Final 2013 Heisman Trophy Prediction

 Another year of college football is in the bag and it's time for one of the most prestigious awards in college football to be awarded.  For a sixth year I'm back to lend my predictions to who will win and where everybody will finish.  I've been six for six on predicting the final outcome.  This year will be the true test with Heisman voters being told to be more secretive with who they voted for.  So let's see where they could finish.

1.  Jameis Winston QB Florida State
Season Stats:  237/349 3,820 yards passing 38 TDs 10 INTs, 4 rushing TDs
Summary: Winston is going to be the clear cut winner of the Heisman Trophy and it's not going to be even close.  Normally when we see this it's like Cam Newton who has just separated themselves because of their play.  This year it's different because Winston has been good, but his competition kept falling to the wayside.  Winston has been consistent through most of the year leading the Seminoles to blowout wins in big time games against Clemson and Miami.  It also doesn't hurt that Winston has Florida State as the favorite in the National Title Game.

2.  Tre Mason RB Auburn

Season Stats:  283 attempts for 1,621 yards rushing 22 TDs, Kickoff Return TD
Summary:  Mason has enjoyed a great season but like the Tigers he flew under the radar for most of the year.  However his performance against Alabama (164 yards 1 TD) in the Iron Bowl and Missouri (304 yards 4 TDs) in the SEC Title game really made voters go back and take a closer look at his season.  When they've done their seeing that while QB Nick Marshall got all the love, it was Mason that was doing all the heavy lifting.  Mason's dynamic running game helped this offense become one of the most feared attacks and get them an SEC Title and a spot in the National Title Game.


3.  Jordan Lynch QB Northern Illinois
Season Stats:  233/369 2,676 yards passing 23 TDs 7 INTs, 1881 yards rushing 22 TDs, receiving TD
Summary:  Going into the conference title games it looked like Lynch was firmly in second place and could be the winner if Winston faced charges for his sexual assault case.  However Lynch's performance against Bowling Green in the MAC Title Game and Mason's performance had him sliding.  But that doesn't take away from the season that Lynch has had.  He broke the single game rushing record for a quarterback with a 321 yard performance against Western Michigan and had another huge performance against Central Michigan where he ran for 316 yards.  Lynch clearly set himself apart from his peers in the MAC and had one of the best seasons in college football this year.  But what held him back from being higher is the level of competition he played against and his perfromance in their loss to Bowling Green.


4. AJ McCarron QB Alabama
Season Stats:  207/306 2,676 yards passing 26 TDs 5 INTs
Summary: It would have been nice to see McCarron higher on the rankings, but too many voters look at statistics or make general views based on wins and losses.  McCarron fell out of the running after the loss to Auburn despite throwing a TD pass to give them the lead and if it wasn't for a field goal return for a touchdown we could see Alabama in the National Title Game.  McCarron has been clutch all year and when asked to go out and win games he has delivered.  He also gets hammered for a being a game manager because they don't throw the ball that much, but as we saw in the National Title Game last year, he can dominant in the passing game if needed.


5. Andre Williams RB Boston College
Season Stats:  329 attempts 2,102 yards rushing 17 TDs
Summary:   A late addition to the Heisman Race, Williams had all the momentum and eyes were on him in his final game against Syracuse.  But a injury forced him out in the first quarter with only 29 yards rushing.  That really killed his chances.  However when you look at his production he should be a lot higher.  He rushed for over 100 yards in every game until he was injured.  He went over the 2,000 yard mark and for a three game streatch at the end of the season he was averaging 299 yards per game.  This was also done while seeing plenty of eight and even nine man boxes and against a top 50 oposing defense ranking.  What a season Williams had, but it was too bad a injury hurt his chance to shine even more.


6. Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
Season Stats:  270/391 3,732 yards passing 33 TDs 17 INTs, 686 yards rushing 8 TDs
Summary: For everything I've seen and read, It looks like Manziel is going to finish sixth.  That is a shock to me since Manziel had another good year and there has been plenty of talk all year that he is the best player in college football.  I would have thought that with that logic that many voters would have him in their top three ballot.  I guess not.  I Don't know if it's A&M's 8-4 record scared people off, the fact that he won the Heisman last year, the interceptions he's thrown this year, or the off the field controversy this summer.  Either way for him to finish sixth in a year where it is so wide open is a complete surprise.  But you have to salute him on a good year and getting back to New York for this ceremony is still a big deal.