Darth Wolverine

December 9th, 2011 at 2:19 PM ^

It's really a shame that Tyrann isn't going to win this. He is the best overall player in all of football. I'm so tired of the stupid and overrated Heisman Trophy going to either the RB or QB with the best statistics. It's supposed to go the most outstanding football player in football, not the guy with the most passing yards, or most rushing yards, or most touchdowns. It's a joke that Mathieu isn't going to get it. He is the best defensive back since Charles Woodson and the kid is only a freaking sophomore.

Double Nickel BG

December 9th, 2011 at 2:56 PM ^

but they dont give out the heisman to a DB who isnt even the best DB on his team. While Mathieu had a great season on special teams and had a knack for big plays on defense, I dont think youll see a defensive player win it unless he plays a little offense as well.

Tha Stunna

December 9th, 2011 at 2:56 PM ^

He is a Heisman talent, but he does too many stupid things (smoking synthetic marijuana and getting caught, throwing away a ball before he crossed the goal liine) to be the Heisman winner this year.  He should at least be a frontrunner for next year, however.

joeyb

December 9th, 2011 at 12:03 PM ^

RG3. I wanted him to win so badly that I was rooting for him to have a big game and win even if it meant they passed Michigan and Michigan was not eligible for a BCS bowl. That's how much I think he deserves it.

BrownJuggernaut

December 9th, 2011 at 12:03 PM ^

Montee Ball led the nation in rushing and could break Barry Sanders's NCAA record for most touchdowns in a season in the Rose Bowl. The guy has been particularly large when Wisconsin needed him the most, scoring 17 touchdowns in the last 5 games. It's not an easy pick, but I would give it to him RG3 by a very small margin.

MgoColorado

December 9th, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^

ball is only close because the ncaa is retarded in regards to their records. they now count bowl games, but not retroactively.....Barry had 39 tds in his 11 game regular season, and then 5 in the bowl game, so a grand total of 44 in 12 games. Ball has 38 this year, in 13 games.

Two Hearted Ale

December 9th, 2011 at 12:21 PM ^

Barry Sanders had 39 touchdowns in 11 regular season games in 1988.  In the Holiday Bowl that year he scored five touchdowns in three quarters before he was taken out of the game.  Prior to 2002 Bowl statistics didn't count and for some reason the NCAA hasn't made inclusion of Bowl stats retroactive.  

Montee Ball would have to score six touchdowns in the Rose Bowl to equal what Barry Sanders did in two fewer games.  He is undoubtedly having a great season but it doesn't compare to what Barry did in what was probably the finest season by a running back and maybe by any player in college football.

 

Edit:  Damn you mgoColorado and your amazing brevity skills!

NorthSideBlueFan

December 9th, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^

Montae will have 3 more games than Barry did though, as Bowl games didnt count toward your season stats in those days and they didn't have conf championships or 12 regular season games either.

Barry had:

1988 Regular-season stats (11 games not including bowl game)

Rushing: 344 rushes, 2,628 yards (7.6 ave), 37 TDs

Receiving: 19 receptions, 106 yards, 0 TDs

Returns: 21 Kick returns, 421 yards, 1TD; 10 punt returns, 94 yards, 1TD

Overall 1988 stats (includes bowl game)

as above, except:

Rushing: 373 rushes, 2,850 yards (7.6 ave), 42 TDs (44 Total)

Passing: 1 of 2 for 17 yards

http://sportsratings.typepad.com/college_football/2007/12/barry-sanders-1.html

BrownJuggernaut

December 9th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^

I think he will, but I don't think he'll win. That suspension is going to be huge for voters, especially the Bill Plaschke types (IDK if Plaschke has a vote). While he was huge in the SEC title game, he did not have a huge game against Bama, which I think many people would agree was their most important game. If you look at Woodson's Heisman year, his biggest games were against MSU and OSU, our two biggest rivalry games that year. Mathieu has been the best player on the best team in the country, like Woodson, so he has that going for him.

