The other day, I was looking through some of my things from
college when I came across a few articles I wrote during my sophomore year while
I worked for the school newspaper, the Lakeholm Viewer. I had almost entirely
forgotten about them, and it was fun reading back through them. I figured since
this is my collection of things I have written, I would add them on here. Sorry
if they aren’t amazing. I was only a sophomore!
Heisman race: Big Ten
quarterbacks lead Heisman race
By Zach Zeltman
Staff Writer
October 29, 2010
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| Former Ohio State Quarterback holding his Heisman Trophy |
College football fans are witnessing yet another exciting
Heisman race this year.
Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Michigan
quarterback Denard Robinson are two of the leading candidates for this year’s
esteemed trophy.
Pryor was having a great season leading the Buckeyes to a
number one national ranking until they were run over by the Wisconsin Badgers.
Much to the dismay of many in Ohio, the quarterback from the
Michigan Wolverines has passed Pryor in the current Heisman running, according
to many college football experts.
Robinson, who has led Michigan to a stellar start to the
2010 season, has emerged as a phenomenal playmaker for the Wolverines.
Pryor “could lead the Buckeyes to a national title,” said
Dari Nowkhah, an analyst for ESPN.
“But he falls short of Robinson when it comes to being the
game’s ‘most outstanding player.’ That’s not a knock on Pryor—he has playmakers
all around him. He doesn’t have to make every play. Robinson does.”
The only way that Robinson wouldn’t win the Heisman, according
to Nowkhah, is if he gets hurt, which may happen since he does so much of the
ball carrying for the Wolverines.
Pete Flutak wrote an article for Scout.com at the end of
last season where he rated this year’s top 20 Heisman candidates.
He didn’t even include Robinson, who is having a breakout
season, on the list. He threw for 200 yards and rushed for 200 yards for the
second time in his career against Indiana earlier this year.
He was only the second player in college football history to
do so, accomplishing this feat in just his fifth game as a starter.
Mark Ingram, who won the Heisman last year, is having
another great season so far.
He missed the first two games with an injury but has
continued his impressive numbers since his return.
If Robinson continues to put up monumental numbers, Ingram
has a slim chance to regain the momentum needed to win back-to-back Heisman
awards.
According to the ESPN’s Expert Poll released after week
five, Denard Robinson had nearly twice as many points as the second highest
candidate, LaMichael James.
Pryor was then fourth on this list, but close behind the
second and third-place contenders.
However, one game can make or break a college football
season.
In week six, when Michigan hosted Michigan State, Robinson
faced the best defense he had seen all year.
He had an unimpressive game, to say the least.
He finished the game with one touchdown pass, one rushing
touchdown and three interceptions.
To his credit, he had quite a few well-thrown passes, which
his receivers dropped, but if he plans on winning the Heisman, he is going to
have to find a way to get the job done.
Then a week later, against Iowa, Robinson managed a measly
201 yards of total offense for the game with just one touchdown.
The problem Robinson will continue to face the rest of the season is the
defense focusing on him since the rest of the offense is not as remarkable.
He has the ability to make plays with his arm and with his
feet, but he needs to start getting more help from his teammates so defenses
won’t be able to contain him so much.
Terrelle Pryor had much more success in week six, throwing
for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
However, his subpar performance at Wisconsin will likely destroy his chances of
winning the Heisman this year.
Oregon’s running back, LaMichael James, is starting to gain much more
attention. He has led the Ducks to a first place ranking in the Associated
Press poll.
James is an explosive player who continues to put up
consistently impressive numbers against better competition than Robinson has
seen this year.
If Oregon continues to win games with James leading the way,
he could end up hoisting the Heisman at the end of the year.
Whether or not the Wolverine quarterback can win the Heisman
this year is yet to be seen.
The good news for Michigan fans is that Robinson is only a
sophomore. This means if he gets some better players around him in the
following two years, he may have a much better chance at college football
immortality.
*Update: The end of the 2010 season got a tad crazy. When I say a tad, I mean extremely. Cam Newton, from Auburn, won the Heisman, and it was not even close. Michigan (not surprisingly) fell apart down the stretch, and Denard Robinson dropped all the way to sixth in the final voting. LaMichael James finished third. Terrelle Pryor and Mark Ingram did not even finish in the top 10. Current Colts QB, Andrew Luck finished second in just his sophomore season. Two other current NFL QBs, Colin Kaepernick and Andy Dalton, finished eighth and ninth respectively.
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| Cam Newton giving his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech |
