Sports Illustrated

10. Dec, 2011 0 Comments

Who will take home the Heisman?
Source: SIStewart Mandel and Andy Staples break down the Heisman finalists
and offer their predictions.

Robert Griffin III led Baylor to a 9-3 record while posting a 192.3
efficiency rating and a 72.4 completion percentage.
Patrick Green/Cal Sport Media
The Mandel Initiative Podcast
HeismanPundit.com’s Chris Huston explains how RG3 surged to the top of this
year’s Heisman race. Stewart and Mallory take their shots at the BCS.

From the day Andrew Luck announced he was returning to Stanford for another
year, right through the first 12 weeks of this season, the national
consensus was that the 2011 Heisman Trophy was his to lose.

According to various voter straw polls, including the annually accurate
StiffArmTrophy.com, it appears that’s exactly what happened. On Saturday
night, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III will likely be announced as the 77th
Heisman recipient.

There are no established criteria for selecting the Heisman winner. The
ballot simply tells voters to choose the “most outstanding player” in
college football this season, and the electorate’s interpretation of those
ambiguous words seems to fluctuate by the year. Sometimes the winner is the
guy with the gaudiest stats; sometimes it’s the guy who produces the most
memorable highlights.

The reason Griffin — and not Luck, Trent Richardson, Montee Ball or Tyrann
Mathieu — will likely take home this year’s trophy is because he’s the rare
player who embodies both.

“Some years the what trumps the how, some years the how trumps the what,”
said HeismanPundit.com’s Chris Huston. “Griffin is kind of the perfect
combination of both.”

The “what” Huston refers to are a candidate’s numbers. Griffin’s
unquestionably pop off the charts. His 192.3 efficiency rating would break
the NCAA record if the season ended today. His 72.4 completion percentage
would be the highest of any winner. Throw in 3,998 passing yards, 36
touchdowns to just six interceptions and another 644 yards and nine
touchdowns rushing and you’ve got the most thorough incarnation yet of what
Huston refers to as the “hyper-efficient” quarterback. Starting with Troy
Smith in 2006, each Heisman-winning quarterback has posted a higher
efficiency rating than the guy before him. Touchdown-to-interception ratios
continue to widen (See chart).

Heisman Evolution: The ‘Hyper-Efficient’ Quarterback

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