I hold true to my word this week. Ingram remains among the elite in the Heisman race and is still the frontrunner. He has a huge test this weekend against LSU and I believe if he can get 150 yards and Alabama wins, Ingram will have the Heisman trophy at the end of the season. Ingram is clearly the top player in the country right now and if he has a dominating performance against one of the nation's stingiest defenses, he'll have no reason not to be the winner. In a year that lacks standouts, the sophomore back has established himself as the next person up to the task of competing for multiple Heismans.
2. Case Keenum
What did I say last week about Keenum? Needing to do something big? The answer by Keenum is still echoing. 559 yards and 5 touchdowns, throwing for over 80 percent. I've decided I don't care at all what team Keenum plays on. If Ingram comes up slow this week, Keenum is the clear number 2 on this list and will take over the top spot. Keenum has fallen out of the spotlight in the national media to a degree, but any college football fan knows what Keenum did and how he performed clutch, while his defense struggled. Keenum is the real. System quarterbacks throw for 300 yards, not 500+ two times in one season.
3. CJ Spiller
I could have eliminated him off the list, but I'm not going to. Spiller had 27 yards and a touchdown this week, but his team dominated Coastal Carolina by over 40. There's no reason for Dabo to risk injury to his best player when Clemson still has a shot at the ACC Championship and Spiller has his draft status being evaluated weekly. It's almost relieving to see players earning their stats in meaningful games and not just padding them against the crappy teams on the schedule. Spiller needs to make a big impact for an improved Tiger team this weekend against Florida State if Spiller wants to justify my reasoning for this move.
4. Golden Tate
Tate makes the Golden Child "golden." Jimmy Clausen has played well this year, but when you have Tate at your disposal and Michael Floyd playing half the time, it's not too hard to put up some stats. With Floyd's injury (who is coming back this week), Tate developed into a more dynamic role in the offense and has been a more receiver version of Dexter McCluster. I expect Tate to surpass 1000 yards through the air and 10 TDs this weekend, impressive stats for a receiver. Tate is playing Navy this weekend and he needs to put up big numbers against a team Temple beat.
5. Earl Thomas
I really wanted to put Daryll Clark here again after another good performance against Northwestern, playing well while the rest of the team coasted. Ndamukong Suh is getting all the love and is an All-American for sure, but his team isn't playing well at all and the defense has been giving up too many points as of late. Earl Thomas is the young leader of a suffocating Texas defense. Playing defense is hard to get credit, but Thomas has 6 picks on the season including a huge pick 6 against Oklahoma State. He has another pick 6 on his resume this season to go along with 11 passes broken up. Taylor Mays and Eric Berry will probably be first team All-Americans just on name credit, but Thomas and Iowa safety Tyler Sash are probably having the better years. And no I'm not discrediting Berry for his lack of picks, but rather complementing Sash and Thomas.
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