Jim Tressel responds to talk of placekicker Mike Nugent being touted for the Heisman.

Says Tressel: “I’ve gotten letters in the last few weeks telling me I need to do him justice for the Heisman Trophy by putting in some fakes so he can throw some touchdowns and score some touchdowns. I just put those on the other stack of letters.”

A kicker will never win the Heisman, but if one did, Nugent would be a good pick.

The games of October 9 are really going to be key in the Heisman race.

The glut of huge matchups will be like heaven for a true fan of college football.

Here’s how I see them shaping up:

Tennessee at Georgia–I think Tennessee marches on and beats the Dawgs solidly.

Texas vs. Oklahoma–I like the Horns in this one. Why? Two words: Vince Young. Cedric Benson is damn good, but Young will be the key. I think he can throw off the most well-intentioned game plan.

Wisconsin at Ohio St.–Wisconsin will get rolled in this one. In fact, I think they may well be coming off an upset loss to Illinois.

Cal at USC–Had USC crushed Stanford, Cal would have won this one. Think they lose it now. This game has three legitimate Heisman candidates in it.

Minnesota at Michigan–I have no read on this one yet, but it’s one I do NOT want to miss.

LSU at Florida–My instinct says the Gators, but then I envision Ron Zook popping a vein on the sideline and my brain shouts LSU.

A talent consultant in this article talks about how he touted Morency before the season for stardom.

If you read my Preseason Top 13 Heisman candidates you will see that I also touted Morency early.

Always good to be ahead of the curve.

Good analysis here by Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post on Cedric Benson’s Heisman chances.

Dempsey writes:

“Asked whether he would rather win a Heisman Trophy or beat Oklahoma, Benson, a senior who never has beaten Oklahoma, chose the former. He was asked again, and responded with the same answer…..Thing is, Benson’s play against Oklahoma might just decide it, anyway. If you’re looking for a hot name in the Heisman Trophy race, search no further than Benson. He is quite possibly the fastest rising commodity, and with good reason. He is chewing up competition at a record-setting pace.”

and:

“Benson is running down records held by the greatest Longhorns running backs. In three games, Benson has run for 558 yards, eclipsing Earl Campbell for the best three-game start in school history.”

I agree with Dempsey that Benson’s play will possibly decide the OU game, so his focus on the Heisman could end up helping the Longhorns anyway.

His second quote here also brings up another benefit that Benson and players like Leinart, Morency and others enjoy: When you are at a school that has won a Heisman, it never hurts to be compared to the previous winner (unless, perhaps, it is Geno Toretta).

And any time you break his records, people sit up and take notice.

Here’s an interesting perspective by Heisman voter Scott Faldon of the Fort Smith (Ark.) Times Record.

In it, he writes about Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones and the push (among Razorback fans) to make him a Heisman candidate.

Faldon has three criteria for Jones:

1. Arkansas has to finish in the top 10.
2. Jones has to be a human highlight reel.
3. Arkansas has to promote him.

Writes Faldon:

“Most Heisman voters are actually at football games on Saturdays. They are too busy with the game they’re covering to bother with watching an Arkansas game from start to finish. Aside from highlights on ESPN, I’d guesstimate that less than half of the 920 Heisman voters have seen Jones take a snap this year. That’s why marketing campaigns are so important. The easier you make it for the members of the media, the more they’ll reward you.”

This goes to the heart of the power of name recognition. It also shows why guys at schools like Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, Miami, Texas, etc., have a built in advantage from being on TV, on magazine covers and on radio all the time. The schools that don’t have that automatic media pull have to work harder to make their guys known. But that takes time–the season is only so long. By the time players become known, it is often too late to impact the voting.

The latest Scripps Howard News Service Heisman poll is out and Matt Leinart has strengthened his lead.

The Scripps Howard poll is comprised of actual Heisman voters from every region. It has correctly predicted 15 of the last 17 Heisman winners.

Leinart received 8 out of a possible 10 first place votes, while Jason White picked up the other two.

The Scripps Howard Top 5 (first place votes in parentheses)

1. Matt Leinart, USC (8)–44 points

2. Jason White, Oklahoma (2)–40 points

3. Kyle Orton, Purdue–32 points

4. Cedric Benson, Texas–18 points

5. Reggie Bush, USC–9 points

Others receiving votes: Alex Smith, Utah, 2; J.J. Arrington California, 1; Maurice Drew, UCLA, 1; Ciatrick Fason, Florida, 1; Andrew Walter, Arizona State, 1; Carnell Williams, Auburn, 1.

Once again, this poll results illustrate the gap that exists between the hype generated by the non-voting pundits and what the actual Heisman voters are actually thinking about.

Kyle Orton’s big stat right now is a 13-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

This is a great number to have heading into a marquee matchup vs. Notre Dame. It will be the lead stat when the announcers talk about Orton in the pre game. The more people hear the stat, the more impressed they will be.

However, the danger for Orton is that the stat is so good, anything negative that happens against the Irish will be magnified.

Imagine the AP lead the next day should Orton have a sub-par game: “Orton, who came into the game with 13 TDs and no interceptions, was picked off twice by a tenacious Irish secondary.”

If Orton were to finish with, say, 2 TDs and 2 INTs, few people will note, “Well, he still has a 15-2 ratio.” Instead, they will say that he wasn’t very impressive against Notre Dame.

Of course, if he puts up a game like he did against Ball State and the Boilermakers win, he could wake up the next morning as the front runner.

If Purdue loses, though, it will be hard for stats to save him since he is already expected to put up numbers.