Coming into this season, the “sophomore slump” question was on everyone’s mind for Johnny Manziel. He came out of nowhere last season and led Texas A&M to a 11-2 season, including a 41-13 dismantling of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. He also managed to break SEC records set by Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, as a freshman mind you. But this year there seems to be a new “Johnny Football” over in Tallahassee. Another redshirt freshman quarterback named Jameis Winston has his Florida State Seminoles undefeated and currently ranked second in the nation and likely to compete for a national title. But regardless of a team’s record, the Heisman Trophy goes to the nation’s best player. And despite the losses and his off-field issues (which are minor compared to some other players) Johnny Football is still the best player in college football.

Numbers Don’t Lie

I realize that Winston and Baylor’s Bryce Petty are undefeated, and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota only has one loss. But Manziel is beating them in passing yards (3313), passing touchdowns (31), rushing yards (611), and completion percentage (73%). The part of his game that he is not leading in is rushing touchdowns and he still has more than Winston – the Heisman frontrunner. Yes he has more interceptions than any of these other contenders, but he also has almost 50 more passing attempts than the next closest player, Mariota.

No Heisman Moment? Try Every Game

I will give Winston credit that his “Heisman Moment” was going into Death Valley and dismantling then third ranked Clemson 51-14 on national television. His thumping of then number seven Miami 41-14 also helped his candidacy. But Manziel has played this way week in and week out. Last year he snuck up on some teams, but this year everyone knows what he is capable of. Johnny has a target on his back and he is still putting up these numbers. Even in his two losses his team scored 42 and 41 points. And in both of those games he had over 500 yards of total offense.

Records Should Not Be the Only Factor

I am not trying to take anything away from Winston, but if the Seminoles had a loss, he would not be the number one contender. To me, the Heisman Trophy shuld not only go to the nation’s most outstanding player, but to the player that makes the biggest difference on the team. It should be a player whose team would not be the same without him. Florida State’s defense is third best in the nation and only gives up an average of 11.1 points per game – Texas A&M not so much. The Aggies’ defense currently ranks 88^th in the nation and gives up 30.9 points per game. And A&M lost both of their games by a total of 11 points. The bottom line is that is Manziel had a defense close to the caliber that Winston has, he would be undefeated as well.

Put Attitude Aside and Base it Off Performance

Yes we all know about Manziel’s off-field issues. He is basically an average college student. I have heard people say he is a punk and a showboat, but you know what? He can do it. It is not really arrogance when he backs it up week after week. Manziel just got bad press for doing what every other college guy does. But put all the partying and money counting celebrations aside and base it off of his numbers and what he means to his team. If the people do that, it really is a clear choice.

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Each year college football is filled with upsets, dark horses, front runners and thrillers, and his season is no different. With a little over half of the season played, we have seen the mighty fall, teams climb their way up the polls, and unknowns become household names in just a matter of weeks. Now anyone who even pays the slightest attention to college football knows the traditional powerhouses, we know Alabama, Ohio State, and Florida State are good teams. But I want to focus on those we had low, to absolutely zero expectations for coming into this season.

Missouri:

–          Easily the biggest shocker so far this year. Mizzou has not been ranked in the top 5 since the Chase Daniel days nearly five years ago. It’s hard to believe they are only a year removed from a 5-7 season. The Tigers are off to a 7-0 start, the best since moving to the SEC three years ago. After Quarterback James Franklin went down two weeks ago in their victory over Georgia, many figured that was it for the Tigers as they had a tough test against Florida the next week. Obviously this message never got to backup quarterback Maty Mauk as he lead Mizzou past a very stout Gators defense. This week will be another tough test as they host Jadaveon Clowney and the South Carolina Gamecocks. But if they can keep this high powered offense going (and win a shootout against Texas A&M) they may give Alabama a run for the money in the SEC championship.

Texas Tech

–          This team has snuck under the radar this year under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, but the Red Raiders have given Lubbock something to cheer about again as they are off to a 7-0 start. Typical of Texas Tech, their team is led by a dynamic air raid attack, currently ranked second in the nation in passing yards with an average of 416.4 per game. Kingsbury and his new all-Tech staff have this young team fired up, which they will need as they head into the toughest part of their schedule. The Red Raiders have matchups against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and fellow offensive juggernaut Baylor.

Baylor

–          Okay I know their offense has been good the past few years, but I had no idea they were this good. As of today they are ranked first in total points with 64.7 per game, third in passing yards with 414, and seventh in rushing yards with a 300.3. These are video game numbers. I mean, I am a stud at NCAA Football and I don’t think I could put these numbers up. And these are thanks to their two Heisman candidates quarterback Bryce Petty, and running back Lache Seastrunk.

(all stats as of 10/24/13)

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