West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith maintained his huge lead in today’s second installment of the Scripps Howard News Service Heisman Poll, receiving eight first-place ballots from the 10-member voting committee. The other two first-place votes went to Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, who finished third in the weekly balloting after leading the Wildcats to a 24-19 victory over then-No. 6 Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.
Smith, the only player to appear on all 10 ballots this week, has completed 81.4 percent of his passes for 1,072 and 12 touchdowns for the ninth-ranked Mountaineers (3-0), who make their Big 12 debut Saturday against No. 25 Baylor (3-0) in Morgantown, W.Va.
The Scripps poll is the longest-running Heisman Trophy poll in the nation. Since its inception in 1987, it has correctly forecast the Heisman winner in its final weekly installment in 21 of 25 years, including last season. Below is a look at this week’s poll and a list of voters:
This week's top five:
Player, School, Season Stats, Poll Points (first-place votes in parentheses).
1.QB Geno Smith, West Virginia, 1,072 passing yards, 81.4 completion pct., 12 TDs, 67 rushing yards, 1 TD, 45 (8).
2. RB/WR/PR De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon, 276 rushing yards, 11.0 yards per carry, 4 TDs, 165 receiving yards, 3 TDs, 131 punt return yards, 23.
3. QB Collin Klein, Kansas State, 758 passing yards, 70.0 completion pct., 5 TDs, 289 rushing yards, 5 TDs, 19 (2).
4. QB E.J. Manuel, Florida State, 905 passing yards, 73.4 completion pct., 8 TDs, 188 yards rushing, 1 TD, 14.
5. LB Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, 38 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 12.
Others receiving votes: USC QB Matt Barkley, 11; Georgia QB Aaron Murray, 9; Ohio State QB Braxton Miller, 6; UCLA RB Johnathan Franklin, 4; Georgia LB Jarvis Jones, 3; Stanford RB Stepfan Taylor, 2; Michigan State RB Le'Veon Bell, 1; Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater, 1.
Last week's top five:
1.QB Geno Smith, West Virginia, 44 (8).
2. RB/WR De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon, 22.
3. RB Johnathan Franklin, UCLA, 20 (1).
4. QB Matt Barkley, USC, 9.
5. (tie) RB Stepfan Taylor, Stanford, 8.
5. LB Manti Te'o, Notre Dame, 8.
Voters: Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman; Randy Beard, Evansville Courier and Press; Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Bob Condotta, Seattle Times; Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com; Vahe Gregorian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; John Helsley, The Oklahoman; Mike Griffith, Knoxville News-Sentinel; Todd Jones, Columbus Dispatch, and Michael C. Lewis, Salt Lake Tribune.
_ Jimmy Burch
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