Heisman Watch Week 12: Moore, Luck and Blackmon Continue to Produce

in Heisman Watch by Asher Feldman — November 20, 2010 at 11:26 pm | 2 comments

Cam Newton

NCAA investigations aside, these next few weeks will be the most important of Cam Newton’s junior season.

Newton and Auburn had the week off during week 12, however, in the coming weeks against Alabama and South Carolina, Newton and the Tigers could make or break their BCS title hopes, SEC title hopes and Newton’s own Heisman hopes.

No one player will be under a bigger spotlight than Newton, and against the Tide in the Iron Bowl and then the Gamecocks in the SEC Championship Game, the eyes of the nation will be looking to see how Newton responds to both the pressure of the national stage and the pressure of the NCAA investigations.

Thus far Newton has shown no signs of slowing down, but with a week for it all to simmer, could Newton finally see some negative effect? Or will he persevere like he did against Georgia?

Kellen Moore

With the national stage all to himself, Moore was uncharacteristically sloppy in the first quarter of his Friday night matchup with Fresno State.

The Boise State quarterback threw an unusual interception and lost a fumble in the first period, but Moore rebounded quite well, throwing for four touchdowns and more than 300 yards to help lead the Broncos to an easy 51-0 victory.

The night proved historic for Moore despite the early mistakes, as the junior became the all-time leading passer in Boise State history, passing Ryan Dinwiddie.

History and past performance aside though, Moore will need some extra push in these last couple of weeks if he’d like a shot at the Heisman Trophy. With his main competitors taking the weekend off, Moore is sure to creep up some ballots, but the key will be to stay ahead of James and Newton, which will be no easy task these final few weeks.

LaMichael James

James and Oregon had the weekend off to better survey the landscape of college football and rest up, although after his performance against California, there’s no doubt James is eager to hit the field again.

Against the Bears, James had his worst performance of the season, rushing for less than 100 yards for just the second time and not scoring for the first time all year.

James does lead the nation in rushing, but will need to do more in his final two games if he hopes to have a shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Andrew Luck

With the Saturday basically to himself among Heisman candidates, Luck did more than enough to help Stanford topple California easily, but was it enough to keep his name relevant in the Heisman discussion?

Luck led the Cardinal up and down the field Saturday afternoon, but only threw two touchdown passes among the eight scoring possessions he oversaw, along with 235 yards passing and another 72 yards on the ground.

With just one game remaining against Oregon State, Luck will have to put on an absolute show in order to get a chance at the trophy.

Likely the best the Cardinal quarterback can hope for is an invite to NYC for the trophy presentation, which is well within reach if Luck can make a good final impression next weekend.

Justin Blackmon

Blackmon had another productive weekend for the Cowboys, and put in another 100-yard performance — this time against Kansas — to continue his productive run through the Big 12 schedule.

Blackmon and Oklahoma State have one more game remaining on the season against Oklahoma, a meeting that will decide the Big 12 South division and will decide if the Cowboys get to play another game — the Big 12 Championship Game.

Strong performance in both from Blackmon would surely help his Heisman candidacy, which could be hurt by his unusual Heisman position — as wide receiver, or by his somewhat lacking for national attention team — Oklahoma State.

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Tags: andrew luck cam newton featured Heisman Watch justin blackmon kellen moore lamichael james week 12