Heisman: Who ya got?

Honest to God, I almost listed him, but it wouldn't have been worth the inside joke to have 18 people say "Why the hell is Kessler on there and not (my college's best stat accumulator)?"

 

#1: 292-413 (70.7) for 3,505 yards with 36 TDs and 4 picks, 168.8 passer rating, sacked 30 times.

#2: 229-334 (68.6) for 3,470 yards with 36 TDs and 2 picks, 190.2 passer rating, sacked 29 times.

Mariota obviously is #2 and is having a better season.

And yes, UCLA humped the shit out of USC but weird shit happened in the first half i.e. dropped touchdown, Mora's cocksucker timeout to nullify another TD. Would have been really cool to see USC win that, then beat the shit out Notre Dame to set up the Pac 12 title game between USC and Oregon (assuming Arizona still beat Arizona State).

 

And no, I'm not advocating for Kessler after the UCLA loss.

Would've made it interesting though had USC won.

 

Kessler has quietly had a pretty great year, no doubt. Is he back next year? What about his receivers?

 

It's interesting anyway.

 

I saw a breakdown that showed Kessler piled up his stats against the less than formidable on the schedule so he's not in the conversation.

 

Yeah. That's been established. Thanks, though.

 

Are we allowed to disqualify Mariota's otherworldly competition such as South Dakota and Wyoming and Wazzu and Colorado?

What about Melvin Gordon's games against powerhouses such as Western Illinois (whopping 38 yards on 17 carries) and Bowling Green and South Florida?

Then there's Amari Cooper's breakout games against behemoths Florida Atlantic, Southern Miss and Western Carolina etc etc etc.

 

I found that Kessler is a junior. As is Nelson Agholor. If they both come back (I haven't heard anything to suggest otherwise), Kessler has a real shot to get a few 5th place votes next year.

I also found nine QBs listed on the USC roster that's posted on ESPN.com. The fuck?

 

For a QB from a non-national title contender to win the Heisman, his stats have to be over the moon in a Tebow/Andre Ware sort of way. Kessler's team is not good enough to get him in the coversation.

Assuming he doesn't play poorly in a loss Saturday, it's Mariota's award to lose. Cooper or Gordon in some order are 2-3.

There might not be anyone else invited to New York.

 

Just because I'm bored....

USC all-time passing leaders:
Barkley: 47 games, 12,327 yards, 64%, 116 TD, 48 INT
Palmer: 52 games, 11,668 yards, 59.1%, 72 TD, 49 INT
Leinart: 41 games, 10,693 yards, 64.8%, 99 TD, 23 INT
Johnson: 38 games, 8,472 yards, 64.6%, 58 TD, 28 INT
Peete: 44 games, 8,225 yards, 53%, 54 TD, 42 INT
**********************
Kessler: 27 games, 6,482 yards, 68.3%, 56 TD, 11 INT

 

For his career, Melvin Gordon has averaged 8.04 yards per carry (on 571 attempts).

That ranks second all-time among NCAA FBS players with 300 or more attempts.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/leaders/rush-yds-per-att-player-career.html

The all-time leader is Chuck Weatherspoon, who averaged 8.22 yards per carry at Houston from 1987-90. Weatherspoon played in a run-and-shoot offense, which presumably forced opposing linebackers to drop into coverage on nearly every play and opened up his running lanes.

Gordon plays in an offense where everyone pretty much knows who's getting the ball. And yet they still can't stop him.

The only guy to average even 7.0 yards per carry with more attempts than Gordon is Mike Rozier. Reggie Bush is the only other guy in the Top 10 in rushing average with even 400 attempts.