Numbers-wise, I believe they're pretty similar in terms of takeaways (Honey Badger forces fumbles instead of INTs) and TDs.

MgoSuh

December 9th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^

I really think RG3 is going to win it, based on what I've been hearing over the last week. I really want Montee Ball to win it, and think he is incredibly deserving of it. I mean...when you almost break BARRY SANDERS' touchdown record...you deserve something. I just want to know what the arguments against Montee Ball are?

BrownJuggernaut

December 9th, 2011 at 1:28 PM ^

He was Wisconsin's best player, but only got 40 touches in the two losses. He had 35 rushes combined in those two losses. He averaged 6.4 YPC against MSU and 5.0 YPC against Ohio. If anything, you could say they didn't get him the ball enough. 

Oh yeah, he still managed to score two touchdowns in those games.

I think Ball is getting highly unpublicized as a contender and when you couple that with the fact that he's a Big Ten candidate, I feel strongly to defend him.

Naked Bootlegger

December 9th, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^

I really like Montee Ball (more so because we didn't play against him this year).

I took my son to the Badgers' spring game two years ago.   Before the game, they host a meet n' greet with the players.   The star players get a table to sit at so people can wait forever in line to get autographs.   John Clay was the RB at the table.  We opted instead to grab a picture with Montee Ball where the other RB's were hanging out away from the shining lights.   What a nice guy.    He was buried at #3 on the depth chart, kept fighting, and finally got his chance.   So even though my son is a die-hard UM fan, we still root for Ball to do well.

Clay ousted P.J. Hill (left early for the draft and flamed out).   Ball ousted Clay (left early for the draft and flamed out...maybe).  I don't see anyone ousting Ball - although will he leave early for the NFL draft (under better circumstances than Clay and Hill)?

 

 

 

Drill

December 9th, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^

Stiffarmtrophy.com has accurately predicted the last 9 Heisman winners and they are hugely reliable.  RG3 is going to win, and he will likely win by a margin that puts him in the top 15 of Heisman winners as far as max point percentage goes.  #2 is Luck with about 50%.  #3 is Richardson, #4 is Ball, #5 is Mathieu.

davi2188

December 9th, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^

If Richardson beat Ball, we know that something in wrong (SEC bias). Ball scored mroe touchdowns on his own than over a third of FBS teams scored all together. If Luck beats RG3, we know that something is wrong (Lifetime achievement).

Isn't this supposed to be for "the most outstanding player in college football?"

BraveWolverine730

December 9th, 2011 at 1:12 PM ^

HIghly doubtful.  Alabama has a pretty darn good offensive line itself. Also remember in the first game against State when Ball was out and Wisconsin's offense bogged down? If it was that simple, that wouldn't have happened. 

RagingBean

December 9th, 2011 at 12:25 PM ^

The two most deserving are clearly RGIII and Ball. The other 3 are there thanks to ESPN's hype machine, and if any of them (especially Richardson) win I will be disgusted. That being said, sanity seems to be prevailing and most seem to predict an RGIII win.

lunchboxthegoat

December 9th, 2011 at 12:32 PM ^

RG3 deserves it more than anyone else. Luck is the one that people who don't watch college football vote for, Richardson is for people who live in Alabama. Mathieu is impressive but the suspension really killed him. Ball's record is impressive but he's doing it with like 3 more games than Barry had.

 

There wasn't a game where Barry had less than 150 yards rushing and 2 TDs.  

Think about that...those are Madden numbers. 

 

Ball has had a great year, but its not the best this year and it doesn't touch what Barry did. 

davi2188

December 9th, 2011 at 1:56 PM ^

I saw an interesting stat earlier today on ESPN. There was talk about how Ball got taken out of significant chunks of games because Wisc was so dominant, so this is another way to compare him to Barry:

Ball scored a touchdown every 7.24 touches this year.

Barry scored a touchdown every 8.67 touches in his record breaking year

Just something else to think about