Athlon Sports Heisman Voting: Week 4

-by Braden Gall (@AthlonBraden on twitter)

Each week, the Athlon editors will vote on the most prestigious award in all of college football. A nine-man conglomerate of college football gurus from Athlon Sports will vote for their top ten Heisman Trophy candidates. The votes will be tallied and the result will be posted as the Athlon Sports Heisman Watch List every Wednesday of the regular season.

Note: The scoring system is as follows: A first place vote earns a player 10 points. A second place votes earns nine points - so on and so forth until the 10th place player receives one point.

Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles didn't post big numbers this weekend, but both helped lead the Sooners to the biggest win thus far by any team in the nation when Oklahoma left Tallahassee with a W. Both still find themselves in the top ten as Big 12 conference play begins. 

The biggest mover has been Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson. The nation's No. 2 passer has added a totally new dimension to an already potent Badger offensive attack. Wilson has UW leading the Big Ten in scoring offense (45 ppg) and total offense (505.7 ypg).

And the nation's leading rusher has been inching up the standings each week of the season...

1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford (85/90 total points, 7/9 first place votes)
Season Stats: 57/85, 786 yards, 8 TD, INT, 8 att., 47 yards, TD

Just another ho-hum late-night performance by the best player in America. In a 37-10 thumping of Pac-12 foe Arizona on the road, Luck completed 20 of his 31 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 36 yards and didn’t turn the ball over – again. It marks the 15th time in his career that he didn’t throw an interception. Next Game: UCLA

2. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State (75 pts)
Season Stats: 60/76, 716 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT, 2 att., 2 yards

What's not to like about 455 yards and five touchdowns on 76-percent passing on the road against Toledo? It was Moore's 40th career victory in 42 career starts, as he finished with his second-highest yardage total of his career (507). This is what he will have to do week in and week out in order to make it to New York as the only test left on the schedule is TCU at home. Next Game: Tulsa

3. Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina (73)
Season Stats: 87 att., 534 yards, 7 TD, 9 rec., 66 yards

Lattimore is the most talented running back in the nation and in a closer than hoped three-point win over Navy, he was the workhorse Cocks fans have grown to love. He carried 37 times for 246 yards and three scores in the win over the Naval Academy. Lattimore now leads the nation in rushing at 178 yards per game. Next Game: Vanderbilt

4. Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor (66)
Season Stats: 41/49, 624 yards, 8 TD, 0 INT, 18 att., 116 yards

Most quarterbacks would be happy with 300 yards per game, a 2-0 record and a 1:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. However, RG3 is operating at a 1:1 touchdown-to-INCOMPLETION ratio — which is downright unheard-of. His 244.52 QB-rating is still leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the country. Griffin III is the most dynamic human being playing quarterback in this great country (sorry Michael Vick) and is easily the most valuable college football player in the nation. Baylor's schedule doesn't get hard until October 15: Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Missouri. Next Game: Rice

5. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma (48)
Season Stats: 53/74, 574 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 4 att., -8 yards, TD

The numbers might not have been pretty (18-of-27, 199 yards, TD, 2 INT), but the result on the scoreboard is all that matters. Jones led his Sooner team into a rocking Doak Campbell stadium and pulled off the biggest win by any team in all of college football thus far in 2011. The first big conference test awaits this week. Next Game: Missouri

6. Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin (35)
Season Stats: 50/66, 791 yards, 8 TD, INT, 11 att., 110 yards, TD

The Wisconsin Badgers offense has never looked as dynamic as is does when No. 16 is under center. Wilson has led UW to a 3-0 record with an average margin of victory of 37 points. His 213.4 QB-rating trails only Griffin III, and he is averaging over 10 yards per carry on the ground. He produced his first 300-yard game as a Badger this weekend with his 347-yard, 3-TD performance over Northern Illinois. Next Game: South Dakota

7. Denard Robinson, QB, Michigan (29)
Season Stats: 27/55, 531 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT, 50 att., 352 yards, 2 TD

The most electric player in college football rushed for 198 yards in the 31-3 blowout win over Eastern Michigan. Shoelace has "struggled" throwing the ball this season, but there is clearly nothing wrong with his legs — or win/loss record thus far in 2011. Next Game: San Diego State

8. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State (28)
Season Stats: 27 rec., 329 yards, 3 TD

The 2010 Biletnikoff winner posted modest totals of seven catches, 57 yards and a single score in the Pokes' 59-33 win over Tulsa (if anyone stayed up until 4 AM to watch the end of it). Blackmon will be needed in a big way this weekend as the Cowboys head to College Station. Next Game: at Texas A&M

9. Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama (26)
Season Stats: 50 att., 315 yards, 8 TD, 6 rec., 36 yards

Against lowly North Texas, Richardson had his best game of the season. He carried the ball 11 times for 167 yards (for an unreal 15.1 yards per carry clip) and three touchdowns. T-Rich will be in for his biggest test of the young season as the Razorbacks come to Tuscaloosa this Saturday. Next Game: Arkansas

10. Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma (9)
Season Stats: 21 rec., 213 yards, TD

There is a large drop-off in the voting after Richardson. Broyles had a modest performance against Florida State, catching seven passes for 55 yards and returning a couple of punts. But his Sooners left Tallahassee unblemished and are now poised for a national title run. His 10.5 receptions per game are still good for second in the nation. Next Game: Missouri

Previous Votings:

Athlon Sports Heisman Ballot: Week 3
Athlon Sports Heisman Ballot: Week 2
Athlon Sports Heisman Ballot: Week 1