Why Larry Johnson should win the heisman!

[awefullspellare]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=15536

this dosent have todays but IF U LOOK!
3 Losses-68, 78, and 66 yrds
all wins-92+yrds!
HE MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
yds per carry-below 5=loss
above5=win!
if he did good they own, if not they loss.
Take him out of the gmae adn you beat Penn st.
take Mcgahee, or Dorsey out adn u porbably still lose to Miami
only other person who i still think has a goofd claim is Brad Banks!

[GiveHyzduashot]

Good post, awfull, at least what I could read of it. ;)

Almost assuredly, someone will point to the three losses and say he was a non factor, but consider his receiving yards (which, by the way, is another PSU record he broke) and his kickoff return yards. He probably averaged at least 120 yards per game in his three losses.

I agree about Dorsey or McGahee. Dorsey is a good QB, no doubt, but really, he has a TON of talent around him. His numbers, aside from the record as a starter, really aren't eye-popping. And McGahee, IMO, gets his yards because teams focus on Dorsey. I've heard experts like Corso say in the past few weeks McGahee is the best back in the nation, and that's ludicrous.

[BPBlueSox]

Corso is a moron. But who didn't know that already?

[GiveHyzduashot]

I can't say for sure it was Corso, but I think it was him.

BTW AS, Banks has a very good claim to the Heisman too.

[Special_K19]

Who else did PSU lose to beside OSU?

[GiveHyzduashot]

Iowa and Michigan.

[Special_K19]

So let me explain why I would vote for Dorsey or Banks, can't decide yet, if I voted. Don't get me wrong, I think Johnson is a phenominal RB and the best in the nation at runningback, but I am a big fan of voting based on how the candidates do in biog games. In PSU, big games that were losses-OSU, Iowa, and Michigan-Johnson had 68, 76, and 66 yards, nothing spectacular from my standpoint (although I didn't see the performances against Iowa and UM and he could have done well in the key points). So based on him having sub par performances in bigger games I would lean towards Banks who has been great all season. That's why I said Seneca Wallace should be dropped from consideration after his horrid performance.

It's easy to pad your stats against weaker teams, so I discount those games to a certain extent and look at bigger opponents and bigger games. For that reason I put Johnson third behind Banks and Dorsey.

[GiveHyzduashot]

I first posted this in the other thread about LJ for Heisman. And since you brought it up, I'll post it again.

You only mention his rushing yards, which isn't unfair. But, look at the receiving yards he had in those games.

Iowa: 93 on 6 receptions
Michigan: 46 on 5 receptions
Ohio State: 32 on 6 receptions.

Adding together the rushing and receiving yards:

Iowa: 161
Michigan: 124
Ohio State: 98.

That's an average of 128 rushing and receiving yards per game. The only game where you could say he was unproductive is against Ohio State, and they have a very, very good defense.

That's not even taking into account his return yards in those three games. Weighing that in:

Iowa: 72 yards/5 returns
Michigan: 0 yards/0 returns
Ohio State: 0 yards/0 returns.

Now you have 455 total yards in those three games, or an average of 152 yards per game.

You could also spin the rushing yards as saying when LJ runs the ball well, PSU wins. When he struggles, PSU struggles. It illustrates how important he is to PSU's offense.

Also, consider this. Of the 10 touchdowns in the 3 losses, LJ had 4 of those ten touchdowns: three rushing and one receiving.

I don't have the time or effort right now to look up the leading rushers against UM, OSU, and Iowa. But I'd bet LJ has rushed for more yards against UM's defense and OSU's defense than what any other back has done. Probably tomorrow I'll look it up.

If LJ doesn't win the Heisman, the point you mentioned will be why. But I don't think you can only mention the rushing yards, because LJ's been an all around back all season, and that has to be brought to attention too. 150 yards per game against three of the best ten teams in the nation, and two of the better defenses in the nation, isn't too shabby if you ask me.

[Special_K19]

Like I said, I only had the rushing yards and didn't know the other stats, which make a stronger case for him than I had originally realized. It's still hard to pick a clear cut winner in the race. Dorsey can still make or break his case with two games left, so I'll hold off on my official prediction until everyone is done playing. On a side question, do bowl games count for heisman consideration?

[GiveHyzduashot]

I don't think they do. I think the ballots are due before the games start, and then the winner is announced after the bowl games are over.