Heisman Top 25: No. 22 Jordan Lynch

Jan 1, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies quarterback Jordan Lynch (6) hands off to running back Akeem Daniels (3) in the second quarter of the game against the Florida State Seminoles at the 2013 Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Just 76 players in the history of college football have earned the designation of Heisman Trophy winners. First awarded in 1935, the Heisman Trophy is considered the sport’s pinnacle of individual achievement.

SaturdayBlitz.com is tracking the race to the 78th Heisman Trophy throughout the 2013 college football season via the Heisman Top 25. Every week throughout the season, we are tracking the progress of the contenders, both their on-field impact and media presence.

From a numbers standpoint, Jordan Lynch put together one of the best seasons a dual-threat quarterback has ever managed in college football in 2012, and he did it while leading the Northern Illinois Huskies to their first ever BCS appearance in the Orange Bowl against the Florida State Seminoles. He even did enough to merit a modest late-season Heisman campaign, as he would go on to finish seventh in the voting.

He decimated the MAC both through the air and on the ground, finishing second in the country in total offense behind only Johnny Manziel. And, after starting the season facing questions about whether or not he would be able to fill the shoes of Chandler Harnish, he quickly made a name for himself.

Harnish set all sorts of NIU and MAC records in his four years as a starter, but Lynch wrote his own place in history in 2012. And, had it not been for a less-than-stellar performance through the air and a come-from-behind victory by Iowa in the season opener at Soldier Field, it may have been even better.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where a player from a mid-major conference garners enough Heisman buzz to earn an invitation to NYC, let alone to win the award, but had NIU been undefeated going into their BCS appearance, you have to wonder if that would have been enough to earn Lynch a nod.

Even with the early loss to Iowa, had it not been for Johnny Manziel’s season, I wonder if Lynch would have gotten more respect for what he actually accomplished from a statistical standpoint.

How Jordan Lynch Wins The Heisman

Unfortunately for Lynch and anyone championing his cause, for Lynch to have the season that he had only to finish seventh in the voting, it means that he’ll have to have a season of biblical proportions to ever truly merit consideration for the Heisman Trophy. However, as great as his season was in 2012, there are areas of Jordan Lynch’s game that could be better.

He struggled through the air against Iowa on a wet and windy day in Soldier Field, and Florida State’s team speed certainly seemed to overwhelm him in the Orange Bowl. In 2012, he’ll get a pair of shots to beat FBS schools in their own building when he visits Iowa on Aug. 31 and Purdue on Sept. 28.

Ultimately, he’ll have to beat them both, have stellar performances in each of those games and in the three consecutive mid-week MAC games on ESPN2 to close the regular season, have an enormous game in the MAC championship, go undefeated and best his 2012 statistics if he wants to win the Heisman Trophy. It’s a tall task with a lot of moving parts, but in terms of revisionist history, if Lynch and NIU goes undefeated and he has a 3,000/2,000 season in 2012, AND you take away Manziel, I think you can make a compelling argument that Lynch is worthy of winning the Heisman.

He was close in 2012, and if he gets a few breaks in 2013… who knows?

One other thing to make note of is that NIU associate athletic director Donna Turner worked on Charlie Ward’s Heisman campaign in 1993. Last year, Turner and the NIU video department came up with a few inspired ideas on short notice and made enough of an impression on voters to see Lynch’s name turn up on ballots, which is an accomplishment.

With a full season to launch a campaign, expect Turner to do everything she can to capture the attention of the voters. Although, it will be up to Jordan Lynch to hold that attention.

Statistical Overview

• 237-394 passing (60.2 percent)
• 3138 passing yards (8.0 per attempt)
• 25 touchdowns/6 interceptions
• 1815 rushing yards
• 19 rushing touchdowns

Compared To Past Winners

• Johnny Manziel, 2012: The numbers are strikingly similar and Manziel is probably the best comparison out there for Lynch strictly from a statistical standpoint. Of course, in reality, Manziel is a more explosive athlete, a more polished passer, and he plays in the SEC, while Jordan Lynch has a more blue-collar mentality.
• Eric Crouch, 2001: You can compare and contrast Crouch and Lynch for days, but the reason they’re similar is very simple and linear. They’re both stellar athletes who are perfect fits for the system they played in, and while the next level may try to take them and change them into something they’re not, it’s important that we remember exactly how good they were as college quarterbacks.