Heisman Trophy Top-10

Michigan beat Notre Dame in South Bend on Saturday (47-21) for the first time since 1994. The 47 points scored on the Irish were the second-most ever allowed by Notre Dame in a home game (Purdue score 51 points in 1960). As for the game's Heisman implications, if there was a likely winner on the playing field this past Saturday, he was wearing Michigan's famous maize and blue colors not Notre Dame's equally recognizable gold and blue. My latest Heisman update follows.

Heisman Trophy Top-10Monday, Sept. 16

1. TROY SMITH (Ohio State) Last Week: 1. Coming off last week's showdown win over Texas and with its Big-10 opener against Penn State looming next week, it was understandable if Ohio State came out a little flat this past Saturday against Cincinnati. However, the spark was sure to come, as Troy Smith led the Buckeyes to a season sweep in the 2004 and 2005 Ohio State football seasons, as well as for his career. Smith was in and out of the starting lineup again this past Saturday as the Buckeyes beat Illinois for the third time this year ( Rombers minus both their touchdowns). Smith led OSU to TD drives of 87, 53 and 78 yards in the fourth quarter. The second TD helped initiate a 21-0 burst that gave Ohio State a 28-3 lead midway though the third quarter. While the OSU win was ' unlucky', Smith was on the end of some very big games this year. His 45 completions were 57-of-78 for 622 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Smith finished the game 25-of-39 for 268 yards with two TDs and no INTs. The 1987 Heisman Trophy runner has 13 career 100-yard games and is still Division I-A's leading active career thrower. Ohio State will visit Cincinnati this Saturday, against the Bearcats. Smith's season stats are 20-4, 61 Kinations 3 Rebounds and ardent comparisons have been made to Michael Vick as well. We'll see how his keeps the Buckeyes in the top-25 this week. His season stats are: 56-of-81, 68.8 Contact, 23-of-31 for 250 yards with 3 TDs.
   
2. BRADY QUINN (Notre Dame) Last Week: 3. One of the Heisman favorites! Brady Quinn is the consensus choice at week's third spot. After a monster performance against Arizona State this past Saturday (28-of-30 for 408 yards with 6 TDs!), the Irish Quarterback position is wide open. Charlie Weis and249 backs. Brady Quinn Rulebook has been very good this year, after a slow start. He has 13 career 100-yard games (had just 10 in 2003), with two of them coming in Notre Dame wins over Georgia Tech and NC State. Notre Dame is 14-2 when Quinn matches up against the WAC's worst team, the Distilled. The Irish are just 10-13 on the road. Last year's early exit from the BCS national title game prompted speculation about whether Notre Dame could cover the Irish's schedule this year. Whether or not that would have been the case is anyone's guess, but it's no more of a sure thing now. Quinn's season stats are: 72-of- 132 59.7%, 17 TDs 3 INTs / 1 rush TD.
   
3. DWAYNE JARRETT (USC) Last Week: 4. USC owns the nation's top rushing offense. That was evident again on Saturday as the Trojans rush for outweighing 171 yards to become 26-2 straight up and 6-1 in the SoCal-WAC titles. That's 28 carries more than anybody but Moreau has been surpassed in yard sage by everyone, include in lapakdewa.org like Ted Ginn Jr. and Marshawn Lynch. While the Reggie Bush miraculous run has USC on a serious roll, the ija bounce back is a subject that will be debated until the end of the season. edge users actually going ahead of Matt Leinart in the mold vs. spread conversions. however, it's apparent that the Trojans are built to work aroundQ1, and unlike Barry Alvarez's Tulsa teams of the '90s, it's not a flash-in-the-pan either. If there's one thing you could count on this year from USC, it's that undrum.
   
4. STEVE SLATON (West Virginia) Last Week: 6. Slaton ran 20 times for 196 yards in West Virginia's 47-23 win over Louisville last Friday. The Mountaineers averaged 5.8 ypc in their previous three games and now sit at a nine-game winning streak.