NCAAF Preseason: A look at the 2012 Heisman Candidates and Hopefuls

The Favorites:

 

#1. Matt Barkley, USC: Barkley is entering his Senior year as quarterback at USC and he has all of the tools to win another Heisman for the Trojans. With two dangerous wide recievers, a talented backfield and a stout offensive line, Barkley looks like a favorite to win the trophy and he can only blame himslef if he doesn't. Even if he doesn't win the trophy, he'll still be the top QB of the 2013 NFL Draft

 

#2. Montee Ball, Wisconsin: Now that the nation knows who Montee ball is, Heisman Voters will be on the look out. This guy is special and will be a top tier NFL running back, but the college system of ranking the best player always leans towards the QB. Without a star QB on Wisconsin, Ball should get many touches and that means more TDs. I don't think he'll get 39 TDs again, but he'll put up Heisman-worthy yards.

#3. Geno Smith, West Virginia: No one will benefit more from West Virginia's move to the Big 12 than Geno Smith. Putting up monster numbers in the Big East is cool, but it's hard to attract Heisman talk unless you are a title contender. The Mountaineers move to the Big 12 does make them a title contender, which will put Smith in the spotlight. If he can perform against top-tier football teams every week like he did against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Smith will be a dangerous Heisman contender.

#4. De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon: The one thing I can't stand about the Heisman is that it tries to give NFL prospects a ton of publicity before the NFL draft. The voters always seem to forget that this award is for the best college football player, not the best NFL prospect. De'Anthony Thomas is a player who has potential to break all college football rushing records, but it is very possible that the Heisman voters will not crown him the title of "best college football player" just because he won't succeed in the NFL.

 #5. Le'Veon Bell, Michigan State: Michigan State looks to be a very good and physical team in the Big 10. This means that they will shut down opposing defenses and hand the ball off to Le'veon Bell 30-40 times a game. He is huge for an all-down running back at 6'2", 244 lbs and figures to be one of the top running backs selected in either the 2013 or 2014 NFL draft. If Michigan State can muster some respect around the nation as a football power and maybe even recieve a Rose Bowl berth, Bell will be the greatest benefactor.

The Darkhorse:                                           Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville: Every year, there is a darkhorse contender in the Heisman race. Last year, it was RG3, who actually took home the hardware. For this year, I bet the darkhorse will be another dual-threat QB, this time from Louisville. If Louisville absolutely dominates the Big East and goes to a BCS bowl game, it's all because of their QB, Teddy Bridgewater. He is accurate and fast, but would benefit by bulking up a bit.

Ducks outscore the Badgers in the Rose bowl, 45-38

The 98th Rose Bowl featured two of the best offenses in college football but with different styles. The Bucky Badgers relied on Montee Ball to run the ball and set up big pass plays for Russell Wilson. The Ducks fast-paced spread running attack was not slowed down at all as they ran past the Wisconsin defense. The game was back and forth, till Darron Thomas threw a pick-six to give the Badgers a 28-21 lead. Oregon would tie and take the lead in the next half. The game's turning point was when Jared Abbrederis fumbled the football when Wisconsin was driving for the tie. Wisconsin would get the ball back, but with no timeouts and only 16 seconds left. Wilson would lead the Badgers to the 28 yard line, but the time expired when he tried to spike the ball. Oregon would win their first Rose Bowl in 95 years. De'Anthony Thomas showed that the Ducks running attack won't miss a beat without LaMichael James as he ran for 155 yards on only two attempts to score two TDs. Montee Ball would only tie the record for TDs in a single season as he scored once to tie Barry Sanders at 39. This was Chip Kelly's first BCS bowl win in three appearances.

Oregon's new Rose Bowl unis are pretty scary

I understand that a Duck isn't the scariest animal of them all, but these new Nike Pro Combat Uniforms for the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl are frightening. The good guys at Nike have given the Ducks tons of interesting uniforms, but a Darth Vader-esque jersey with wings on the helmet and a big "O" on the back don't seem to fit into the Rose Bowl theme. Look at the Wisconsin Rose Bowl jersey for example. Adidas decided to put a "rosy" pattern on the numbers. There's nothing scary about it, but then again, there doesn't have to be. Perhaps both teams thought that a different jersey would change their previous fortunes in the Bowl (Oregon lost to Ohio St. in 2009 and Wisconsin lost to TCU last year), but only one team can win "The Grand-daddy of them all".

Wisconsin tops MSU, 42-39 for a trip to the Rose Bowl

Wisconsin will get another shot for the roses after last years' loss to TCU. This years' path was a bit different in the sense that instead of a tie-breaker with MSU, a championship game with the Spartans decided who would go to Pasadena. The inaugural Big 10 game was a memorable one as the two teams went back and forth. Bucky Badger was the last team to make the move as Russell Wilson and Montee Ball set up a three point lead. Sparty had a chance to tie or take the lead as a punt was returned to the three, but a roughing the kicker call ended the game.