Around CFB: The case for Marcel Reed as the Heisman frontrunner

In the case of leading Heisman Trophy candidates, the persecution has argued against Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed as the frontrunner.

The persecution has attempted to show quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza of Indiana and Julian Sayin of Ohio State to be more deserving than Reed.

OBJECTION! Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame should also be listed as more deserving. He has rushed for 605 yards and six touchdowns in just the last four games.

That was against mediocre run defenses of USC, Boston College, Navy and Pittsburgh.

OBJECTION! Pitt is ninth in the nation in run defense.

Pitt’s statistics are largely based on games vs. Duquesne, Central Michigan, Stanford, Syracuse and Boston College. West Virginia even rushed for 174 yards vs. Pitt.

OVERRULED!

Another nonsensical outburst, Counselor, and you’ll be held in contempt.

Now… Counsel for Mr. Reed, are you ready to present your case?

Yes, Your Honor. The evidence will show my client Marcel Reed — aka “The Gingerbread Man” — has compiled sufficient statistics, victories, games vs. legitimate competition and highlights — “Heisman Trophy moments,” if you will — to be deemed the Heisman frontrunner.

EXHIBIT A: The persecution argues Julian Sayin and Fernando Mendoza are more deserving because they have passed for more yardage and more touchdowns than Reed. Sayin has passed for 2,675 yards and 25 touchdowns. Mendoza has passed for 2,641 yards and 30 touchdowns. Marcel Reed has passed for 2,632 yards and 22 touchdowns.

However, Reed exceeds both in total offense. He has rushed for 391 yards, which gives him 3,023 yards of total offense. He has also run for six touchdowns, which means he has accounted for 28 touchdowns.

By comparison, Sayin has rushed for just 20 yards and no touchdowns. He has only 2,695 yards of total offense. That’s significantly fewer than Reed. Also, Sayin passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns vs. Grambling.

Further, when facing currently ranked opponents, Sayin passed for just 126 yards and one touchdown vs. No. 17 Texas and 166 yards and two touchdowns vs. No. 21 Illinois. That’s 292 yards and three touchdowns vs. two opponents.

My client passed for 360 yards and two touchdowns in one game vs. No. 9 Notre Dame.

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Marcel Reed accounted for 397 yards of total offense at Notre Dame on Sept. 13 to get Texas A&M its first road win vs. a ranked opponent in over a decade.

OBJECTION! What about Mendoza? He has nine more passing yards and seven more touchdowns than Mr. Gingerbread.

True. However, Mendoza has played one more game than my client. Also, one of those games was against Indiana State, a 3-8 FCS team that lost to Montana, 62-30, Southern Illinois, 55-27, and Illinois State, 52-20.

Mendoza passed 270 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for another touchdown against Indiana State.

Subtract that game, and Mendoza has 261 fewer passing yards and only one more touchdown than Reed.

OVERRULED.

EXHIBIT B: All Heisman recipients have memorable highlight reel plays — “Heisman moments.”

What’s Sayin’s? An underthrown 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate vs. Texas?

Mendoza’s Heisman moment was leading a last-gasp 80-yard drive for a seven-yard touchdown to defeat unranked Penn State.

My client, Mr. Reed, led a last-gasp 74-yard drive for a game-winning touchdown pass on fourth-and-11 to beat No. 9 Notre Dame. The Irish are clearly superior to Penn State.

He also had a 41-yard touchdown run vs. LSU that brought back images of Auburn’s 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton’s signature touchdown run against the Tigers.

Just last week, Reed passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns in just the second half to rally A&M from a 30-3 halftime deficit for a 31-30 victory over South Carolina.

Judge: Are there any witnesses?

Just one, Your Honor. We call to the stand Texas A&M coach Mike Elko.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

With Marcel Reed at quarterback, Mike Elko’s Aggies are 10-0 for the first time since 1992 and 7-0 in conference play for the first time since 1998.

Mr. Elko. Marcel Reed threw two interceptions and lost a fumble vs. South Carolina. He also passed for more than 400 yards in a comeback victory. So, Mr. Elko, in our opinion, how should Heisman Trophy voters react to Marcel Reed’s overall performance vs. South Carolina?

“He threw for 439 yards and three touchdowns. He led us to a comeback win. I think that probably should hold a lot of stock with Heisman voters.

“I think he has elevated himself week in and week out. When we needed him to step up and win football games, he’s done it. There’s been a lot made of some other people across the country; when they’ve had opportunities to step up and make plays, they were rewarded for it.

"I would like to see our quarterback rewarded for it the same way. He certainly threw for an awful lot of yards to bring us back and lead us to that victory.”

