2012 Heisman Trophy Contenders: Post-Week 12
Johnny Heisman is now sitting atop the Athlon Sports Heisman ballot.
By: Braden Gall | 11/21/12, 5:00 AM EST
Each week, the Athlon editors and others who closely follow college football vote on the most prestigious award in the sport. A 13-man conglomerate of college football gurus from Athlon Sports and other publications cast their votes for their top Heisman Trophy candidates. The votes will be tallied and the results will be posted as the Athlon Sports Heisman Watch List every week of the regular season.
Voting: Each first-place vote receives 10 points. A second-place vote receives nine points. So on and so forth with a 10th-place vote receiving one point. Here are Athlon's guest voters:
Barrett Sallee: Bleacher Report SEC Lead Writer (@BarrettSallee)
Jim Young: ACCSports.com (@ACCSports)
Blair Kerkhoff: Kansas City Star (@BlairKerkhoff)
Chris Level: RedRaiderSports.com (@ChrisLevel)
1. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M (7 first-place votes)
Stats: 241-356, 3,047 yards, 21 TD, 7 INT, 172 att., 1,114 yards, 17 TD
Sam Houston State is far from a Heisman barometer, but Manziel kept his stat-train rolling. He rushed for his sixth 100-yard game and two touchdowns to go with 267 yards passing and three scores in the air. He is leading the SEC in rushing and total offense and has the Aggies poised to go 10-2 in their first season in the country's most powerful league. Next Week: Missouri
| Last | Name | Pos. | Team | Tot. Pts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Ballots | |
| 1. | (2) | Johnny Manziel | QB | Texas A&M | 117/130 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | 13/13 |
| 2. | (1) | Collin Klein | QB | Kansas St | 111/130 | 2 | 5 | 5 | - | 1 | 13/13 |
| 3. | (3) | Manti Te'o | LB | Notre Dame | 110/130 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | - | 13/13 |
| 4. | (4) | Braxton Miller | QB | Ohio St | 95/130 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13/13 |
| 5. | (5) | Marcus Mariota | QB | Oregon | 59/130 | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 12/13 |
| 6. | (6) | Marqise Lee | WR | USC | 57/130 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 13/13 |
| 7. | (10) | Tajh Boyd | QB | Clemson | 37/130 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 10/13 |
| 8. | (7) | Kenjon Barner | RB | Oregon | 28/130 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 6/13 |
| 9. | (11) | Ka'Deem Carey | RB | Arizona | 23/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 7/13 |
| 10. | (13) | Jordan Lynch | QB | N. Illinois | 14/130 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 3/13 |
| 11. | (15) | Taylor Martinez | QB | Nebraska | 13/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 6/13 |
| 12. | (9) | Giovani Bernard | RB | N. Carolina | 9/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 3/13 |
| 13. | (ur) | Johnathan Franklin | RB | UCLA | 9/130 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2/13 |
| 14. | (8) | A.J. McCarron | QB | Alabama | 8/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 4/13 |
| 15. | (14) | Jarvis Jones | LB | Georgia | 7/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 3/13 |
| 16. | (ur) | Stepfan Taylor | RB | Stanford | 6/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 2/13 |
| 17. | (11) | Aaron Murray | QB | Georgia | 5/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 2/13 |
| 18. | (15) | Geno Smith | QB | W. Virginia | 3/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 1/13 |
| 19. | (18) | Damontre Moore | DE | Texas A&M | 2/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 1/13 |
| 20t. | (20) | Barrett Jones | OL | Alabama | 1/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 1/13 |
| 20t. | (ur) | Tavon Austin | WR | W. Virginia | 1/130 | - | - | - | - | - | 1/13 |
2. Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State (2 first-place votes)
Stats: 145-208, 2,020 yards, 12 TD, 3 INT, 154 att., 748 yards, 19 TD
Klein has thrown six interceptions all season and three of them took place in the shocking loss to Baylor (52-24) this weekend. He finished with 286 yards passing and 39 yards rushing and three total touchdowns in the loss. He is still very much in the mix and could easily lead his team to a Big 12 title (or more if craziness ensues). CK7 had this award locked up with an undefeated regular season and his team couldn't get it done in Waco. Next Game: Texas (Dec. 1)
Stats: 98 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 6 INT, 1.5 sack, FR, 4 PBU
Te'o and the Notre Dame defense shutout Wake Forest in the easy win and the game marked the fifth time the Irish allowed less than a touchdown this fall. Te'o made six total tackles in the game and now leads the No. 1 team in the nation and the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation. With a win over USC, Te'o likely books a trip to New York as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Next Game: at USC
4. Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State (2 first-place votes)
Stats: 134-236, 1,850 yards, 14 TD, 6 INT, 207 att., 1,214 yards, 13 TD
Miller didn't post huge numbers against Wisconsin, but he led his team to yet another victory. This one coming against arguably the best defense in the Big Ten on the road. He rushed 23 times and completed 10-of-18 passes as Ohio State stayed unbeaten with the overtime win. Next Game: Michigan
Stats: 201-288, 2,371 yards, 29 TD, 6 INT, 90 att., 605 yards, 3 TD
Mariota threw for 207 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 89 yards on 12 carries against what is turning out to be one of the best defenses in the nation. However, he couldn't keep his team unbeaten as the Cardinal gave Oregon their first loss of the year in overtime. He is still leading the Pac-12 in passing efficiency. Next Game: at Oregon State
6. Marqise Lee, WR, USC
Stats: 107 rec., 1,605 yards, 14 TD, 24 KR, 704 yards, TD, 107 yards rushing
Next Game: Notre Dame
Stats: 210-309, 2,941 yards, 28 TD, 9 INT, 122 att., 363 yards, 5 TD
Next game: South Carolina
8. Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
Stats: 220 att., 1,426 yards, 19 TD, 19 rec., 232 yards, TD
Next Game: at Oregon State
Stats: 250 att., 1,585 yards, 19 TD, 32 rec., 289 yards, TD
Next Game: Arizona State
10. Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern Illinois
Stats: 187-294, 2,582 yards, 22 TD, 4 INT, 215 att., 1,504 yards, 16 TD
Next Game: at Eastern Michigan
Related College Football Content
Three and Out: Week 12 Recap
ACC Post-Week 12 Power Rankings
Big East Post-Week 12 Power Rankings
Big Ten Post-Week 12 Power Rankings
Big 12 Post-Week 12 Power Rankings
Pac-12 East Post-Week 12 Power Rankings
SEC Post-Week 12 Power Rankings
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