Heisman Rankings Week Seven: Luck Back By Default
By Ty Duffy
Cameron Newton (Auburn): In his last three SEC games, Newton has combined for 78 carries, 562 yards and 10 TD on the ground. His passing has been sufficient. If Newton produces similarly against LSU and Alabama, he’s the undoubted leader. That’s still an “if.” Don’t want to doubt Black Tebow, but I can’t shake the feeling he pulls a Terrelle Pryor in a pivotal moment and cascades down the list.
LaMichael James (Oregon): Will the best rushing numbers in the country be enough? East Coast voters won’t watch Oregon by default. For James to win, the Ducks must stay undefeated with him as the featured performer. Their offense gets the hype, not him individually. For him to trump the quarterbacks, he needs a couple more Stanford performances.
Andrew Luck (Stanford): Poor efforts from others push him back from the periphery. Luck is on pace for 3,000 yards passing, more than 30 TD and fewer than 10 interceptions. ESPN will highlight him constantly as the potential number one pick. If Stanford finishes with 10 or 11 wins, he makes the trip to New York.
John Clay (Wisconsin): Clay has had a solid season overall and dominated against Ohio State. However, Ron Dayne won because he put up ridiculous numbers. Clay needs a strong performance in a win against Iowa and one or two 30-carry, 200-yard domination games against lesser Big Ten teams.
Landry Jones (Oklahoma): The Sooners will be in the spotlight until they lose. Jones will have the most impressive numbers on that team. Since an indifferent performance against Utah State, Jones has 12 TD to 1 INT on 67 percent passing. He threw 30/34 for 334 yards and 3 TD against Iowa State. Looking strong at season’s end could send him into the mix.
[Photo via Getty]