Bandwagon Wednesday (10/31)

CLICK THE PICTURE TO ENLARGEAll Aboard! Not surprisingly, this is the busiest week in the history of the Bandwagon. We have once again decided to expand. We have added a furry friend for the Clydesdale as well as the first 3 women to board the bandwagon. Click on the "Bandwagon Wednesday" label for explanations on why riders were added in previous weeks. In honor of Halloween, we will also include costume suggestions for the first-time 'wagoneers. Here are the 12 new passengers for the week of October 31st:

1) Erin Andrews of ESPN: Thursday night's game will go down as one of the greatest in BC's history and Team RFH was there. Unfortunately, you don't care about our ugly mugs so someone has to represent the moment. How about the only person on the ESPN crew who didn't prematurely bury Matt Ryan and the Eagles. Besides, do we really need a reason to put Erin onboard. Costume suggestion: University of Florida Dazzler.

2) HC Jeff Jagodzinski and 3) AD Gene DeFilippo: Jags makes it on for giving Matty Ice the freedom to do something special, like he did Thursday night, as well as for his post-TD celebration. Gene makes it on for allowing BC to launch MattyIce.com. It's not every day that the school has a Heisman candidate. It's about time that they embraced it. Costume suggestion: Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, stars of the sitcom Bosom Buddies.

4) Uga VI: The Georgia mascot climbed aboard when his bulldogs took down former HT candidate Tim Tebow. Georgia handed Florida its 3rd loss in 4 weeks when Tebow fumbled a snap in the closing minutes on Saturday. Uga is also proud to represent bulldogs everywhere. His Mississippi State cousins knocked Andre' Woodson off the HT radar screen. Costume suggestion: Krypto the Superdog. Tebow may not be Superman but Uga is our new hero.

5) Alessandra Ambosio: Brazilian supermodel: on Friday, ESPN's Pat Forde literally asked on the bandwagon. We are more than happy to oblige, with one caveat. Forde has informed us that he is too busy completing his Forde Yard Dash and that Dashette Alessandra Ambrosio will be hopping on the Bandwagon instead. Costume Suggestion: Morally challenged nurse, because every Halloween party needs one.

6) The New York Times: The newspaper of record has written about #12 all season and this week was no exception. Samplings from the past week are here and here. Costume suggestion: The New York Daily News, because for once it would be nice to read intelligent articles without having people referred to as Mr. or Mrs. ad nauseum.

7) ESPN's Michael Smith: The guys on Around the Horn were asked to Buy or Sell Matt Ryan last week. Surprisingly, all 4 panelists, including Smith, formerly of the Globe and Boston guy at heart, chose "Buy". Costume suggestion: Morally challenged Pimp, because every Halloween party needs one.

8) Mike Francesa and 9) Chris "Mad Dog" Russo: Fatso and Frootloops rarely seem to know what they are talking about and ACC football is no exception. They are important to the Ryan For Heisman movement for 2 reasons. First, they are the highest rated show on the highest grossing radio station in the country. Second, both are HT voters. Furthermore, if Ryan is going to take home the hardware, he needs to win the East. Last Friday, Mike and the Md Dog gushed about #12 and called him the frontrunner on their ballots. Like it or not, these guys have plenty of pull. Costume suggestions: Mike-Jaba the Hutt, Chris-the Taco Bell chihuahua.

10) Lee Corso, ESPN's College GameDay: Like another crazy old man who works for the worldwide leader, Corso was the voice of reason when it comes to BC last week. He gave the Eagles credit, while his co-hosts scoffed. He even took my suggestion and dressed up for the Bandwagon in his Baldwin head in honor of Halloween. Costume suggestion: Baldwin.

11) Jordana Spiro, actress: The My Boys star is the confirmed crush of SI.com's Stewart Mandel. While some Eagles fans are angry with Stewie because of what he has to say about the team, his status on the Matt Ryan bandwagon can no longer be questioned. Mandel has twice finished in the top-3 in the column category according to the awards given out by FWAA. His opinion is well respected. Spiro got the nod because Mandel's noggin is just too scary to put up there along with The Bachelor. Costume suggestion: Former CIA Agent Valerie Plame, because then maybe should could figure out a way to give Stewie the slip.

12) Tom O'Brien, Head Coach NC State: On the serious side, O'Brien has repeatedly sung the praises of Matt Ryan ever since he left the Heights. On the lighter side, does anyone really think that, under TOB and Dana Bible, Matt Ryan would be a Heisman candidate as the calendar turns to November??? Costume suggestion: Jeff Jagodzinski, because Jags is the envy of the coaching world.

