2012 Heisman Trophy Contenders: Post-Week 11

Johnny Manziel made his big statement in the Heisman race this weekend.

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<p> 2012 Heisman Trophy Contenders: Post-Week 11</p>

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 [23] Lead Writer (@BarrettSallee [24])
Jim Young: ACCSports.com [25] (@ACCSports [26])
Blair Kerkhoff: Kansas City Star [27] (@BlairKerkhoff [28])
Chris Level: RedRaiderSports.com [29] (@ChrisLevel [30])

1. Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State (11 first place votes)
Stats: 145-208, 2,020 yards, 12 TD, 3 INT, 154 att., 748 yards, 19 TD
Klein dealt with some adversity from the Horned Frogs defensive line this weekend but still led KSU to victory. He rushed for two key touchdowns and still is the Big 12's most efficient passer with a rating of 167.44. The rest of the field is gaining ever so slightly on CK7, but should he defeat Baylor and Texas, the award will be his — which would be Kansas State's first Heisman Trophy. Next Game: at Baylor

	Last	Name	Pos.	Team	Tot. Pts	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Ballots
1.	(1)	Collin Klein	QB	Kansas St	128/130	11	2	-	-	-	13/13
2.	(5)	Johnny Manziel	QB	Texas A&M	106/130	1	5	3	3	1	13/13
3.	(3)	Manti Te'o	LB	Notre Dame	91/130	1	2	2	4	2	13/13
4.	(2)	Braxton Miller	QB	Ohio St	87/130	-	4	2	1	-	13/13
5.	(7)	Marcus Mariota	QB	Oregon	84/130	-	-	4	3	2	13/13
6.	(8)	Marqise Lee	WR	USC	66/130	-	-	1	-	4	13/13
7.	(4)	Kenjon Barner	RB	Oregon	65/130	-	-	1	2	4	12/13
8.	(5)	A.J. McCarron	QB	Alabama	17/130	-	-	-	-	-	5/13
9.	(9)	Giovani Bernard	RB	N. Carolina	16/130	-	-	-	-	-	6/13
10.	(13)	Tajh Boyd	QB	Clemson	11/130	-	-	-	-	-	5/13
11t.	(ur)	Ka'Deem Carey	RB	Arizona	9/130	-	-	-	-	-	3/13
11t.	(15)	Aaron Murray	QB	Georgia	9/130	-	-	-	-	-	6/13
13.	(18)	Jordan Lynch	QB	N. Illinois	6/130	-	-	-	-	-	3/13
14.	(ur)	Jarvis Jones	LB	Georgia	5/130	-	-	-	-	-	4/13
15t.	(18)	Taylor Martinez	QB	Nebraska	4/130	-	-	-	-	-	2/13
15t.	(10)	Geno Smith	QB	W. Virginia	4/130	-	-	-	-	-	2/13
17.	(16)	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	Clemson	3/130	-	-	-	-	-	1/13
18.	(16)	Damontre Moore	DE	Texas A&M	2/130	-	-	-	-	-	1/13
20t.	(10)	Matt Barkley	QB	USC	1/130	-	-	-	-	-	1/13
20t.	(14)	Barrett Jones	OL	Alabama	1/130	-	-	-	-	-	1/13

Related: Manziel, Klein, Te'o could lead historic Heisman field [31]

2. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M (1 first place vote)
Stats: 227-336, 2,780 yards, 18 TD, 6 INT, 156 att., 1,014 yards, 15 TD
Few players have ever had a game like Manziel did on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. He completed 24-of-31 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns through the air while rushing for 92 yards on 18 carries. He made clutch throw after clutch throw on the road in arguably the most hostile environment in all of college football. And he may have single-handedly changed the complexion of the national championship race. Next Week: Sam Houston State

3. Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame (1 first place vote)
Stats: 92 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 6 INT, 1.5 sack, FR, 4 PBU
Te'o intercepted his sixth pass of the season and posted five total tackles in the easy road win over Boston College. He trails only Fresno State's Phillip Thomas for the national lead in INTs (8). Te'o is all but assured a spot in New York, but can a defensive player win the prestigious stiff-armed trophy? It would be only the second time in history that has happened, but beating Wake Forest and USC to give ND its first unbeaten season since 1988, would give him as good a chance as anyone else. Next Game: Wake Forest

4. Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
Stats: 124-218, 1,753 yards, 14 TD, 6 INT, 184 att., 1,166 yards, 13 TD
It isn't exactly fair that Miller drops two spots in the Heisman voting just because he didn't play. He has been the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year and will finish his sophomore season with a road trip to Wisconsin and a home test against the hated Michigan Wolverines. There is still plenty of heavy lifting left for a quarterback who could finish unbeaten himself this fall. Next Game: at Wisconsin

5. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
Stats: 153-217, 1,787 yards, 22 TD, 5 INT, 72 att., 474 yards, 3 TD
When the Golden Bears loaded up to stop Kenjon Barner (and actually injured the star tailback) and Chip Kelly turned to his redshirt freshman quarterback. Mariota answered the bell with 377 yards passing, 42 yards rushing and six passing touchdowns. He is now the leading the nation in passing efficiency (176.96), has accounted for 31 touchdowns for the best offense in the nation and has his team poised for a berth in the national title game. And he's done it without playing in many second halves all year. Next Game: Stanford

6. Marqise Lee, WR, USC
Stats: 98 rec., 1,447 yards, 13 TD, 23 KR, 677 yards, TD, 110 yards rushing
Next Game: at UCLA

7. Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
Stats: 199 att., 1,360 yards, 19 TD, 18 rec., 219 yards, TD
Next Game: Stanford

8. A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
Stats: 157-238, 2,158 yards, 20 TD, 2 INT, 39 att., minus-43 yards rushing, TD
Next Game: Western Carolina

9. Giovani Bernard, RB, North Carolina
Stats: 142 att., 1,008 yards, 11 TD, 38 rec., 411 yards, 4 TD, 14 PR, 251 yards, 2 TD
Next Game: at Virginia

10. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson
Stats: 210-309, 2,941 yards, 28 TD, 9 INT, 122 att., 363 yards, 5 TD
Next game: Arizona State

by Braden Gall

Follow @bradengall [32]