November 26, 2009
Texas 49 Texas A&M 39
Colt McCoy:
Passing: 24/40 304 yards 4 TD 0 INT
Rushing: 18 Carries for 175 yards 1 TD
Jerrod Johnson
Passing: 26/33 342 yards 4 TD 1 INT
Rushing: 14 Carries for 97 yards 0 TD
To be completely honest, this post is not so much an argument for why Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson should win the Heisman Trophy as much as it is an argument that what will likely mean a Hesiman for Colt McCoy in reality should not.
You can look at the stats above, and you can watch the Texas-Texas A&M game live, as I did, and you can write the script for Colt McCoy. McCoy has a big performance against a rival on Thanksgiving night in the only college game played on that day in front of a huge national audience. BAM! Instant Heisman.
That's bullshit.
I am making an assumption here that the voters will be swayed by McCoy's performance in College Station and crown him 2009's best player in college football, thus awarding him the Heisman Trophy in December. This is incredibly troubling for me, considering that giving McCoy the award would be more like a career achievement award than an award for the best player in college football. This year McCoy is on pace to throw for less yardage, fewer touchdowns, more interceptions, and have quarterback rating 20 points lower than last year, yet he's right back where he was last year in the thick of the Heisman talk. Certainly he deserves to be in the discussion, but if he were to win the award, last year would have been the year, not the vastly inferior year that he is having this year.
Take a quick look at the stats I posted above at the beginning of this article. Jerrod Johnson and Colt McCoy achieved comparable offensive stats in a rivalry game against each other. But here's a key difference between the two: Jerrod Johnson was playing Texas's defense with Texas's throw away recruits while McCoy was playing Texas A&M's defense at one of the premier recruiting programs in the country.
Coltg McCoy was throwing to Jordan Shipley, Malcolm Williams, and James Kirkendoll, jewels of the recruiting class. Jerrod Johnson was throwing to Jeff Fuller (who, I grant you, is great), some guy named Uzoma Nwachukwu, and a short white dude named Ryan Swope (a converted running back, no less).
On defense, Johnson was facing Thorpe Award finalist and Texas safety Earl Thomas and Lombardi Award finalist and Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle. Not to mention that Texas has far and away the best defense in the Big XII. Texas A&M racked up season high passing yardage, rushing yardage, and points against the Longhorns and coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp. McCoy was facing A&M safety Jordan Pugh, who essentially dislocated his shoulder mid-game and continued playing.
And what was the difference in the game? Special teams. Texas won by 10 points and the game included a kickoff return for a touchdown by Marquise Goodwin and a missed field goal by A&M kicker Randy Bullock. If those two go the other way, we may be headed to overtime at 42-42.At the end of the day, McCoy is going to win the Heisman or at least be first in the discussion as a result of his performance on Thanksgiving night in College Station. My point is, if we're awarding the Heisman on that basis, give it to the guy who played just as well against much tougher odds, with much less talent on his side.
Jerrod Johnson for Heisman.
Here I was, the end to a great Thanksgiving with my family, relaxing downstairs catching up on the seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Imagine my dismay when I came to find out there was still some Turkey left to be eaten on this fine day.
Jerrod Johnson over Colt McCoy? Really, Mitch? Really?
Listen, Johnson was phenomenal tonight, and he has been great all season, but we all know the Heisman isn't necessarily about numbers. There are reasons why stat stuffers like former Hawaii QB Colt Brennan and nearly every QB that goes through Texas Tech never make it to the Big City for the trophy presentation. The numbers certainly matter, but there is something just a little bit more important here.
Wins.
McCoy not only puts up the numbers (he had more total touchdowns and total yards on the night than Johnson), but he also has won more games than any quarterback in the history of college football. His team is 12-0 and most likely headed to the National Championship. Johnson's team is 6-6 and it doesn't matter how talented the guy is when his team doesn't perform well on the field. Some of that blame has to fall on his shoulders and that is why there is no legitimate argument you can make to sway anyone that he should be a Heisman contender. Maybe next year...
And who cares if McCoys numbers aren't what they were last year? Do you expect every MVP in every season of every sport to have better numbers year after year?
Michael Jordan won MVP trophies in '88 and '98. His '88 numbers he averaged over 7 more points, 2 more steals, and 5 more assists a game than he ended up doing in '98. In fact, his numbers in '88 were better than the remaining four MVPs he won. But you know what, who cares? Jordan was the best player and had the most impact on his team just as much in both years. Stats are just stats. They don't tell the whole story.
2009 is not 2008, so why does it matter to compare stats of the two years? And it's not like McCoys numbers this year are bad. The guy is leading the nation in passing completion percentage. He has over 3,300 yards passing with a game to play as well as 27 touchdown passes and, oh yeah, he just rushed for more yards in one game than C.J. Spiller has in any game this year.
And come on Mitch, you've played football. Who cares what unit is ranked what, this is a heated rivalry game! Who cares about the names on the back of the uniforms (what you fail to understand, however, is that Shipley is the only returning receiver from last years team). There are reasons why upsets happen. If the best team won all the time, sports would be pretty damn boring. Texas went into an EXTREMELY hostile environment against a team with which this game was their season. You didn't think A&M was going to get up for this on? On Thanksgiving? They played out of their minds. And you know what? McCoy never blinked. Not once. Not for a second. It would have been easy after A&M scored on their third play for Texas to start feeling the pressure. Answer after answer, the crowd noise grew louder and louder. The 12th man was in frenzy. It would have been understandable for McCoy to slip up somewhere during all of that, but he never did. He led scoring drive after scoring drive, with his feet and his arm. When A&M scored to tie it right before halftime, McCoy led the offense down the field in 50 seconds to take back the lead. I was way more impressed in this one game with McCoy than I have been by any of the other Heisman potentials in any of their games thus far this year. Can you name me another Heisman worthy performance in such a spotlighted game? Anyone?
