Wilson, Jones among Heisman favorites whose chances took a hit

But overall, the viewing buffet failed to live up to the immense hype -- though it's an evening that may end up having a major impact on this race.

Luck and Richardson put up pedestrian numbers by their standards, but both remained very much in the BCS championship hunt. Meanwhile, Jones and Wilson, while impressive at times, saw their teams' hopes all but evaporate in losses. A spot in the title game isn't one of the official qualifications to win the Heisman, though it may as well be; in nine of the last 11 years, the recipient has played for the crystal football. This doesn't mean Jones and Wilson are out of the running, but they may be resigned to playing catch-up.

While those players failed to seize the spotlight, Week 8 wasn't without its statements. Tajh Boyd has officially become too prolific to ignore as the Clemson quarterback had six total touchdowns, giving him an FBS-best 176 points responsible for on the season, while Houston's Case Keenum made history and Boise State's Kellen Moore put himself in line for his own spot in the record books.

Before we take a look at this week's top contenders, which no longer includes LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu after his suspension for violating the team's drug policy, here's how things stacked up after Week 7. Remember, this exercise is meant to be a reflection of how the Watchman's ballot would look if the season ended today.

Last week: 16-of-21 passing for 169 yards and two TDs; three rushes for 23 yards in 65-21 win over No. 22 Washington.

Season (seven games): 145-of-202 passing for 1,888 yards, 20 TDs and three INTs; 16 rushes for 83 yards and one TD; one reception for 13 yards.

Luck's numbers were far from overwhelming as the Cardinal ran its FBS-best winning streak to 15 games with a drubbing of No. 22 Washington. Luck's passing yards (169) and completions (16) were his lowest of the season. But he gets more than a little credit as Stanford racked up a school-record 446 rushing yards, with Luck calling all the plays at the line of scrimmage. No. 20 USC is likely hoping Luck continues to check off to running plays as the Cardinal visit the Coliseum this week; the Trojans come in 104th nationally in pass defense, allowing 265.1 yards per game.

Next up: Saturday vs. No. 20 USC

Last week: 17 rushes for 77 yards and two TDs; three receptions for 33 yards in 37-6 win over Tennessee.

Season (eight games): 149 rushes for 1,016 yards and 17 TDs; 18 receptions for 212 yards and one TD; two kick returns for 43 yards.

Richardson saw his streak of 100-yard games end at six, against a Volunteers defense that was intent on stopping him, though he did find the end zone twice and is currently tied with Temple's Bernard Pierce for second nationally in scoring at 13.5 points per game. But most importantly, he helped keep the second-ranked Crimson Tide on their collision course with No. 1 LSU. It's that matchup against FBS' No. 3 defense that has the potential to catapult Richardson into the lead, though we'll have to wait until Nov. 5 for their highly anticipated Southern brawl.

Next up: Saturday, Nov. 5 vs. No. 1 LSU

Last week: 14-of-21 passing for 223 yards, two TDs and two INTs; eight rushes for 30 yard and one TD in 37-31 loss to No. 15 Michigan State.

Season (seven games): 109-of-149 passing for 1,780 yards, 16 TDs and three INTs; 32 rushes for 212 yards and three TDs; one reception for 25 yards and one TD.

No time was a good time for Wilson to have his worst outing of the season, but it's hard to imagine it coming in more costly fashion. After throwing one interception over the first six games, Wilson had two against the Spartans and his intentional grounding in the end zone led to a safety. He was sensational on the Badgers' last scoring drive, going 3-for-3 for 72 yards and a score, but in the end he hit on a season-low 66.7 percent of his passes and gave up the national pass efficiency lead to Baylor's Robert Griffin III, who was idle.

Next up: Saturday at Ohio State

Last week: Idle

Season (six games): 142-of-182 passing for 1,950 yards, 22 TDs and two INTs; 72 rushes for 295 yards and two TDs; one reception for 15 yards; one punt for 39 yards.

This may be the most crucial game of RGIII's season. A third loss would all but take his Bears out of the running in the Big 12, and as we discussed last week, make it increasingly difficult for America's choice for the Halfway Heisman to win the December version. But if he wins a shootout with fellow candidate Brandon Weeden -- with two offenses who rank 99th (Baylor) and 100th (Oklahoma State) in points allowed, we can expect plenty of fireworks -- Griffin can give himself and Baylor a much-needed boost with a signature win on the road.

Next up: Saturday at No. 3 Oklahoma State

Last week: 23-of-29 passing for 281 yards, three TDs and one INT in 37-26 win over Air Force.

