The 2012 College Football season is about set to get underway, and here at Cappers Info, we are getting things started by making our 2012 Heisman Trophy picks. Be sure to keep this page bookmarked, because we are going to be keeping our Heisman Trophy picks up to date periodically throughout the season to see which players are the best in the country!

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 1: Matt Barkley, USC Trojans (+300 at Wager Web Sportsbook): This is simple. Barkley is the best player on the best team in the country right now. Neither Alabama nor LSU seems to have a legitimate Heisman candidate this year, at least off the bat, and we aren’t sold that QB Landry Jones of the Oklahoma Sooners is capable either. Barkley could seriously have a 5,000-yard season when it is said and done with, because Head Coach Lane Kiffin is going to let him rocket the football all over the field game in and game out. The defenses in the Pac-12 just aren’t going to be able to stop him. Barkley is the clear favorite right off the bat to beat the odds to win the Heisman Trophy for good reason.

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 2: Denard Robinson, Michigan Wolverines (+1000 at Wager Web Sportsbook): If you’re going to ultimately back Robinson, this is probably the time to do it, because there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. If the Wolverines are able to beat the Crimson Tide this weekend, Robinson immediately becomes the favorite to win the Heisman. If Michigan loses, it was supposed to lose, and as long as Robinson doesn’t totally embarass himself, he still should be fine. Even if he did make a fool out of himself and turn the ball over seven times or something absurd like that, the opportunities are still going to be there for Robinson to atone for his mistakes and get the job done against the big time teams in the Big Ten.

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 3: Geno Smith, West Virginia Mountaineers (+1200 at Wager Web Sportsbook): Smith has one of the biggest arms in the country, and he definitely isn’t afraid to use it. West Virginia is going to throw the ball and throw it all over the place this year, and Smith will be a natural in the Big XII, where quarterbacks like the aforementioned Jones and the departed Brandon Weeden, Colt McCoy, and the likes have been. Throwing for 40 TDs and 4,000 yards seems to be about the expectation in Morgantown for the first year in the Big XII for West Virginia, and that would make Smith a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in our eyes.

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 4: EJ Manuel, Florida State Seminoles (+2800 at Wager Web Sportsbook): At 28 to 1, Manuel is at least worth a sniff at this point. He isn’t going to put up the gaudy stats that the other guys on this list will, but he is still the quarterback for a team that has a legitimate chance to run the table this year. Manuel does it with his arm and his legs, and he has a lot of things going for him. Unlike Barkley, he plays on the East Coast and voters will get a chance to see all of his games. Unlike Smith and Robinson, Manuel runs more of a pro style offense. And unlike all three guys, Manuel might have the best defense in the country working on his side. That’s a lot to say, knowing that there are a lot of great defenses out there, but Head Coach Jimbo Fisher has built a deep defense that has a lot of talent and depth, and if this unit starts to really get it going, it could make Manuel look like a heck of a player.

There are only three weeks left for the voters to make their Heisman Trophy picks, and here at Cappers Info, we are taking another look at the handful of players that reasonably still have a shot at beating the Heisman Trophy odds.

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 1: Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State Cowboys (+260 at Wager Web Sportsbook): Here’s the thing about Weeden. It’s true that he isn’t going to have 13 games with which to build his case over to win this award, but he is going to have a showcase game on the final day of the regular season, December 5th against the Oklahoma Sooners. With both Luck and Richardson likely not playing for their conference titles, they won’t get a chance to make a lasting impression. The schedule left for both Stanford and Alabama isn’t impressive to say the least, while a win in Bedlam with some impressive numbers against a solid Oklahoma defense would probably put Weeden over the top. Throw out Keenum, and Weeden has the best passing numbers in the nation with 3,635 passing yards and 31 TDs, and unlike Keenum, he is doing it against a schedule that is incredibly tough.

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 2: Case Keenum, Houston Cougars (+1400 at Wager Web Sportsbook): It’s going to take a lot to happen for Keenum to win this award, but just being a finalist should make these Heisman Trophy odds more than worthwhile. It’s really hard to ignore 37 TD passes and 3,951 passing yards, even if Keenum is playing in the defensively challenged Conference USA. Still, Keenum is going to finish up his career with probably right around 19,000 passing yards and around 155 touchdown passes, and he is three wins away from getting his team to the BCS. It’s going to take Weeden falling in Bedlam and Richardson doing nothing particularly memorable over these last three weeks for Keenum to really have a shot at winning the award, but we could see it happening.

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 3: Trent Richardson, Alabama Crimson Tide (+400 at Wager Web Sportsbook): Richardson could rue the day that RB Eddie Lacy poached two TDs from him against the Mississippi State Bulldogs last week. Anyone who watched the LSU/Alabama game knows just how good Richardson really is, though, as he was really the only person that was able to drive the ball against the Bayou Bengals. Richardson has 19 TDs this year in total, and he has 1,523 yards in total offense. Not bad for basically sitting out of 1.5 games because the Tide were so far ahead this year, and it’ll probably be basically two full games this week after halftime against Georgia Southern. If LSU loses to Arkansas next week, the door could swing open for the Tide to roll into the SEC Championship Game, and if that’s the case, Richardson will indeed have his one last shot against either Georgia or South Carolina to prove that he is worthy of the Heisman.

Heisman Trophy Pick No. 4: Andrew Luck (-140 at Wager Web Sportsbook): You’ll notice that we have made Luck our fourth of the reasonable four choices on the Heisman board right now. The only thing that is keeping Luck atop the charts right now is the fact that he had all of the preseason hype as the best player in the nation. Don’t get us wrong, Luck hasn’t done anything to damn him as being the top pick in the NFL Draft. After all the Stanford quarterback has thrown for 2,695 yards and 29 TDs against just seven picks. However, he’s only ranked No. 20 in the nation in passing yards, he’s not in the Top 10 in passing touchdowns, and when push came to shove, his team lost its biggest game of the year at home by 23 points thanks to two of his interceptions. We just don’t buy into the fact that Luck is truly deserving of the Heisman Trophy odds, and we think that it is ridiculous that he is the favorite, let alone the odds on favorite.