Getting the Best of Luck

We know who always wins the Heisman.  It’s usually the best player on the best team and 9 times out of 10 he’s a quarterback or running back.  This year, though, things are different.  This year we may just see something we haven’t seen in a while: a Heisman trophy going to a team that didn’t win it’s conference and isn’t headed to the BCS.  In fact for the first time ever, I believe the Heisman trophy will be finding a home in Waco, Texas.  Stop laughing.  Hear me out.

Five finalists have been invited to New York.  The best player on the best team is one of them, but the LSU “Honey Badger” Tyrann Mathieu isn’t going to win.  He’s a great defensive back and an electric return man, but if you look back at guys like this in the Heisman trophy race it’s a short list of winners and those on it had remarkable, eye-popping seasons.  Mathieu is special… but he’s not that special. 

When I hear the running back argument, it seems I hear more about Albama’s Trent Richardson than I do about Wisconsin’s Montee Ball.  That’s a shame.  Richardson has some pretty good numbers, but nothing that puts him in this type of class and Montee Ball has been in the end zone more than the guy who paints it.  Ball led the nation in touchdowns and rushing yards, but Richardson wins the Doak Walker award?  Silly.  But it just goes to the point - running back votes are split.  Neither of these guys is winning the Heisman.

So that leaves two quarterbacks.  One of them is the talk of the NFL.  Andrew Luck is the assumptive #1 pick in next year’s NFL draft and it has been alleged on numerous occasions that the Indianapolis Colts are losing games on PURPOSE to have a shot at this kid.  He’s that gifted.  I have no doubt that his skill set will serve him well on Sundays.  He has everything the scouts are looking for and my guess is that he’ll be a fixture in the league for quite some time.  Here’s the thing, though: he wasn’t the best quarterback in college football this year.

Robert Griffin III has been everything for the Baylor Bears.  People hear his name and see a couple of highlights and they write him off as a running quarterback.  Well, he does run… 500+ yards more than Luck did this year.  But the story doesn’t end there.  Not even close.  Would you be surprised to know that RG3 threw for more yards this year than Luck?  I thought you might.  Of course, yards isn’t everything.  There’s touchdowns and interceptions.  Griffin threw more touchdown passes than Luck.  Oh – and he threw fewer interceptions.  But accuracy must be taken into account, as well.  Robert Griffin III completed a higher percentage of his passes than Andrew Luck. 

The only category where Luck comes out on top is team wins and quite often that is a deal-breaker.  Stanford certainly is better-respected nationally than Baylor and the Cardinal are headed to a BCS bowl game.  Factor that into the equation with a quarterback who’s the envy of every NFL war room and usually this is a slam dunk. 

Again - this year, though, things are different.  The NFL stallion in question plays on the West coast.  The vast majority of the voters don’t live on the West coast.  Those late starts add up a much smaller audience watching Luck do his thing.  Don’t get me wrong, they see a few highlights here and there – enough to know he’s good and enough to get excited about seeing him at the next level – but they only see a couple of key games that hit primetime… and in those games, Luck was good, not great.  In some years there isn’t a truly viable alternative and the West Coast guy wins anyway.  Not this year.

Everyone watched what RG3 did to Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago on national TV, and it got him some much-needed attention.  Add to that some flashy numbers on conference championship Saturday over Texas while Luck sat on the couch and Griffin suddenly was very much on the radar.  So what’s left?  Well, if I’m a voter, I guess I need to take my first real look at the season’s stats.

One more time (you know, for the drama): Robert Griffin III threw for more yards, ran for more yards, threw more touchdown passes, fewer interceptions and did it all while completing a higher percentage of passes than Andrew Luck.

He was better.  And it’s going to shock a lot of people when his name is called to accept the Heisman trophy.

Don’t be surprised.  He’s really good.  And this time around, it’s better to be good than Luck.

The BS National Championship Game

Later today the powers that be will let us know which two teams will play for this year's BCS National Championship game.  The LSU Tigers are easily the #1 team in this discussion and their ticket to the big game is already punched. 

Pollsters then had to make a big decision: who's number 2?

Conventional wisdom tells us that the Alabama Crimson Tide will be playing LSU on January 9th.  But there is no wisdom in that outcome. 

It was just a month ago that college football brought us this year's "Game of the Century" as LSU marched into Alabama for a showcase of the top two teams in the polls.  It provided a close, but extremely ugly game where neither team reached the end zone... neither team went over 300 yards of offense... each team turned the ball over twice... and there were four missed field goals.  Yes - 4.  Five field goals WERE made, however, and LSU got out of town with a 9-6 overtime win.  If you aren't a hard-core fan of one of those schools you did NOT enjoy that game.  There are actually people who claim that they want to see that rematch.  Wow. 

The purpose of the National Championship Game is to determine the best team in the country.  I already know who's better between LSU and Alabama.  You know how I know?  They already played.  LSU went into hostile territory and won in Tuscaloosa.  They also won their division, their conference and their conference championship game.  Alabama did none of those things.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys only lost one game this year.  It was also in overtime.  It was to a lesser team to be sure, but it was on the road and less than 24 hours after a tragic plane crash took the lives of two members of the OSU athletic family.

The SEC crowd is shouting loud that theirs is the best conference and a one-loss season in the SEC far outweighs a one-loss season in the Big 12.  The funny thing about that is... they're wrong in this case.

Based on where teams were ranked on the day they played them, Alabama has wins over the #12, 14, 23 and 24 teams.  Oklahoma State beat the #8, 10, 14, and 22nd rated teams.  Advantage Cowboys.

You can just hear them in Tuscaloosa... "But it's not where they are when you play them - it's where they are at the end!"

I couldn't agree more.

Based on the most recent BCS standings from last week, Oklahoma State has now beaten five of the top 25 teams.  Alabama?  Only 2.  The plain truth (cover your ears SEC apologists) is that it was harder to be Oklahoma State this year than it was to be Alabama. 

It's one thing to be a part of a great conference, but when you don't have to PLAY everyone in that conference, there's a chance that this happens.  There are 5 truly relevant teams in the SEC right now (top 25 in the BCS standings):  LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and South Carolina.  Alabama beat Arkansas - their best win.  They lost to LSU and they didn't even have to play Georgia or South Carolina.  Even a diehard Dixieland supporter can't argue that beating Kansas State, Texas, Baylor and Missouri is more impressive than beating Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.  All they need to do is look at the polls.

The truth is, we should skip the National Championship Game this year and give the trophy to LSU today.  The Tigers have already earned it.

But if we're supposed to believe that the title is still up for grabs how can we send a team that already had their chance - at HOME - and lost?  Especially when there's another team waiting in the wings whose resume' is surprisingly better.  If the SEC truly wants to call themselves the best conference they should welcome this test, not cry for a re-tread of a game that has already been decided... and in disappointing fashion.