Landry Jones could be the second OU QB in three years to win the Heisman.
Predicting who will win NCAA college football's Heisman Trophy is a tough task even with a couple of weeks left in the regular season, let alone in the middle of July, and there is always plenty of debate.
Let the debate begin. The list is heavy on experienced quarterbacks and running backs that could put up big stats for national title contenders, which has been the formula for eight of the last 10 winners.
Don’t expect Alabama running back Mark Ingram to become the first back-to-back Heisman recipient since Ohio State’s Archie Griffin turned the trick 35 years ago. Despite being the favorite at The Greek.com with plus 350 odds, Ingram is going to have to be even better than he was in 2009 when he led the Crimson Tide to college football’s penthouse.
That’s going to be a tough task in large part because of the presence of sophomore Trent Richardson in the same backfield.
Ingram took most of the carries over Richardson last NCAAF college season — any Heisman winner should carry the load — but don’t be surprised if that changes this year in favor of Richardson, a special talent who should be unleashed.
That leaves the door ajar for a quartet of quarterbacks with impressive credentials and legitimate Heisman hopes.
Troy Smith led the Ohio State Buckeyes to an unbeaten regular season in 2006 and won the trophy and Terrelle Pryor could do the same in 2010.
The combination of eight home games and a ferocious defense that ranks third nationally over the last six years makes Ohio State serious title contenders.
After a loss at Purdue, Pryor took matters into his own hands, leading the Buckeyes to a six-game season-ending win streak, including a Rose Bowl win over Oregon. He still must prove he’s more than a running quarterback and become more consistent, especially in big games.
Pryor is at plus 500 on the betting board, second behind Ingram.
Houston gunslinger Case Keenum (plus 1200) should set the NCAA record for career passing yards this season and the Cougars have a shot at running the table, which includes three games versus BCS conference teams.
Keenum, who finished eighth in the balloting last year, threw for 5,671 yards and 44 touchdowns. All of his top skill players have returned and third-year coach Kevin Sumlin has challenged his young gun to do even better this fall.
Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones (plus 2000) is essentially a year ahead of schedule. He appeared in all 13 games last season — starting 10 because of Sam Bradford’s injuries — and passed for 3,198 yards and 26 touchdowns. Expect Jones to surpass those numbers in 2010 as all-everything running back DeMarco Murray and record-setting wide receiver Ryan Broyles stay aboard the Sooner Schooner.
OU faced the second toughest schedule in the land in 2009 and four of its five losses were by a total of 12 points.
TCU’s Andy Dalton, who isn't listed among the NCAA college football betting odds at TheGreek.com, has developed into a reliable, talented quarterback who understands coach Gary Patterson’s multiple offense. The reigning Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year ranked second in the league and eighth in the nation in pass efficiency, and his 212-yard passing average was third in the MWC.
The fact that Patterson didn’t depart Fort Worth for greener coaching pastures after last season indicates how he feels about TCU’s immediate future. With 54 lettermen and 17 starters returning, the Horned Frogs will be in the thick of the hunt to return to a BCS bowl game.
Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett is third on the odds list (plus 1000) among the Heisman contenders.
Mallet nursed a broken foot that caused him to miss the entire spring. However, once he is healthy this fall, the Fayetteville faithful will watch the most talented Razorbacks team since the Darren McFadden/Felix Jones days.
The 6-foot-7, 238-pounder with an NFL football arm will be the Southeastern Conference’s best quarterback throwing to his five returning receivers behind a line returning its core.
Coach Bobby Petrino’s offense is good enough to win an SEC title, but his NCAAF college defense is still a work in progress after giving up 401.8 yards per game and a league-worst 251.8 passing yards a game in 2009.