Halloween Morning Links

First off, yes, that pumpkin was actually carved that way. It lasted all of 3 days before going downhill.
-Matt Ryan is in the lead in the nation's longest running weekly HT poll.
-A nice story about a recent BC QB commit.
-Army S Caleb Campbell still has Matty Ice atop his Heisman list.
-Bobby Bowden says that his pick for the Heisman would be Matt Ryan.
-Virginia Tech's DC sets the record straight about his late game defensive strategy against Ryan.

Tuesday Links

First off, BC is asking people to wear gold to this Saturday's game. Spread the word and make sure everyone going to the game with you has a gold shirt on (end of PSA).
-Matt Ryan has a healthy lead in ESPN's Heisman Watch.
-He has taken over the top spot on the CSTV list as well.
-Pat Forde has #12 listed as the top "gunsliger" in college football. Why Dash when you can take the Bandwagon?
-Ryan is atop the rivals.com Power Rankings.
-Matty Ice continues to say all of the right things.
-From Todd McShay's chat:

Bill (Boston): What do you think of BC's chances of going undefeated and playing in the NC game?

SportsNation Todd McShay: I'm still having a tough time buying it. I'm obviously a huge Matt Ryan supporter -- I think he's the best pro QB prospect in the country right now. I also think coach Jags and his staff are doing an outstanding job on both sides of the ball. But BC looked vulnerable along the O-line last Thu night and it has struggled to rely on the run game at times, which could be a problem as the weather declines in November. Va. Tech was obviously the toughest test to date, but there's no cream-puff remaining on the schedule (FSU, at MD, at CLEM and vs. Miami) -- the trip to Clemson is the one I'm circling.

Monday Links

-If you haven't already, check out Eagle in Atlanta's second-viewing thoughts for an objective look at last Thursday's game.
-Gene Menez finally has Matt Ryan ascending to the top spot in his Heisman Watch.
-CBSSports has Ryan 2nd behind Dennis Dixon. In our mind these guys are the clear top-2 right now.
-A writer from NBC Sports has Ryan 2nd as well.

If it's Sunday...it's Ryan For Heisman? and Weekend Links

-We were a little disappointed with the appearance by Tim Russert on NBC's Notre Dame pre-game show. Well, on this week's Meet The Press, Russert made up for it in spades and earned himself the position of honorary Bandwagon conductor. He mentioned Matt Ryan for the 2nd time this season, but this time he had props. Check out this video at the 48:00 mark. We promise the wait is worth it.
-Dick Weiss has played up the idea that Matt Ryan is the second coming in pieces for Fox Sports and for the NY Daily News.
-Mark Schlabach writes an excellent account of Thursday's game with the story of a crazy (or is it genius?) coach.
-The paper of record calls Matt Ryan a video game quarterback.
-The NY Post says that #12 needs to start working on a possible acceptance speech.
-He may still be down on BC but Stewart Mandel sounds like he wants on the RFH Bandwagon.
-Deadspin likes Ryan's chances but commits 2 pretty inexcusable typos.
-The News & Observer suggests that the ACC might wants to send a fruit basket to Matt Ryan.
-Pete Thamel mentions that the cops at Fenway were celebrating the heroics of Matty Ice.
-Steve Conroy says that Matt Ryan was already a HT candidate but that Thursday night gave him the required signature win.
-A nice piece on Ryan and Jags from someone who has been high on the QB since August.
-The Globe discusses where "Rattler" fits among other classic college football moments.
-CSTV has the HT as a two-horse race but puts the wrong thoroughbred alongside Matt Ryan.

"Never stop fighting 'til the fight is done..." FIXED

Welcome to the Ryan For Heisman Virginia Tech Mega-Post. We still cannot believe what happened. We were at game 7 of the NLCS last year for Endy Chavez's catch and we thought that we would never see anything as dramatic as that in person. It took almost exactly a year, but "Rattler" now reigns supreme. As for the game, people are either talking about how great a win it was or still knocking BC and saying that they played a mediocre game. First of all, people need to stop saying that Virginia Tech dominated for 55 minutes. That is simply not the case. Second, VT's 10 points were all made possible by questionable at best officiating. The TD was the result of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Scafe that was almost laughable. He put his finger to his lips and 3rd and long became first and ten at the 11. Then, the TD was clearly not a TD. They may have still scored but they obviously did not on that play. On the FG, the pass interference penalty setting it up was weak at best. Finally, the ESPN cameras did not do the game justice. Lane Stadium was a monsoon for all but 10 minutes, the five minutes around VT's touchdown and the last five minutes. Now the pictures. Click on the images to enlarge.