Season (seven games): 174-of-228 passing for 2,010 yards, 24 TDs and five INTs.

Moore tied Colt McCoy for the alltime wins record (45) and he did it with the kind of efficient effort we've come to expect from the face of the Broncos. He completed 79 percent of his passes -- the fifth time this season he's been at 76 percent or higher -- and it was all the more important given that Boise State ran just 55 plays over eight possessions as Air Force and its triple-option played keep-away. Moore will have to wait a week until he gets his first crack at passing McCoy as the Broncos have a week off before facing 1-5 UNLV.

Next up: Saturday, Nov. 5 at UNLV

Last week: 30-of-55 passing for 412 yards, five TDs and one INT; two rushes for 11 yards in 41-38 loss to Texas Tech.

Season (seven games): 201-of-308 passing for 2,589 yards, 21 TDs and seven INTs; 14 rushes for 22 yards and two TDs.

He continued to put up staggering numbers. Jones went over 363 yards for the sixth time in seven games and tied his season high with five TD passes, but he wasn't sharp, hitting on a season low 54.5 percent of his throws, as Oklahoma saw its BCS title hopes dealt a serious blow. He will no doubt be eyeing a rebound against No. 10 Kansas State that, despite its lofty ranking, has been susceptible to the pass. The Wildcats rank 88th in pass defense and previously allowed 346 yards against RGIII and 461 by Texas Tech's Seth Doege.

Next up: Saturday at No. 10 Kansas State

Last week: 24-of-28 passing for 376 yards and six TDs; two rushes for 16 yards in 63-28 win over Marshall.

Season (seven games): 194-of-266 passing for 2,685 yards, 23 TDs and two INTs; 26 rushes for 40 yards.

Keenum carved his name into NCAA history, passing Timmy Chang as the career yardage king with a 30-yard pass to Justin Johnson in the first quarter against Marshall. It marked his 31st career 300-yard game. This is obviously no indicator of how Keenum will finish in voting, but of the players who make up the current top 10 in career yardage, five were among the top four vote-getters as seniors, with three (Colt Brennan, Colt McCoy and Ty Detmer) raking within the top three. However, Chang and former Houston product quarterback Kevin Kolb, weren't even in the top 10.

Next up: Thursday vs. Rice

Last week: 27-of-46 passing for 367 yards and five TDs; 11 rushes for eight yards and one TD in 59-38 win over North Carolina.

Season (eight games): 172-of-278 passing for 2,379 yards, 24 TDs and three INTs; 81 rushes for 165 yards and four TDs.

The Watchman is jumping on the Boyd bandwagon. Having freshman phenom Sammy Watkins to throw to has helped his production, but let's not discount the startling ascent Boyd has made in his first year as a starter, which is also the Tigers' first season in new coordinator Chad Morris' spread attack. The sophomore has six games with three or more TD passes, including a school record-tying five against North Carolina to go along with a rushing score. It is worth noting that no Clemson player has ever finished higher than sixth in the voting and the school has never had a finalist.

Next up: Saturday at Georgia Tech

Last week: 33-of-49 passing for 338 yards, three TDs and one INT in 45-24 win over Missouri.

Season (seven games): 222-of-309 passing for 2,436 yards, 19 TDs and seven INTs.

Weeden wasted little time in making up for last week, when he had the lowest production of his Cowboys career. The senior passed 19-of-25 for 216 yards and two touchdowns -- in the first quarter against Missouri, and that number could have been higher as Oklahoma State receivers totaled six drops. He was basically a non-factor in the second half, totaling 59 yards and an interception, as running back Joseph Randle took over with receivers Justin Blackmon and Hubert Anyiam injured, but still remains third nationally with an average of 31.7 completions per game.

Next up: Saturday vs. Baylor

Last week: Idle

Season (seven games): 76-of-141 passing for 1,253 yards, 11 TDs and 10 INTs; 120 rushes for 762 yards and nine TDs.

How will Shoelace respond after suffering a major setback his last time out? He'll face a Purdue defense that gave up 460 yards to Middle Tennessee State and 551 to Notre Dame. The bottom line is Robinson is in need of a strong outing, not just to keep his spot on this list, but also to squelch the growing sentiment that he should be demoted in favor of sophomore Devin Gardner. Coach Brady Hoke has said Robinson remains his quarterback, but when's the last time that fans were calling for the benching of a Heisman candidate?

Next up: Saturday vs. Purdue