Montee Ball and the Heisman Discussion

Before the “national sports media” started to catch up on its appreciation for Montee Ball and his Heisman escapades in the last few days, this piece was going to have an angry tone. How dare  people ignore a man who so clearly is one of the top offensive players in the nation? Yes, he plays for a team that lost twice, but it’s a team that’s about to play for a Big Ten title. And what about those precious numbers–who can claim better ones? Plus, we’re dealing with things that are generally very easy to understand in terms of significance: the NCAA record for most touchdowns scored. Ever. Barry Sanders. How is that not worthy of some Heisman discussion?

Well, as it turns out, it is.

According to Erin Andrews’ twitter, she was in town today to interview Ball for a College Gameday feature. And Ball has begun popping up on some Heisman lists as a serious candidate, although never inside the top three. Alabama running back Trent Richardson is the leader in the clubhouse right now (note how accurate this cliche is, since he has no more games left to play while some of the rest of the field has conference championship games. Thank you for noting), but in comparing his season to Ball’s, it’s hard to see how he can rank so far ahead.  Brian Bennet, in his Big Ten Heisman Watch this week, gives a perfect recap:

"Richardson: 263 carries, 1,583 yards, 20 touchdowns, 6.02 yards per carry; 27 catches for 327 yards and three touchdowns.Ball: 248 carries, 1,622 yards, 29 touchdowns, 6.54 yards per carry; 17 catches for 248 yards and five touchdowns.…Excluding Wisconsin, there are six Big Ten teams ranked in the top 36 nationally in total defense…Ball faced five of those defenses.…Excluding Alabama, there are also six SEC teams ranked in the top 36 nationally in total defense…Richardson faced only four of those defenses.Alabama did play one of the Big Ten’s top defenses in the nonconference season, beating Penn State in a game that was tougher than any Wisconsin faced out of league play. But that also gives us more of an apples-to-apples comparison between Ball and Richardson against the Nittany Lions’ strong ‘D.’ It goes like this:Richardson vs. Penn State: 26 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns; four catches for 19 yards.Ball vs. Penn State: 25 carries for 156 yards and four touchdowns; one catch for 15 yards"

So when the hard numbers are compared, and the SEC bias is thrown out, Ball is clearly ahead of Richardson. That’s not to say that Ball is more a more dynamic back or even better than Richardson; he probably isn’t. But this year, he’s had a superior season. So why is he lagging so far behind?

The answer lies in the Heisman Pundit’s, a.k.a. Chris Huston’s, 10 rules for winning the Heisman.

"4. The winner must have some prior name recognition.The only way to overcome lack of prior name recognition is by producing a season that is head and shoulders above the other challengers."

And that’s exactly why Ball has no chance at actually winning the Heisman, and why it took him so long to even be mentioned in the same sentence with it. It’s why Russell Wilson was probably not going to win it either, even if Wisconsin had remained undefeated. Ball and Wilson had zero Heisman recognition coming into the season on a national level, and their seasons, despite being extremely good, are not “head and shoulders above the other challengers.”

In a perfectly just world, yes, Ball would be ranked ahead of Richardson this year. But Heisman voters are, understandably, influenced by the coverage that the preseason favorites garner all year, and the recognition of their skill. In this scenario, an Andrew Luck or a Trent Richardson having a very good season will always outrank someone like Montee Ball or Robert Griffin III having a better year.

Huston does a good job breaking down this year’s Heisman race with some facts that you may have never known–for example, Heisman voting is split into specific regions that make it a little easier to predict. In this scenario, the only region Ball has a chance in is the Midwest one. At the very least, there’s a decent shot he could get invited to New York so he can force a smile and clap for another guy’s Heisman victory.

So yes, while it may be a little discouraging to know that regional and perceptual biases render Montee Ball’s Heisman campaign doomed to failure, it shouldn’t be too soul crushing. There really is nothing to get angry about here. The fact that he’s been so splendid this year and is getting seriously mentioned at all is a definite boon for Wisconsin’s national recognition and general success.

So instead of even thinking about the Heisman, I would merely hope for wins against Michigan State for the Big Ten title, and then (most likely) Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Those are two trophies which don’t require a national media bias to attain.