Heisman Top 25: No. 6 Aaron Murray
Georgia QB Aaron Murray is one of numerous SEC players hoping to win the 2013 Heisman Trophy. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Only 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.
Throughout the majority of the 2012 season, Georgia QB Aaron Murray looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate. However, against the three highest-profile opponents – South Carolina, Florida and Alabama – Murray played his worst. That shouldn’t exactly be a shock. Those three defenses were among the best in the nation. To win the Heisman, though, elite players must play their best under the brightest lights. Murray’s failure to do so last year probably cost him a place at Radio City Music Hall.
In 11 of the Bulldogs’ 14 games, Murray completed 208 of 298 passes (70 percent) for 3,369 yards, 34 TDs and 5 INTs. Against the Gamecocks, Gators and Crimson Tide, Murray went 41-for-88 (47 percent) for 524 yards (175 yards per game) with 2 TDs and 5 INTs. Murray played especially poorly in a 35-7 loss at South Carolina, completing just 11 of 31 passes for 109 yards and an INT.
There is no questioning Murray’s passing talent. Even in the biggest games, he is on a very short list of the sport’s best traditional pocket quarterbacks. He can pick up critical yards with his feet when a play breaks down, but prefers to beat teams through the air. Murray capped his junior season with a 427-yard, 5-TD performance in a Capital One Bowl comeback victory over Nebraska. He also finished mere yards short of engineering a memorable game-winning drive to lead the Bulldogs past Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. A win on that stage would have lifted Georgia into the BCS National Championship Game.
The Bulldogs have made their 2013 mission clear: Get back to Atlanta and finish with the conference crown this time. Murray will need to be the catalyst.
How Aaron Murray Wins The Heisman
Georgia boasts one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation with Murray and a pair of talented RBs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. To start with, Murray needs to be the focal point of the offense. That can easily be accomplished simply by Gurley and Marshall continuing to split carries.
Secondly, Murray must avoid the candidacy-killing outings he has suffered in recent seasons. He will get numerous opportunities to shine on bright stages. The opener at Clemson will be televised nationally and is probably the weekend’s most highly anticipated tilt. Georgia follows that entertaining non-conference game with a pivotal divisional matchup against South Carolina. A neutral-field game against Florida and another potential huge faceoff in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama give Murray all the opportunities he needs. He must, however, play well in at least most of those games.
Murray needs to post huge passing numbers – likely 4,000-plus yards and 35 regular-season TDs – to have a realistic chance. He also needs Georgia to win big. The only three pocket passers to win the award over the past decade – Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford in 2008, USC’s Matt Leinart in 2004 and Oklahoma’s Jason White in 2003 – led their teams to the national championship game.
Statistical Overview
• 249-386, 3,893 yards, 36 TDs, 10 INTs in 2012, 3 rushing TDs
• 174.8 quarterback rating in 2012
• 696-1,131, 10,091 yards, 95 TDs, 32 INTs in career
• 9 rushing TDs
Compared To Past Heisman Winners
Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, 2008: In leading the Sooners to the national championship game, Bradford threw for 4,720 yards, 50 TDs and 8 INTs. Oklahoma went 11-1 during the regular season. Bradford didn’t shoulder much of the blame for that loss – a 45-35 loss to Texas during which Bradford threw for 387 yards and 5 TDs. Late in the season, Bradford took advantage of two big stages. He and the Sooners dominated Texas Tech, 65-21, in a game that ultimately determined the tie-breaker in the Big 12 South. A couple weeks later, Bradford posted 384 passing yards and 2 TDs in the Big 12 Championship Game victory over Missouri.
Carson Palmer, USC, 2002: A couple early losses didn’t prevent Palmer from climbing the ranks quickly at the end of the season. Palmer became the face of the USC revitalization led by former coach Pete Carroll and enjoyed the riches of reinvigorating a primo program. Palmer staked his claim for the award with a 425-yard, 4-TD performance in a dominant 44-13 victory over then-No. 7 Notre Dame. He finished the season with 3,942 yards and 33 TDs. Still, Palmer needed a controversial vote split in the Midwest to ultimately win the Heisman. Iowa QB Brad Banks, the engineer of a Hawkeyes team that ran the table in the Big Ten, and Penn State RB Larry Johnson, who rushed for 2,087 yards and 20 TDs, took votes away from each other. Miami stars QB Ken Dorsey and RB Willis McGahee also took votes away from each other. Palmer ultimately benefitted, winning one of the tightest, most controversial Heismans.