The five finalists for the Heisman Trophy have been announced, and here at Cappers Info, we are making our final Heisman Trophy predictions about the man that we think is going to win this award as well as rank out the rest of the finalists.
Heisman Trophy Pick No. 1: Trent Richardson, Alabama Crimson Tide (+450 at Wager Web Sportsbook): Consider us going against the grain with this one. In our eyes, had Alabama beaten LSU, this would have been a runaway, and there wouldn’t be a player in the country that could hold a candle to what Richardson did this year. The man ran for 1,583 yards and came up with a total of 23 TDs in the SEC (West, no less). We know that RB Mark Ingram had two more games to play than Richardson did this year, so let’s look at the averages for both players. Richardson averaged 21.9 carries, 131.9 rushing yards, and 1.9 TDs per game. Ingram in 2009 averaged 19.4 carries, 118.4 rushing yards, and 1.2 TDs per game. Sorry, but the comparison isn’t even close. If Ingram was good enough to win the Heisman Trophy, in a year in which there aren’t really all that many serious contenders, we would see no reason why Richardson wouldn’t be able to win the award. We warned that Richardson might be the more talented of the two backs in that Alabama backfield when Ingram won the Heisman, and we think that it would be an injustice if he didn’t win the award this year.
Heisman Trophy Pick No. 2: Montee Ball, Wisconsin Badgers (+5000 at Wager Web Sportsbook): Ball clearly isn’t going to win the Heisman Trophy, but we still would rather take 50 to 1 on Ball than lay those ridiculously hefty odds with RG3. It’s hard to argue with the fact that Ball is a finalist, and we are all about giving him the honor after he led the nation in rushing and in total touchdowns. Remember that Ball was in a split backfield on a team that set the record for most passing touchdowns in a season in Wisconsin history, and he still came up with 38 total TDs, a dozen more than anyone else in the country. The next two rushers in line, RB Bobby Rainey and RB Ronnie Hillman played in the Sun Belt and the Mountain West, which gives all the more credit to what Ball was able to do as a player in the rough and tumble Big Ten.
Heisman Trophy Pick No. 3: Robert Griffin III, Baylor Bears (-950 at Wager Web Sportsbook): Is Griffin going to win this award? Probably. That doesn’t mean that we are going to justify laying nearly 1 to 10 on him to do it. We’re thrilled to see a Baylor player here as a Heisman Trophy favorite. Griffin was the most important recruit, arguably in the history of the school, and he has now paved the way for this program to take some big time strides in the right direction for years to come. On the field, his stats were fantastic. He was fourth in the country in passing touchdowns with 36, and he only threw six picks to offset those. He threw for 3,998 yards and rushed for 655 more, and he also had nine TDs with his legs. Even in his most difficult games, like the one against the Oklahoma Sooners, Griffin came up with huge stats, and that’s what really separates him from the rest of the Heisman candidates.
Heisman Trophy Pick No. 4: Andrew Luck, Stanford Cardinal (+500 at Wager Web Sportsbook): We’re just not all that sure that Luck should be here as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Let’s list some of the numbers for some of the best quarterbacks in the country this year, and you be the one that makes the call. Luck threw for 3,185 yards and 35 TDs against nine picks and posted an 11-1 record. QB Case Keenum threw for 5,099 yards and 45 TDs, both of which were clearly tops in the nation running away, and he had a 12-1 record. QB Brandon Weeden threw for 4,328 yards and 34 TDs, though he did throw 12 INTs, but he also posted an 11-1 record and won the Big XII. QB Matt Barkley threw for 3,528 yards with a 39/7 TD/INT ratio, and he went 10-2 and would have probably won the Pac-12 had his team not been on probation. QB Kellen Moore had 3,507 yards and 41 TDS against seven picks for an 11-1 team, and he has been one of the most successful quarterbacks in terms of career stats and in terms of wins and losses in the history of college football. Sorry, Luck. We buy that you are the best quarterback prospect in the country at the next level, but we don’t think that you are a deserving Heisman Trophy candidate with those stats.
Heisman Trophy Pick No. 5: Tyrann Mathieu, LSU Tigers (+12500 at Wager Web Sportsbook): We keep saying that we don’t know about Luck. We absolutely know about Mathieu. We just don’t buy the fact that he is here in New York at all. Two punt returns for touchdowns in the last two weeks were nice, but the truth of the matter is that the only reason Mathieu is here is because the CBS announcers have played him up over the last two weeks like he is the greatest thing since sliced bread and because he has a laughable nickname, “Honey Badger.” Give us a break. Mathieu might be the best defensive player in the nation, but he isn’t a better player than Patrick Peterson was last year, and we aren’t so sure that his season, which remember was cut short because of a suspension earlier in the year for off the field problems, was that much better than that of men like Glenn Dorsey either. Meanwhile, Brandon Weeden, Case Keenum, and LaMichael James are left home? There is a degree of injustice about this decision. Just because Mathieu is the best player on the best team in the country doesn’t mean that he is deserving of his spot as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