And don't give me the "what if" scenarios about the special teams in this game. If we played that game than both Alabama and Florida, and thus Ingram and Tebow, would have been sitting at home with one loss quite a few weeks ago. The game unfolds the way it unfolds, and plays happen in all facets of the game. That is the game! You can score on a kickoff, you can miss field goals, you can turn the ball over in the red zone. That stuff happens. And the good teams, the great teams, find a way to do that stuff less. It's cliche, but they find a way. Florida and Alabama found a way earlier this season to pull out tough wins at home. Texas just did it on the road against a heated in-state rivel with whom McCoy has struggled in the past. That impresses me just a little bit more.
McCoy has got everything and more you could want in a Heisman trophy winner. He is the undisputed eader of an undefeated football team, although not up to par with last season he is still outperforming most any QB in America, and he just had that showcase game it seems all Heisman winners have to have.
If you'd rather take a guy whose leading his 6-6 team into the Humanitarian Bowl than that's your decision.
I'll just call you a Turkey for it.
But dude, you're missing the crux of my argument. As I said when I began the article, I am not seriously arguing Jerrod Johnson for Heisman. Here's what I am arguing: A) Colt McCoy played great B) Before he played great, he was not even in the top 3 in pre-Hesiman voting, C) After this performance, he will move way up on that list if not to the top, so his Heisman chances pretty much became 5 times better as a result of the Texas A&M game in which D) Jerrod Johnson played just as well, throwing for more yards, a higher completion percentage, and just as many touchdowns as McCoy against MUCH stiffer competition (Texas A&M's defense ranks at or below 100 in the Bowl subdivision in most major categories).
So, to repeat and conclude, Colt McCoy could essentially win the Heisman because of the game last night. Well if you're going to award the Heisman on that basis, give it to Jerrod Johnson for tearing up the Texas D in a way no other team in the nation has been able to. Because if this game is enough to catapult McCoy to that podium next month, then that's what the award is based on, and McCoy was no better in that game than Jerrod Johnson.
Couple of things you neglect to factor in. First off, McCoy has been in the Heisman discussion all year and every reasonable pundit has said if he finished his last two games strong than he'd be a serious contender. I'd say he is fulfilling that expectation after last night. If McCoy wins the Heisman it isn't just because of this game, just like Tebows 6 TD performance against USC and Reggie Bush's 500 plus yards against Fresno State didn't win their Stiff Arm Trophies. McCoy is in the Heisman frontrunner seat because his team is undefeated, his stats are pretty damn good, and he just had a prolific game on a national stage with everyone watching.
Not only has McCoy outperformed Johnson all year, he outperformed him last night. He finished with more total yards of offense, one more touchdown, and also didn't have any turnovers. And he did this no less, in an a raucous environment with the weight of National Championship dreams on his shoulders. Yes, Johnson put on a show against what was the nation's best defense. But the Aggies offense is something like 10th in the nation and Johnson and the rest of his team were playing with absolutely no pressure. I know you're not too old to remember the factor pressure plays in sporting events. It's the reason a crappy Boston College team came within an Ed Reed interception of beating Miami in 2001 or why USC needed the Bush Push to beat Notre Dame in 2005. Better teams than Texas have struggled and lost to worse teams in the past than A&M. Just 2 years ago all West Virginia had to do to make it to the title game was beat a bad Pitt team. They lost. Appalachian State beat Michigan AT Michigan in 2007. Later that year Stanford, a 44 point underdog, beat USC. I could fill up this blog of teams losing games they were supposed to win. That's just football. The best team doesn't always win and factors outside of stats and rankings play in. So I don't care that Johnson perfomed comparably against Texas D, I am more impressed by the guy who did just a little bit better, won the game, and did so when he very easily could of let the pressure of the moment and the crowd get to him. And he has been doing it all season.
Lastly, I don't understand why it is hard for you to grasp that a performance such as last night by McCoy shouldn't have an affect on the voting. As I said, every Heisman candidate and winner usually has one game that pushes them over the edge. The only reason C.J. Spiller is mentioned is because he had a game in which he threw, caught, and passed for a touchdown. For the first half of the season, when his team lost to Maryland, he wasn't even mentioned. Then he had a few games where he reminded people of his taltent and BOOM back on the list. That's what happens. McCoy has been in the conversation, especially the past month as his game has heated up, but I don't see why you think a Heisman winner be on the list of potential winners all year? That makes no sense. Saying that those polls mean anything, and they most certainly don't, aren't we supposed to be swayed by performances? McCoy just threw for 300 plus yards and 4 touchdowns and ran for 175 more with another touchdown. That's 479 yards of total offense with 5 touchdowns and no turnovers! Did Troy Smith ever have a day that good? For that matter did Tebow or Eric Crouch or Jason White? The answer to all is emphatically no, no and no. Why shouldn't a game like this catapult him up these hypothetical lists?
It should and it will.
If McCoy leads his team to victory against Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship game than voters will see a guy with Heisman worthy statistics, an undefeated team, and a showcase game to push him over the edge. I have no problem seeing the winningest quarterback in college football history take home an award far less deserving people have obtained.
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