EXHIBIT C: My client has played stronger competition. Sayin’s Ohio State team has only played two teams that are currently ranked.

OBJECTION! Is it not true, Texas A&M has only played two teams that are currently ranked?

That is true. However, Ohio State’s best victory was 14-7 over No. 17 Texas. Not only has A&M defeated No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 22 Missouri, but A&M also blew out Florida, which defeated Texas. LSU was also ranked No. 20 when A&M won, 49-25.

Also, Ohio State played Grambling.

OBJECTION! What about Indiana?

The record shows A&M and Indiana both scheduled non-conference opponents from the state of Indiana. The record shows A&M played Notre Dame, and Indiana played Indiana State.

OVERRULED!

We rest our case.

Brian Jones

Chants. Chills.

Heisman watch (If my ballot was due today)

1. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M, QB: Last week, Reed overcame a horrific start to lead a historic comeback. He passed for a career-high 439 yards and had three touchdowns as A&M rallied from a 27-point deficit to defeat South Carolina, 31-30. He led a 99-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown. Reed had a clutch 16-yard run on fourth-and-12 to launch the comeback. Reed averages 302.3 yards of total offense to rank 14th in the nation. He has passed for 2,632 yards and 22 touchdowns. He has rushed for 391 yards and six touchdowns.

2. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, QB: A week ago, Mendoza completed 91.7 percent of his passes (22-of-24) for 299 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-7 victory over Wisconsin. Overall, he has passed for 2,641 yards and 30 touchdowns in 11 games. He’s rushed for 216 yards and five scores.

3. Haynes King, Georgia Tech, QB: The nation’s leader in total offense, King passed for 371 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 53 in a 36-34 victory over Boston College last week. He’s averaging 340.7 yards of total offense. He has passed for more than 300 yards in each of the last three games. That raised his seasonal totals to 2,259 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. He has rushed for 804 yards and 14 touchdowns.

4. Julian Sayin, Ohio State, QB: In a 48-10 blowout of UCLA last week, Sayin passed for 184 yards and a touchdown. He’s completing 80.1 percent of his passes, while accumulating 2,765 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.

5. Gunner Stockton, Georgia, QB: A new entry because he’s been on a torrid streak over the last month. In each of the last four games, Stockton has passed for at least 223 yards and two touchdowns. Last week, in a victory over Texas, he passed for 229 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 29 yards and a score. Overall, he has passed for 2,269 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has rushed for 350 yards and eight touchdowns.

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

With Gunner Stockton under center, Georgia is up to No. 4 in the latest CFP rankings.

Predicted playoff participants (In alphabetical order)

Alabama: Assuming the Tide wins the Iron Bowl. And that’s a big assumption.
Georgia: The 9-1 Bulldogs still have a mulligan. They won’t need it.
Georgia Tech: Still my pick to win the ACC championship.
Indiana: The Hoosiers only have Purdue left in the Big Ten play. Purdue is 2-9. Hoosiers ain’t losing.
Notre Dame: The Irish only have to get by Syracuse and Stanford to post 10-straight wins. Call me cynical, but no committee will leave out a 10-win Notre Dame even if it did lose to a 10-win Miami.
Oklahoma: Sooners still have work to do with Missouri and LSU remaining on the schedule, but 10 wins and their victory over Alabama should guarantee their spot.
Ole Miss: No question the Rebels are in. The question is, will Lane Kiffin coach them?
Oregon: Tough games vs. USC and at Washington are coming up. The Ducks can afford to lose one. They can’t lose both.
Texas A&M: Just beat Samford (1-10 in the FCS) and the Aggies are in. OK… the Aggies are in.
Texas Tech: Best bet to win the Big 12.
Tulane: The committee has Tulane ranked No. 24 at 8-2. The Green Wave probably gets by winning the American Conference championship, but keep a close eye on 9-1 James Madison in the Sun Belt Conference.

Games to watch

No. 15 USC at No. 7 Oregon: An upset puts USC into the playoff discussion.

No. 22 Missouri at No. 8 Oklahoma: The Sooners can’t relax after beating Alabama. Mizzou could end OU’s playoff hopes.

Pittsburgh at No. 16 Georgia Tech: Loser is likely eliminated from ACC Championship Game consideration.

Washington State at James Madison: James Madison’s only loss was 28-14 to Louisville. A win over Washington State keeps the pressure on Tulane and the CFP selection committee.

Arkansas at No. 17 Texas: An almost perfect trap game scenario. The Longhorns face the high-scoring Hogs a week after playing Georgia and a week before playing Texas A&M.