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.

Related articles

• What Johnny Football Needs to Do to Lock Up the Heisman in Death Valley
• It’s all about Johnny Heisman … again
• Heisman Watch 2013: What Each Contender Has Left to Prove

The post Why Johnny Football Gets the Heisman appeared first on KRUI Radio.

It’s not even just the fact that the Mountaineers have lost these past two games, but the way that they have lost them. The defense has allowed 104 points in the last two games. This isn’t too out of the ordinary considering West Virginia ranks 118th in the FBS in points allowed. However, the big surprise has come on the offensive side of the ball.

Smith had his team on a roll through the first five games of the season including a game against Baylor in which he threw eight touchdowns with just six incompletions. Many people, including myself, were pretty much willing to hand him the trophy right then and there. You could probably say that it would have been a mistake.

The Mountaineers have only posted 14 points in each of their last two games. Smith’s production was down in both games, and he threw his first two interceptions of the year against the powerful Kansas State defense.

Collin Klein has most definitely passed Smith as the Heisman favorite, at least for now. Klein has been the key to all seven of the Wildcats’ victories. His ability to balance the use of his legs with an accurate arm (70.5% on the season) has pulled his team all the way up to #3 in the BCS standings.

Klein put all of his talents on display in the Wildcats 55-14 thrashing of West Virginia. His four rushing and three passing touchdowns helped Kansas State cruise to victory and place him atop the Heisman watch lists.

Geno Smith still has a very legitimate shot at winning the Heisman due to some pretty astronomical numbers including a 25-2 touchdown to interception ratio, but Klein’s performance in a head-to-head match-up was simply dominant. Plus, Klein’s candidacy is strengthened by one very important statistic: wins. The longer the Wildcats stay undefeated (they have a strong chance of staying that way until bowl season) the stronger Klein’s candidacy becomes.

The post The Heisman Race Heats Up appeared first on KRUI Radio.