In a weekend that saw Rutgers return to the AP top 25 for the first time since the 1976 season finale poll, I guess it’s official. Almost anything is possible! Injuries to two members of last week’s top 10 led to some additions and removals at the bottom of my poll this week, plus there’s been a major shakeup among the players I ranked three through seven. I made no trades in my first two, though, despite a less-than-spectacular performance from Ohio State’s Troy Smith (without a “highlight” play). My latest Heisman update follows.

Heisman Trophy Top-10

Monday, September 25

1) TROY SMITH (Ohio State) Last Week: 1. The No. 1-ranked Buckeyes were busy with Joe Pa’s Nittany Lions last Saturday. Ohio State had won 10 straight games (both SU and ATS by the way) since losing at Happy Valley last year. Revenge may have been on the minds of the Ohio State players, but on the field, Penn State was playing the top-ranked team in the nation to a deadlock. Penn State led 3-0 at the half, limiting Smith and Buckeye’s offense to just 99 yards total. Ohio State took a 7-3 lead in the third quarter and Smith’s 37-yard highlight reel TDP (which traveled some 60 yards in the air!) to Robiskie made it 14-3 in the fourth. Two late interceptions, both returned for touchdowns, gave Ohio State a very tricky 28-6 win (see my Bad Beats/Lucky wins column Wednesday for more). Smith had averaged 249.4 YPG passes while completing 67.5 percent of his shots (with 20 TDPs and just two INTs) in the previous 10 Ohio State games, but was limited to just 115 passing yards (he had averaged 256 .3 in the first three games of 2006) while completing 12 of 22 attempts. He had that TDP but two INTs, after throwing just two INTs in the previous 10 games. It was not a good game for Smith, but he still has my first place. Ohio State visits Iowa City next Saturday to face the Hawkeyes 4-0 and 13th in the ranking. His season stats are: 68 of 103 66.0 percent 884 yards 8 TDP 2 INT.

2) ADRIAN PETERSON Last Week: 2. Peterson almost won this award as a freshman and has made a strong case earlier this season to win it this year as a junior. Oklahoma didn’t have to worry about bad decisions this week, as the Sooners led Middle Tennessee State 24-0 late in the first quarter and 45-0 at the half. Peterson topped 100 yards for the fourth straight game (the 21st of his career), finishing with 128 yards on 27 carries. He had three short touchdown runs in the first half (3, 2 and 7 yards) and was on the sidelines after Oklahoma’s first possession of the second half made it 52-0. The final was 59-0, MTSU’s largest margin of defeat since it was promoted to Division IA in 1999. Oklahoma has this weekend off to prepare for the team’s annual “Red River Shootout” with Texas in Dallas on March 7. october. Peterson’s season stats are: 117 carries 643 yards 5.5 YPC 7 TDs/4 receptions 72 yards 18.0 YPC 1 TD.

3) BRADY QUINN (Notre Dame) Last week: 6. WOW! On the 40-year anniversary of one of CFB’s most famous games, the 10-10 tie between Notre Dame and Michigan State in East Lansing in 1966, the Irish and Spartans gave us another classic to remember last Saturday night. Brady Quinn, the Heisman favorite entering the season, once again started slow for the Irish. He was just 2 of 8 for six yards to open the game as ND trailed 17-0. Quinn was pretty special after that though, finishing 18 on his last 26 throws for 313 yards with five TDPs. However, the Irish were still down by 16 points almost halfway through the fourth quarter. Quinn’s 43-yard TDP made it 37-27 MSU with just 8:18 left and after a Stanton fumble returned the ball to ND, Quinn’s fifth TDP of the game made it just 37-33 MSU. with 4:57 left to play. Though Quinn would finish the game 20-of-36 for 319 yards with five TDPs and just one INT, he was on the sidelines when Notre Dame DB Lambert returned a 27-yard interception for the game-winning touchdown and then sealed the win with another interception in the final minutes. seconds of the game. It marked the second year in a row that Quinn has thrown five TDPs against the Spartans and it was his first 300-yard game of the season, after topping 300 yards five times in 2005 (in four of those games he topped 400 yards! ). The win leaves ND at 3-1 and ranked No. 12 by AP. The Irish will be the favorites in each of their next seven games (the first is Purdue visiting South Bend this Saturday), before they visit the LA Coliseum on Nov. 25, when they take on the Trojans. Clearly, Quinn is not only back in the Heisman race, but he can be the favorite again in no time. His season stats are: 92 of 158 58.2 percent 1,086 yards 11 TDP 4 INT / 1 rushing TD.

4) CHRIS LEAK (Florida) Last Week: 5. I love the way Leak has played this year and you have to wonder what the Florida Gator fans were thinking when they booed him walking off the field last Saturday early in the fourth quarter. . The Gators were in a tough spot against Kentucky. They had just won the week before in Knoxville, had Alabama next, and had to get up for a Kentucky team they had beaten 19 straight times. Meyer must have had a hard time cheering on his squad for this Wildcats visit. Still, trailing 7-6 late in the second quarter, Leak completed five of five passes on the go-ahead TD drive, which put the Gators up 12-7 at the half. Shortly after being “booed off the field” early in the fourth quarter, he returned to pitch for his second TDP of the game, giving the Gators their final margin of victory (27-6). Leak finished the game 15-for-26 for 267 yards with two TDPs and one INT. As mentioned above, Alabama visits Gainesville this Saturday. Leak’s season stats are: 70 of 110 63.6 percent 1,066 yards 12 TDP 4 INT.

