jerry-hughes-tcu-yes-hes-a-monster One of the most underrated Brent calls of the last five or so years is during the Michigan/OSU game in 2007, when he said near the end of the third quarter: “I think you can put Mr. Stiff-Arm in a box and Fed-Ex it to Columbus, Oh-iiiiiiiiiiii-oooooooo” (for Troy Smith). A few seconds later, he may have added, “Vegas has Smith winning at 5 to 2 presently.” The Heisman race is down to two rivalry weekends and Championship weekend. Really, only three dudes can do this thang. We’ll rank seven regardless.

1. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas: Seventeen TDs, nine interceptions picks, been put on his rumpus 21 times – all good with a 149.73 QB rating. Followed one of the most successful college QBs of the past 20 years (want to argue that? Remember those back-to-back Rose Bowls against Michigan and USC? Uh huh) and has done a more-than-admirable job. Possibly more synonymous with Texas at this moment than anyone except Nolan Ryan. Give him the nod. Remaining: Baylor, Kansas, A&M, Kansas State (?!?!?) in the Big 12 title game. Not a ton of chances to impress there, but the last two games will have big national audiences at least.

2. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: Higher rating than McCoy (156.59). Eleven TDs, four picks, been put on his ass the same number of times – 21. South Carolina could be a trap game, but the Gamecocks are reeling. After that, there’s FIU, FSU and Bama. If he goes ape in the ‘Bama game – puts UF on his back in the fourth, like he did last time – he probably jumps McCoy and wins No. 2.

3. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
Goes beast against the best: 150 vs. Virginia Tech, 172 vs. a clinically-overrated Ole Miss team, 144 vs. LSU. No Alabama player has ever won Mr. Stiff Arm, which could help him. For him to win, he needs to shine in the rivalry game with Auburn (they’ve been eh since a hot start, so let’s say 150-plus) and then needs to (a) go for 140 and 2 TDs in the SEC title game; (b) win the SEC title game; (c) have Tebow play shitty in the SEC title game; (d) not have Colt McCoy gore whomever he plays that night in the Big 12 title game.

4. Case Keenum, QB, Houston
Right. Gimmick offense. We get it. Numbers are sick: 3,815 yards and 28 TDs. Houston should be undefeated. Who the hell loses to UTEP? Ugh. Can you tell I lost money on that game? I guess it’s kinda transparent. This is always a good time to bring up David Klinger:

Or just read this.

4. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State
His team has not lost. He’s thrown for over 2,700 yards, 27 TDs and 3 INTs. He completes just under 70 percent of his passes. What more can you ask of a college kid playing QB, meh?

5. Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU
This is where we start listing people who we want to mention. TCU rose to No. 4. This guy is an animal and has been for years. He has 125 tackles, 9 sacks, 3 INTs and 1 forced fumble this year. You take him off this defense and it’s still good, maybe even great, but it’s not elite. That could, in a rational world, help Hughes get an invite to New York. As the media focus on Jon and Kate — and Taylor and Taylor OMG! — proves, though, we don’t live in a rational world:

6. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford
The dude has 1,200-plus yards, 16 TDs and is getting muchas lovas from Kiper and McShay. Busted loose for 223 against Oregon in a game that caused Chip Kelly to look up the definition of “trap game” in the EDSBS glossary. This guy screams Tommy Vardell as a pro to me, but hopefully he’s much better. It’s a good thing he’ll be gone soon, though: his coach is probably gonna go Michigan in 16 months. Zing!

7. Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech
See ya in the Orange Bowl or some similar event, sir. He’s averaging 6.5 per carry, it should be noted. Chris Johnson racks 6.7 at the pro level and gets geek love from all the stat nerds. Granted, much harder to do 6-per-plus in the NFL, but still … anyone think Dwyer could average 5.5 on Sundays? I do.