Texas' McCoy still Heisman leader despite Longhorns' near-hiccup

This year, with Florida's offensive line getting off to a slow start and other Gators contributing more, Tebow's production hasn't matched its 2007 pace, and he has fallen off this list. On Saturday, however, he has a chance to get back into the race with an enormous matchup against No. 8 Georgia. If Tebow hopes to become the second repeat Heisman winner, the comeback has to start Saturday. With the Big 12 quarterbacks playing like they are, Tebow's already a longshot.

Last week: 38-of-45 passing, 391 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 10 rushes, 41 yards, 1 TD in a 28-24 victory over No. 7 Oklahoma State.

Season: 198-of-242 passing, 2,285 yards, 21 TDs, 4 INTs; 80 rushes, 412 yards, 7 TDs; 1 punt, 44 yards.

Heisman-o-meter: We've become so accustomed to near perfection from McCoy this season that when he makes mistakes like he did on Saturday, it's shocking. He had two turnovers -- an interception that led to an OSU field goal and a fumble deep in OSU territory that cost the Horns a field goal -- that jeopardized Texas' victory. But McCoy still played like a Heisman frontrunner, moving the ball effectively against the nation's No. 7 team (passing for a career-high 391 yards) and was his same-old accurate self, completing 84.4 percent of his passes. Now comes McCoy's and Texas' most difficult true road game this season.

Up next: Saturday at No. 6 Texas Tech.

Last week: 13-of-32 passing, 255 yards, 3 TDs; 1 rush, 1 yard, 1 TD in a 58-35 victory at Kansas State.

Season: 183-of-270 passing, 2,775 yards, 29 TDs, 5 INTs; 23 rushes, minus-13 yards, 3 TDs.

Heisman-o-meter: The Sooners quarterback finished with the worst completion rate of his career on Saturday, but The Watch counted at least four drops in the first half. And in the second half, when he was 1-for-9, Oklahoma already had the game well in hand. If facing Bradford isn't daunting enough for opponents, they must now worry about a rushing offense that has suddenly found life, running for 479 yards in the last two games.

Up next: Saturday vs. Nebraska.

Last week: 34-of-42 passing, 386 yards, 5 TDs; 7 rushes, 14 yards, 1 TD in a 63-21 victory at No. 19 Kansas.

Season: 256-of-360 passing, 3,147 yards, 28 TDs, 5 INTs; 20 rushes, 14 yards, 6 TDs.

Heisman-o-meter: Harrell hit a wide open Edward Britton for a 55-yard touchdown on Tech's second play from scrimmage, and the rout was on. Kansas couldn't stop the Harrell-led Red Raiders' offense in the first half, as Tech scored touchdowns on its first five possessions. (The half ran out on its sixth.) Surprisingly, Kansas sacked Harrell twice (he had gone down only once this season), but both came at the end of the third quarter with the game's outcome decided. If he's able to beat the nation's top-ranked team on Saturday in the biggest game Lubbock has ever seen, Harrell may just be No. 1 on this list next week.

Up next: Saturday vs. No. 1 Texas.

Last week: Idle.

Season: 177 rushes, 1,154 yards, 10 TDs; 6 rushes, 20 yards.

Heisman-o-meter: Greene's story is one of the best this season. The junior didn't play football last year while working on his academics at Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College, and a season later the bruising back is having one of the best seasons of any player in the nation. Can he win the Heisman? He'll need some help from the players above; a big game against Penn State on Nov. 8 wouldn't hurt, either.

Up next: Saturday at Illinois.

Last week: 18 rushes, 161 yards, 1 TD; 1 reception, 31 yards in a 28-24 loss at No. 1 Texas.

Season: 169 rushes, 1,116 yards, 10 TDs; 8 receptions, 103 yards; 1 kickoff return, 13 yards.

Heisman-o-meter: Hunter ran wild against Texas, logging 161 yards against what had been the nation's second-best rushing defense (which was allowing just 48.1 yards per game). In the Horns' defense, they played with just six men in the box for the majority of the game. Unfortunately, just as Hunter was putting the Cowboys in position to pull off the upset, coach Mike Gundy went away from Hunter on three straight plays during the team's penultimate drive of the game, resulting in a loss of downs. With Hunter running like he was on Saturday, The Watch would've kept feeding him the ball.

Up next: Saturday vs. Iowa State.

Last week: 31-of-37 passing, 302 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT; 5 rushes, 34 yards in a 58-0 victory over Colorado.

Season: 220-of-286 passing, 2,675 yards, 23 TDs, 6 INTs; 31 rushes, 146 yards, 1 TD.

Heisman-o-meter: Welcome back, Chase. After two very un-Daniel-like weeks, the Tigers' triggerman returned to his normal, prolific self. He threw a Tebow-esque jump pass to Chase Coffman in the end zone for one touchdown and hit Jeremy Maclin with a perfectly placed ball right at the pylon for another score. He did, however, throw an interception for the third straight game.

Up next: Saturday at Baylor.

Last week: Idle.

Season: 167 rushes, 812 yards, 9 TDs; 19 receptions, 176 yards.

Heisman-o-meter: Surprisingly, The Watch did not receive one email suggesting Rodgers shouldn't be on the list. Maybe the argument made here last week that he has rushed for 386 yards and five touchdowns against Penn State, USC and Utah (three teams ranked in the top 10) was convincing enough. On Saturday, Rodgers faces a much less imposing foe: Arizona State and its 84th ranked run defense.

Up next: Saturday vs. Arizona State.

Last week: 12-of-20 passing, 121 yards; 8 rushes, 39 yards in a 13-6 victory at No. 10 Ohio State.

Season: 126-of-200 passing, 1,652 yards, 11 TDs, 2 INTs; 55 rushes, 229 yards, 8 TDs.

Heisman-o-meter: Even though the Nittany Lions escaped Columbus with a victory, Clark, No. 3 last week, moves down because the Buckeyes' essentially shut him down. It would be hard for The Watch to make an argument for someone who was a non-factor in his team's biggest game of the season. (As many of you know, backup Pat Devlin replaced Clark late in the game after Clark incurred a minor head injury.) The Watch almost put Evan Royster and Aaron Maybin here instead.

Up next: Nov. 8 at Iowa.

Last week: 26 rushes, 146 yards, 4 TDs; 3 receptions, 34 yards in a 54-34 loss to Rutgers.

Season: 161 rushes, 835 yards, 14 TDs; 17 receptions, 206 yards.

Heisman-o-meter: The Watch hates to bump up a guy whose team just got hammered by three touchdowns, but McCoy's dizzying 33-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage is reason enough to move him up. Also, this was a close game for a little more than three quarters, and McCoy's fourth touchdown run pulled the Panthers to within three points.

Up next: Saturday at Notre Dame.

Last week: 21 rushes, 163 yards, 1 TD; 2 receptions, 9 yards in a 52-38 victory at No. 11 LSU.

Season: 149 rushes, 925 yards, 12 TDs; 14 receptions, 143 yards; 2 punt returns, 30 yards.

Heisman-o-meter: Just as Moreno was breaking into the secondary on a run late in the third quarter, CBS play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist, noticing Moreno in a footrace with an LSU defender, said the Georgia running back, "does not have great speed." Sixty-eight yards later, Moreno had left the Tigers behind and was celebrating a touchdown that put the Bulldogs up 38-17. Moreno may not have Usain Bolt-type wheels, but they're good enough to play running back on The Watch's team anytime.

Up next: Saturday vs. No. 5 Florida in Jacksonville.