5) STEVE SLATON (West Virginia) Last Week: 3. The Mountaineers found the road a little tougher, as after three straight home wins with combined scores of 139-37, West Va battled it out in Greenville, North Carolina against East Carolina. Despite outscoring the Pirates by a 221-87 margin (just two rushing yards) in the first half, West Va led just 14-7. That was partly because QB Pat White was intercepted twice in the end zone. While White threw for a career-high 216 yards, he also had three interceptions. Slaton, who entered the game averaging 168 YPG rushing (West Va entered averaging 350 YPG rushing as a team), was limited to just 80 rushing yards on 24 attempts and did not score. As a team, the Mountaineers rushed for just 153 yards, nearly 200 yards below their average! Slaton also caught three passes for 35 yards, but overall, it was a very average game. The good news is that the fourth-ranked Mountaineers won 27-10, giving them their 11th straight win and sixth straight on the road. West Va is free this weekend. Slaton’s season stats are: 86 carries 583 yards 6.8 YPC 6 TDs / 4 receptions 47 yards 11.8 YPC 0 TDs.

6) MIKE HART (Michigan) Last Week: 4. Mike Hart was under 100 rushing yards for the first time in four games this year, as Michigan beat Wisconsin 27-13. The Wolverines thought they’d be a bit out of the Notre Dame upset and have been very busy lately with the Badgers. Such was the case last Saturday as the match was tied at the half, 10-1. Henne threw three INTs in the game, but his third-quarter TDP put Michigan up 17-10 and Hart’s 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth gave the Wolverines a 24-10 lead. Hart finished with 91 yards on 23 carries and that touchdown. Up next for Michigan is a trip to the Metrodome this Saturday against the Gophers. Hart’s season stats are: 104 carries 477 yards 4.6 YPC 5 TDs / 4 receptions 25 yards 6.3 YPC 0 TDs.

7) GARRETT WOLFE (Northern Illinois) Last week: 10. Not only does Wolfe stay in my top 10 but, like the Jeffersons, he’s “moving up!” Northern Illinois opened the game against an outmatched Indiana State by returning a fumble for a TD, but then it was Wolfe’s turn, as he scored his team’s next four TDs on runs of 12, 17, one and six yards. He finished the game with 198 yards on 22 carries and caught four passes for 42 yards. He leads the nation in rushing with 207 YPG and if he thinks he doesn’t deserve this high ranking after his team outscored Indiana State 49-14, he remembers this. The No. 1-ranked Buckeyes watched Wolfe rush for 171 yards against them on Sept. 2 (at Columbus!) as he caught five passes for another 114 yards. Northern Illinois visits Ball State this Saturday. Wolfe’s season stats are: 96 carries 828 yards 8.6 YPC 8 TDs / 9 catches 156 yards 17.3 YPC 1 TD.

8) MARIO MANNINGHAM (Michigan) Last week: NR. I like to keep at least one WR in this poll and Manningham’s pick is as good as any. USC’s Jarrett hurt his shoulder Saturday and will be out four to six weeks, and Ohio State’s Ted Ginn Jr caught just two passes (for just 15 yards) last week against Penn State. Manningham followed up his breakout performance against Notre Dame two weeks ago (four catches for 137 yards with three TDs!) by racking up seven catches for 113 yards and two more TDs in Michigan’s 27-13 win over Wisconsin. Manningham’s touchdowns against ND covered 69, 20 and 22 yards and his big-play ability also showed against Wisconsin, as his touchdown receptions went for 24 and 38 yards. That’s 11 catches these last two weeks for 250 yards and five TDs! His season stats are: 16 catches 321 yards 20.1 YPC 6 TDs.

9) MARSHAWN LYNCH (California) Last week: NR. Lynch was among the Heisman contenders earlier in the year, as Cal opened the season ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, the school’s highest ranking since 1952! However, he was rendered useless in the Bears’ season opener in Tennessee, when the Vols took a 35-0 lead. However, Lynch finished with 74 yards on just 12 carries in that game. In Cal’s 49-21 win over ASU last Saturday, Lynch topped the 100-yard mark for the third straight week (giving him 12 career 100-yard games), gaining 124 yards on 17 carries and adding 33 plus yards on two receptions. including a TD. Lynch played behind JJ Arrington (he topped 2,000 YR that season!) in 2004, but still gained 628 yards at an 8.8 YPC average. Last year, Lynch battled injuries but still gained 1,246 yards, averaging 6.4 YPC. Adding up this year’s results, Lynch is averaging 7.1 YPC while gaining 2,323 career yards from him. Cal visits Corvallis this Saturday to meet the Beavers. His season stats are: 62 carries 449 yards 7.2 YPC 3 TDs / 8 catches 64 yards 8.0 YPC 1 TD.

10) KEVIN KOLB (Houston) Last week: NR. Why not Kolb? He has led the Cougars to the school’s first 4-0 start since 1990 after they defeated Oklahoma State last Saturday, 34-25. Kolb completed 21 of 28 passes for 313 yards with four TDPs and no INTs. His first three TD throws weren’t dame either, covering 42, 33 and 27 yards. Many may not know this (I didn’t!), but Kolb is the active Division IA career leader in completions, passing yards, and total attack! We’ll find out what he’s made of this Saturday when the Cougars visit the Hurricanes in Miami. His season stats are: 94 of 135 69.6 percent 1,193 yards 12 TDP 1 INT.

Abandoned:

No. 7 Dwayne Jarrett (USC)
No. 8 Ted Ginn, Jr (Ohio State)
No. 9 Kenny Irons (Auburn)