Saturday, December 8, 2012

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

A good article normally stems from a good introductory paragraph; it's that way with almost every essay, paper, or report ever written. You learn it at a young age and you practice it over and over until you finally think you have it mastered. I'd like to think (for the most part) that my intros have been decent enough to keep you reading. That is the goal, after-all. Unfortunately you don't get an elaborate intro today because there's really no nice way to dress this up other than just coming out and saying it: Manti Te'o should win the Heisman Trophy.

Manti Te'o looks up to the sky after beating Michigan State the week he lost both his grandmother and girlfriend photo credit: espn.com


Tonight in Manhattan, college football will once again be center stage. Not surprising, it is Saturday night. Instead of uniforms you get suits, in place of broadcasters you get Chris Fowler. It's a shining night for three student athletes who all deserve to be there and probably all deserve to win, yet only one will. It's probably going to be Johnny Manziel. It's difficult to argue with his resume. The numbers are there. The moment is there. Even the nickname is there. The dude pulled a cat out of traffic, come on. The only thing this guy can't do is legally drink. He's a very talented football player and I get he's a freshman, but if he wins the Heisman tonight, then change the award.

By now you've probably heard of Manti Te'o's hard times (gotta love the back to back apostrophe, don't get to do that every day). Te'o lost both his girlfriend and his grandmother earlier this season, right before he and the Irish were to take on Michigan State. Now, you can be ready for a lot of Charles Woodson comparisons tonight, so I'll start you early. It was the Michigan State game for Woodson that was sort of his coming out party. It was the game where people and looked around and said, "you know what, this guy has an outside shot to win the Heisman." It was that interception that still defies everything humanly possible. For Teo, it was a spirited performance against the Spartans (twelve tackles, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery) that gave people the sense that this guy may actually have a shot at the Heisman. The thought crept in, after that game, and slowly got bigger as the season went on.

What is the point of the Heisman trophy if Te'o doesn't win it tonight? He's the best story in college football. He came back to Notre Dame for his senior season, kept his mouth shut (unlike Matt Barkley), and made ALL of the plays. He is the best player on the best team in the country. Oh they aren't the best, Alabama is better? They're number one, and if you want to say that Manziel is the best player because of his numbers, then Notre Dame is the best because of their number. All of a sudden, we're back to baseball and the MVP debate on numbers, and how Johnny Manziel has a better WAR than Manti Te'o. Save it...you can't judge an award on numbers, you have to look at more than that. You are picking the winner of the most prestigious award in sports. It's nice to win an MVP or a Conn Smythe, but this is the Heisman. You may have never heard of Roger Crozier but you've almost certainly heard of RGIII (if you haven't, thank you for reading something that probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you).

Johnny "Football" is seeking to become the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy photo credit: bleacherreport.com


Being the best player on the best team doesn't always mean you should win something. There's probably a lot of examples where the team is the greater than the individual, and Notre Dame and Teo may even be one. Chauncey Billups shouldn't have won an NBA MVP in 2004, but he was the best player on the best team. Te'o, however, should win tonight. Teo has 103 tackles and is second in America in interceptions. He's a linebacker. That doesn't happen. So he definitely has the starts part covered. A lot of people say Johnny Manziel will win because of his moment, beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Now, I don't have a lot of friends who like Notre Dame. I do have one good one though, and he was quick to point out Te'o's performance against Oklahoma when I said Te'o doesn't have a moment like that. Twelve tackles and an interception in Norman to beat the Sooners? Alright Jack, fine that counts. So he's got the moment covered. It's not rolling the Tide in Bryant-Denny, but it's not celebrating after beating Uconn, either (see Spartan fans, I take shots at Michigan too). Beating Oklahoma in Norman is not easy, I don't care what kind of year they are having. And the story? Losing both your girlfriend and grandmother in the same week, playing, playing exceedingly well, and leading NOTRE DAME to an undefeated season and a birth in the BCS Title game? Cue Booby Miles's uncle saying, "...and he can pass!!" Yeah, he's got it all covered.

So there's the resume. Now I don't believe in the argument that Te'o should win because he's a senior and Manziel will have his moment in the future. That's about as predictable as Craig Sager's next suit. Who knows what will happen with Manziel in the future. No, the voters should throw class standing out of the equation, and I'm sure they did. Manziel has a wonderful resume too. But do you think he'd even be in this conversation if not for beating Alabama? Hell no. He got hot at the right time, and beamed brighter than the sun on national television when he got his chance. That's what good players do. But everyone forgets about Johnny Manziel's bad games because of his good one, and that's where I have an issue. Twenty-four out of thirty-one for 253 and two scores is great against Alabama. But twenty-three out of thirty for 173 and no scores in a loss against Florida is pretty pedestrian. Should you be allowed to have a bad game and win the Heisman? Probably. But how bout twenty-nine out of fifty-six for 276 with no scores and three picks against LSU? How bout seventeen out of twenty-six for 191, a score and two picks against Ole Miss? Point is Manziel has had plenty of average games. Heisman Trophy winners are not supposed to be average. Now you're thinking, "well, he's a freshman, cut him some slack." You're right, he's a freshman so I will cut some slack on the bad games. I'm not going to give him the Heisman Trophy though in cutting him a break.

That takes a look at Manziel's numbers in the big games. That's really what matters isn't it? That's how Woodson won it: a huge pick against Michigan State and punt return to the house against the Buckeyes. Te'o's worst statistical game came against Wake Forest; he had six tackles. He had six tackles, and Notre Dame won thirty-eight to zip. He had five tackles against both USC and Boston College, but he had an interception in both of those games. He had six tackles and a pick against Navy and he didn't play the whole game. So let's look at what I think are the six biggest games on Notre Dame's Schedule: USC, Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, Oklahoma, and Miami (yeah, you're point about Notre Dame not having to go through the rigors of the SEC is now useless). In those six games combined, Te'o had fifty-seven tackles, and four interceptions. Oh yeah, and Notre Dame won every one of the games.

All of that said (sorry Collin Klein, find a corner), Manziel could still win the award and he would be deserving. That's the beauty of having two great players up for an award. But if Manziel wins, then the Heisman trophy should be given exclusively to offensive players, because you're not going to find a defensive resume and story like this one ever again. You're going to see history tonight one way or the other. It's either going to be the first freshman or the first exclusively defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. The intro might have sucked, but how's that for a finish?


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