Heisman Top 5 -- Week 13

My disclaimer as always: The Heisman trophy is given to the best player in the country and that is how I look at the award. The best player may not be on the best team in the country. There are many things that go into being the best player including stats, leadership, and what you mean to your team. Dennis Dixon went down last week and although he is still on my list because of how great his year was and how much he meant, I left him off of this list and have 5 healthy players. Here is my Top 5 starting this week:

Tim Tebow - Quarterback - Florida
Stats - 11 Games 177.5 Rating 68.5 % 2,870 Yards 26 TD 6 INT 749 Rush Yards 20 TD
Last Week: 25-34 338 Yards 3 TD 1 INT 31 Yards Rushing 1 TD
The Gators were expected to blow out FAU and maybe give Tebow some time off, but the defense did not step up until later in the game and Tebow had to stay in and lead the offense. He set a career mark in passing with 338 yards and became the first player in FBS history to have 20 passing and 20 rushing touchdowns in the same season. We all saw what happened to Oregon when Dixon went down, and I believe the same would happen to the Gators if Tebow were to go down. Much like Dixon, Tebow is the emotional leader of the team and pumps up both the offense and defense. If there was ever a sophomore deserving to win the award it is Tebow.

Chase Daniel - Quarterback - Missouri
Stats: 11 Games 155.1 Rating 69.3 % 3,590 Yards 30 TD 9 INT 252 Rush Yards 3 TD
Last Week: 28-41 284 Yards 4 TD
Daniel moved up because of another great performance last week, but also due to Dixon's injury and Mike Hart's terrible day against OSU. Daniel has had a great season and has Missouri with a chance to go to the National Championship game. He has carried this team when they need it and seems to help them respond offensively when other teams score on them. This week will be a big test for them as they play Kansas and could do wonders for his Heisman chances.

Pat White - Quarterback - West Virginia
Stats: 10 Games 153.5 Rating 69% 1,391 11 TD 3 INT 958 Rush Yards 12 TD
Last Week: 13-19 120 Yards 1 INT155 Rush Yards 2 TD
The Mountaineers played a game with huge Big East implications on Saturday against Cincinnati. Cincy was a team that many thought would upset the Mountaineers because of how good Cincy's defense is and style that they run. I watched the entire game and what I came away with was that White may be just as important to his team as Dennis Dixon was to Oregon. Cincy was playing great defense and was able to stop Slaton and the wide outs. The game was close until WVU just let Pat White do his thing. White was able to make the reads and run all over Cincy, but also had the vision to make the pitches to get more yards. WVU has one loss this season and that was the game that White only played a quarter of.

Darren McFadden - Running Back - Arkansas
Stats: 11 G 1,519 Rush Yards 12 TD 3-5 Passing 3 TD 164 Receiving Yards 1 TD
Last Week: 28 Rush 88 Yards 1-1 Passing 1 TD 4 Receptions 50 Yards 1 TD
Face it, the guy is the most talented player in college football. He has scored a touchdown by running, passing, and receiving. The Wild Cat formation that the Razorbacks run contribute to some of his success and the fact that he has Felix Jones on the field with him at times definitely help him at times, but this guy still does it all. Everyone on defense knows that McFadden is the guy to stop if you want to beat Arkansas, but he still manages to get his stats.

Glenn Dorsey - Defensive Tackle - LSU
Stats: 11 Games 55 Total Tackles 11.5 Tackles for Loss 6 Sacks 4 Passes Defensed
Last Week: 1 Tackle
Defensive players do not win the Heisman, but Dorsey makes an argument. He is the heart and soul of the LSU defense and when he is in the game teams cannot run the ball up the middle. His stats are pretty good for a defensive tackle, but more than his stats is just him being on the field. His presence totally changes the game for the LSU defense and they can focus more on the passing game knowing that Dorsey is a big man clogging up the middle. He won't win the award because he is on the defense, but he deserves some talk.