Heisman Trophy Voting Has Become a Joke-- Case Keenum Not Expecting an Invite to New York
Why Has Case Keenum Not Been Mentioned in the Same Breath as Mark Ingram or Colt McCoy?
Is it enough attention to get Keenum an invite to the Nokia Theater in Times Square on December 14th. Unfortunately no. Most of the voters, even the former players have already expressed no interest on placing Keenum on their selection list. According to ESPN.com in their informal poll this is their top five:
1) Mark Ingram Alabama RB
2) Toby Gerhart Stanford RB
3) Colt McCoy Texas QB
4) CJ Spiller Clemson RB
5) Kellen Moore Boise State QB
Let's take a quick look at the five candidates ESPN ranked 1-5 :
The sophomore Ingram has 1399 yards and 12 touchdowns with games against Auburn and the SEC title game against Florida on December 5th. He can conceivably have 1600 yards before his bowl game. One of the problems that is glaringly obvious is the fact that the Heisman Trophy should not be given out until after the Bowls are played. That is the only fair way to do award the trophy.
Gerhart has 1539 yards this year and 23 touchdowns and has one game against Notre Dame left on the schedule. Gerhart will have a big day against the Irish. Gerhart's marquis game was against the USC Trojans. He rushed for 175 yards. and three scores.
McCoy in his senior year has a had a good season at Texas. His QB rating is at 152.3 heading into his game with Texas A&M and he has thrown for 3024 yards and 23 touchdowns. McCoy's biggest games have come against weak teams such as UCF, Louisiana Monroe, Wyoming and UTEP.
The senior out of Clemson, Spiller is a bit of a wild card here. A few players could be considered over him including Case Keenum and Kellen Moore. Spiller stats heading into Thanksgiving weekend are 894 yards and seven touchdowns. Curious stats for the player picked fourth. He has had some big plays but this an overall achievement for the year.
Moore the sophomore out of Boise State is in the pass happy WAC with a pass happy coach. The same could be said of Case Keenum also. Both should be ranked higher though. Moore has A QB rating of 168.79 and his 33 touchdowns is more than any of the other candidates. Moore has thrown for 2791 yards this year also.
Now that is ESPN's top five. Here is how Case Keenum stacks up against them.
Keenum, a junior at Houston has led his team to a 9-2 record and has thrown for 36 touchdowns. Three touchdowns more than Kellen Moore. Case also has thrown for 4599 yards this year which blows away the competition. His 159.15 QB rating is just a little below that of Kellen Moore.
The problem with Keenum is he didn't get the exposure he deserved from the likes of ESPN and CBS sports. Keenum was running an uphill battle from the start. It is a shame that if your not in an elite program you have no chance to win the Heisman. Keenum at least deserves to sit down in New York at the awards ceremony so they can look him in the face when they disrespect him.
Published by Todd Jacobs
Todd Jacobs is from Anaheim, California and resides in the city of Las Vegas. Todd worked for Orange Coast Magazine as News Editor in the '80s and recently began writing for several online sites including:... View profile
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- Keenum has thrown for 4599 yards and 36 touchdowns, more than any other QB candidate
- Houston is 9-2 under Keenum
- Colt McCoy has only 3024 yards passing this year
6 Comments
Post a CommentGood point I did write a story later and gave Spiller more credit. I think Spiller should have been in New York today also. I'm not afraid to say I was wrong abot Spiller. He had a great ACC Championship game also.
This is coming in late, but seriously, did you just allude to the fact that CJ Spiller didn't deserve the Heisman because of his rushing numbers. Have you watched any of Clemson's games this year? Dude returned 4 kickoffs and a punt for TD's and caught 43 passes. He does it all. Not to mention he had an injured toe all year. Unfortunately, like you, most of the voters haven't watched much college football this year.
Here's what happens... The Heisman Award goes to the marquee player from the most popular school. That's it. No ifs. No ands. No buts. Most often, that's the QB. Sometimes, it's the RB. Look at the last 10 years. 8 QBs. 2 RBs. A total of 1 NFL starter. (Carson Palmer) 3 backups. (Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Troy Smith.) Just try telling me that it's based off anything but being the most popular player on the most popular team, and try to back it up.
Are you serious? Did you just say Case Keenum is the most talented player in college football? Wow... you must not watch much college football cause from my understanding the heisman is given to the most outstanding player, meaning stats, contribution to team, and his team's performance. But if that isn't right and the award is supposed to go to the most talented player, should it not go to Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska? Oh, and by the way Colt McCoy hasn't won the heisman before, in the 3 years that he has started they have been: 2006 Troy Smith, 2007 Tim Tebow, 2008 Sam Bradford. So of the three biggest named quarterbacks you named the only one not to win the heisman.
Houston didn't lose to Tulsa, but they do have their two losses because of their defense, not Keenum. What this article doesn't mention is that Keenum had those 407 yards (and 5 TDs) in just over a half. He was pulled early in the 3rd quarter. This against a defense that is ranked similarly to what McCoy faced against A&M, but suddenly his 300 yards and 3 TDs (against the #110 ranked pass defense) has made him the favorite? Take a look at Keenum's numbers compared to McCoy's in their 4 common opponents. It's not even close. Take Keenum away from Houston, and they not only wouldn't be ranked, but they may not even be bowl eligible. Take away McCoy, and Garret Gilbert most likely still has Texas 12-0. Again, Texas' defense has made them what they are.
Despite not even playing on the best unit of Texas' team (their defense), McCoy will probably win it. Regardless, the award is indeed becoming a joke.
There's a good reason why Keenum is not in the Heisman hunt: Heisman winners do not lose games to Tulsa and Central Florida. Fair or not, Keenum plays for a Conference USA team. In order for Keenum to have a legitimate shot at the Heisman, he needs to have a nearly flawless season (this is true, actually, for just about any Heisman candidate). Imagine if McCoy and his Longhorns had lost to Baylor or if Tebow and the Gators had lost to Vanderbilt. Their Heisman chances would have also taken a hit. Yes, Keenum has put up incredible numbers, but voters are wary of Andre Ward syndrome.