For the first five weeks of this college football season, it was impossible to switch between ESPN channels without hearing about University of Michigan† sophomore quarterback sensation Denard Robinson.
After five starts, Robinson already owned three of the Wolverines’ single-game records for total offense while leading the nation in rushing. More importantly, he led Michigan to a 5-0 start, winning as many games as the team had in all of 2009, and putting them one win away from bowl eligibility. Robinson looked like a lock to win the Heisman Trophy.
That all changed last Saturday, when the Wolverines were dominated by in-state rivals Michigan State University before a friendly crowd of 113,065 mostly maize-and-blue supporters. Robinson threw three interceptions, two of which were thrown in the endzone.
Robinson finished the game with only 215 yards passing and no run longer than 16 yards. The Spartans, meanwhile, played mistake-free ball the entire game en route to a 34-17 victory. With that, the Heisman race was blown wide open.
After Michigan showed itself to be thoroughly unimpressive, eyes drifted down south to another mobile quarterback: Auburn Univeristy junior Cam Newton. While Newton only threw for 210 yards and an interception against Univeristy of Kentucky, he also ran for four touchdowns and engineered a 19-play, 86-yard drive culminating in Wes Byrum’s game-winning field goal to end the game 37-34.
The Tigers stand at 6-0 behind Newton’s 19 total touchdowns this season and they now lead the SEC West after defending champion University of Alabama lost to the University of South Carolina
Out west, Stanford University junior Andrew Luck cemented himself as the nation’s top quarterback prospect by going 20-for-24 and throwing three touchdowns against Southern California.
Luck contributed a game-winning drive of his own, albeit a much shorter one, to knock off the Trojans 37-35. The Cardinal stand at 5-1, with their only loss coming against No. 2 University of Oregon.
The Ohio State University junior Terrelle Pryor is close to establishing himself as a Heisman-caliber quarterback as well.
Pryor has a 68 percent completion rate, a 170.74 quarterback rating, and an impressive 15 touchdowns to just three interceptions through six games. He also has three 100-plus-yard rushing games and is essentially the top-ranked Buckeyes’ entire offense.
Finally, Boise State University junior Kellen Moore is the best hope for a school from a non-power conference to produce a Heisman. The Broncos quarterback has a 183.27 QB rating, 14 touchdowns and only one interception.
While Robinson has proved not to be as superhuman as he first appeared, the race for the most coveted individual award in college football has heated up immensely.
As teams enter the meat of their conference schedules and championship hopes are weeded out, the quarterback play around the nation will be as fun to watch as the post-season drama.