Top 10 Heisman Hopefuls after Week 5

There were a few contenders on a bye week so unless the player directly behind him had a super game, the bye week player stayed in his spot. That will change later in the season as teams don't have any more games and others with conference championship games have that one last shot to impress the voters. Keep the comments coming. I appreciate the guys from Burnt Orange Nation, telling me of my oversight of Manningham last week. 1. Adrian Peterson - Peterson had the week off and I hope he rested his back because if the Sooners are going to beat Texas this week in the Red River Shootout Peterson is going to have to carry the team to victory. 2. Brady Quinn - Quinn had another strong week against a quality opponent. The Irish's schedule gets much weaker now until the USC game at the end of season. Brady needs to take advantage of the weaker teams and build up the heisman excitement for the final game in the Coliseum. 3. Troy Smith - The Buckeyes won again on the road against a tough Hawkeye team but Smith's numbers were not all that impressive. Like the Irish, the Buckeyes won't be tested again till their end of the season battle with the Wolverines. This is the time for Smith to shine, especially since the Big Ten does not have a conference championship game. 4. Steve Slaton - Slaton had the week off to rest his legs to run all over Mississippi State. Look for Slaton to have some where around 150 yards rushing when he leaves the game in the third quarter. 5. Garrett Wolfe - Let's all say it in unison "Garrett Wolfe is for real!" The man broke the Division 1a single game rushing record last week, averages 9.3 ypc, and is on pace to rush for over 3000 yards this year. Those are all mind boggling stats, and he's done it against better teams than the person in front of him on this list, Mr Slaton. 6. Michael Hart - Hart did well in his first game against a Big Ten defense rushing for 195 yards. The longer Michigan stays undefeated and the further they move up the polls will benefit Hart. He should be able to have a field day against the Spartans this week, just stay away from John L Smith because he might get slapped. 7. Chris Leak - Leak did what he needed to do to get his team a victory but it was not the performance I expected from him against Alabama. The good thing for Leak is that he has 3 consecutive weeks against Top 10 caliber opponents to showcase his talents, or fall off the list. 8. Calvin Johnson - Johnson proved against why he is the best receiver in the land catching everything and anything that Reggie Ball threw his way. In the two marquee games against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, Johnson has put on his best performances. Now it's time to lead the Yellow Jackets to an ACC Title. 9. Mario Manningham - Like his teammate Michael Hart, Manningham is not getting noticed by the press much. All he has done is average 127 yards per game in his last three games and catch 6 touchdown passes. He is the main reason that the Wolverines' passing game has come out of its funk. 10. Ray Rice - Here is another sophomore on the list that is making a name for himself for next year's Heisman. Rice has 3 games over 190 yards and 11 total touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how those numbers translate when playing teams like West Virginia and Louisville. Honorable Mention: Jonathan Stewart, Dennis Dixon, Marshawn Lynch, Kenny Irons