Here’s a look at the top five 2012 Heisman candidates heading into Week 2.
5. Wisconsin Badgers Running Back Montee Ball
Last weekend, Ball finished with 120 rushing yards to go along with one touchdown against Northern Iowa. This week, Ball has a favorable matchup against an Oregon State–a team that Wisconsin defeated 35-0 last season.
4. Oregon Ducks Running Back De’Anthony Thomas
Everybody was anxious to see how Thomas would do against Arkansas State in Week 1 now that LaMichael James is out of the picture and as expected–he displayed a phenomenal performance. Not only did Thomas record 119 yards from the line of scrimmage, but he managed to find the end zone three times.
This week, Oregon is heavily favored against Fresno State–which means Thomas could be in for a monster game.
3. Michigan State Spartans Running Back Le’Veon Bell
The Spartans were excited to see what Bell could do in the team’s first game against Boise State as this is the first season he’ll be the featured running back and he lived up to the hype after rushing for 210 yards and two touchdowns. What’s even more impressive is Bell touched the ball 50 times in the game–giving Michigan State an edge now that they know he can pound the football.
If he puts these type of numbers up against Boise State, imagine what Bell will do against Central Michigan in Week 2.
2. West Virginia Mountaineers Quarterback Geno Smith
In his first game of the season against Marshall, Smith could not have asked for a better performance as he completed 32 of 36 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns. Smith quickly jumped up the list of Heisman candidates after that performance and he has another favorable matchup against James Madison University on Saturday.
1. USC Trojans Quarterback Matt Barkley
No surprise here as Barkley will most likely be on the top of this list for most of the 2012 season as long he stays healthy and the Trojans keep winning. After throwing for 372 yards and three touchdowns against Hawaii in Week 1, Barkley has a favorable matchup this week against Syracuse–a team he threw for five touchdowns against in 2011.
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