Brady Quinn vs. Troy Smith: The Heisman Argument

Now, I'm not one to think that stats like what I'm about to quote tell the whole story. I'm also not all that high on Brady Quinn in general so don't think this is a plug for him. I'm about as objective of a fan as there is out there when it comes to performance on the field in college football. Very rarely is anyone ever as great as they seem or as bad as they have recently played. The media and general college pseudo-fan who follows it on and off are extremely fickle. That's what makes good writing/reading. OSU obviously has a better running game which detracts from Smith's need to really throw the ball that much. Additionally, against MSU the game was over early and he didn't have to do much after that. On the opposite side, Quinn had to throw pretty much all game against MSU just to keep it even. However, this proves that the Heisman race is as much about perception as anything else. Quinn's stats were better than Leinart's last year (and his previous season) and are better than Smith's this year. That said, Smith, at least at this point, will win the Heisman because he does one thing as well, if not better, than any other player in the country...he plays big in big games. That doesn't mean putting up big numbers necessarily, but he is clutch and performs when it matters. That said, in their games against like opponents (Penn State and Michigan State), here are the stats for Troy Smith and Brady Quinn.

Brady Quinn
Passing: 45/73 606 yards 0.616 8 TD 1 INT
Rushing: 14/4 0 TD

Troy Smith
Passing: 27/44 349 yards 0.613 3 TD 2 INT
Rushing: 11/28 0 TD

Therefore, if you're going to say all that great stuff about Smith, give Quinn his due since he's playing on a team with far less talent. It is tough to convince me that Troy Smith is deserving of the Heisman because there is so much talent around him to make him better. Sure he is a big game QB but that isn't by his abilities alone. He doesn't have to play from behind, he has a running game, he has a defense, and he has a top-flight down-field threat in Ginn. By that measure, Matt Leinart should never have won it either. However, in recent years the Heisman Trophy has been awarded to the perceived most impressive player.