-purpose player who hasn’t excelled in any arena.
Spiller’s an all-purpose player, but is first and foremost a running back. For the season he averages 81.2 yards per game on the ground and currently ranks 51st in the country. He’s broken 100 yards three times. Once was against a very good TCU defense. The other two times were against Wake Forest and Florida State (93rd and 105th ranked rush defenses). He struggled against a number of very mediocre defenses, including being held to 72 yards by a very poor Maryland defense in a losing effort.
Spiller is also used as a wideout in some formations. He gained more than 100 yards via the air once all season…against Miami and their 59th ranked pass offense. He averaged 38 yards per game as a receiver.
A Heisman winner should have a profound effect on their team. They should make their team better. While decent this year, Clemson is 8-3. Their rushing offense is ranked 46th in the country. Their passing offense is ranked 80th. They’re 29th in the country in kick return yardage. But their defense is ranked 12th in the country. Which side of the ball is willing Clemson to the victories they have?
I love Mark Ingram. I think he’s a great player and a good human being. But he’s a sophomore and I think that awarding the trophy to a sophomore should be reserved for an extremely special case. A once in a long time talent. I’m quite certain that Ingram isn’t yet the best running back in the country, let alone the best player. I’m not even sure he’s the best back on his own team. To work through it, I decided to look at his season week by week.
He’s had some ridiculous games. 248 yards against South Carolina on national television. But he’s had some stinkers as well. Four of the first eight games he didn’t break 100 yards. Held to 50 yards and 2.9 YPC against Arkansas and their 69th ranked rush defense. Outrushed or out averaged by players on his own team three times during the year.
Ingram’s had a great year. But he’s run behind a fantastic line and been outrushed by players on his own team several times this year. Alabama has also played exactly two top 50 rush defenses. Richardson averages 5.33 YPC. Upchurch averages 6.33 YPC. This vote if for the unofficial best player in the country and I’m not even sure he’s the best back on his own team.
For what it’s worth, Florida and Alabama met seven common opponents. Against them, Ingram rushed for an average of 127.3 yards. Tebow rushed for an average of 91.6 yards. Tebow’s a quarterback.
Note: In my first published version of this post, I stated that Alabama had faced one Top 50 rush defense. LSU rush defense had risen and I hadn’t noted it. They’ve played the 39th and 48th ranked rush defenses. I apologize to Bama nation for the error.
Love the Heismanpundit. Great site and he’s usually dead on. His predictions today make me a little ill. He seems to feel the award is Ingram’s to win or will fall back to McCoy. They’re both great players and I buy Ingram (for the most part). But McCoy will be another disaster of a winner just like Bradford was last year. Do these voters actually pay attention to the season or just look at stats lines or (worse yet) just watch the Bristol network for their opinions. Understand this…Big 12 pass defenses suck. They’re not just mediocre. They suck.
Didn’t we learn anything last year? Bradford and McCoy and Reesing and Harrell all put up Heisman Trophy-like numbers. Then (some of them) met real defenses in bowl games and got stuffed. Then people realized that, “hey, maybe we should have thought about the odds of four record breaking quarterbacks all playing in the same conference at the same time against good defenses being statistically improbable (more like impossible).”
Colt McCoy’s numbers this year have come against weak defenses. The average pass defense he’s played this year was ranked 79th in the country. Take away the two decent Oklahoma teams and the highest ranked pass defense Texas has played is UCF. By the numbers, he had a great day Saturday – against a mediocre and beaten down Kansas team (59th in total defense, 88th in pass defense and probably losing their coach). AND he stayed in the full game in a 31-point blowout (why does Mack Brown have the rep of being a class act?).
Now we can argue all day whether the stiff arm trophy still has a place as the premiere award in college football. Nonetheless, the voters will elevate some player to the list of college football’s greats. Colt McCoy is a fine player who has won a lot of games, but players with eye-popping statistics from the WAC and other conferences seem to be excluded due to the perception of weaker competition. The average pass defense in the WAC this year is currently ranked 56th nationally. The Big 12′s is 70th (and is ranked the fifth best conference by Sagarin).
Has McCoy done something special? Sure. Has he done it against special competition? I think we all know the answer to that.
(Note: 9 of the top 25 pass defenses in the country are in the SEC.)
Gerhart had a nice day on the ground…136 yards rushing and four touchdowns. In reality, he had a 61 yard dash and averaged less than four yards per rush the rest of the game. He also had a nice 29 yard scamper on Stanford’s final drive. Unfortunately, he was outrushed (and beaten) in the game.
Ingram rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries against FCS Chattanooga.
Think Mack Brown and McCoy were dedicating this to the voters. He played the entire game in a 31 point blowout against the 69th ranked pass defense in FBS. He certainly had amazing stats. 396 yards passing and four touchdowns.
Spiller’s day was disappointing – 58 yards on the ground, 39 yards as a receiver. How is he a serious candidate?
Tebow played through two possessions in the third quarter. 218 yards through the air…102 yards on the ground…3 touchdowns.
The day appears to be a draw between Tebow and McCoy. 396 yards of offense from McCoy for the game…320 yards of offense from Tebow in 2 1/2 quarters.