The Pledge of Allegience:BC warming up: AC, 4 hours before he got a case of the Phelans: Rich Gunnell (Note: these are the only 2 players that we took close-ups of before the game): Pledge, Part II: Monsoon/ESPN's crazy camera: BC won the opening coin toss and elected to give us a heart attack for 58 minutes: Sid Vicious kicks off to start the game: If we go by all 60 minutes, the runaway player of the game:

The fans in VT deserve a break after a long year. We're just glad it didn't come Thursday:

Ryan taking the snap:

BC celebrates:

The final score: Silva and B-Rob celebrate: Silva and Razzie go up high: By the numbers: RFH2:

RFH (wearing 5 layers that weighed 50 pounds by game's end:

A video of Enter Sandman:

For more pictures (and everything else you could possibly ask for), check out Eagle in Atlanta here, here, here and here.

Media Bonanza

On a day when BC is not playing, here are a bunch of links to media. Most of it is ESPN's stuff because they are the only ones who give it away for free:

VIDEO

-The ESPN game highlights.
-The wrap from the ESPN crew. Craig "pin the tail on the AP ballot" James jumps on the bandwagon.
-Lou Holtz and Mark May debate Ryan's HT standing.
-The GameDay crew discusses which fellow HT candidate can step up on Saturday (1:40 mark).

AUDIO

-WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog discuss Matt Ryan with Dick Weiss of the Daily News.
-Mike & Mike talk to Mel Kiper (16:37 mark).
-Kirk Herbstreit talks Matt Ryan with the infamous Shrutebag (1:25 mark, Insider). Cowherd says "he'll hold a clipboard somewhere" and Herbie jumps in and says he will be a stud and that he is the most NFL ready QB in college football.
-Todd Blackledge on The Mike Tirico Show with Tirico and Van Pelt (1:18, Insider).
-Screamin' A chats with Desmond Howard (a HT voter unfortunately) about Matt Ryan (9:35 in).

If you have any other links of note, add them to the comments section.

www.mattyice.com!!!

When we started this site we wrote, "The goal of the site at this point is simply to track #12's progress and not to openly campaign. Postseason awards are not won in September and October but a SuperFan can dream." Today our goals change. As of noon today, www.mattyice.com, BC's official Matt Ryan/Heisman website will be live. It thrills us to no longer be the big fish. We have heard exciting things about their site and it will become a clearinghouse for Matty Ice information. Our sincere hope is that you keep coming to Ryan For Heisman and that you enjoy the new direction of the site even though you won't notice that much of a change. From here on out, we are officially campaigning. We are fans first and we will no longer try to suppress the urge to openly root. The Heisman Trophy will be presented 6 weeks from today at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. As of now, Matt Ryan is either 1 or 1A in the race and he has until December 8, 2007 to separate himself from the pack. Let's enjoy the ride.

Bandwagon Wednesday Special Addition

This is a rare non-Wednesday addition to the Ryan For Heisman Bandwagon. Take a look at this video of David Wright and his addition will become obvious.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE

You only get one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted...

Last year, for the BC-VT Thursday night game, our parents came to BC and brought with them a couple that they are friends with and that we had gotten to know over the years. They are Virginia Tech season ticket holders and the nicest people you could ever meet. Despite the loss, they had a very good time at the Heights and they invited us to Blacksburg for this year's game. So we decided to make the trip to Lane Stadium almost a year ago today. As it turns out, we are going to witness the biggest game in BC history, at least since the FDR administration. We can't tell you how excited we are for this game. It has the potential to be a very special night; for BC, for Matt Ryan, for Jags and the entire staff, for the players and For Boston. We will also be attending the first Devils game at the brand-spankin'-new Prudential Center on Saturday night. As it happens Bon Jovi is christening the joint tonight. When it comes to the current state of BC football, the mullet-men from New Jersey said it best, "Oh, we're halfway there..." 7 down, 7 to go. Go Eagles!

Bandwagon Wednesday (10/24)

First off, in the future, if my poor copy/paste skills lead to me referring to a fictional day of the week (Wesnesday)for 3 weeks straight, please give me a heads up. Second, part of team RFH will be venturing into the belly of the beast in Blacksburg tomorrow so there will be a maximum of 1 more post from now until Saturday at the earliest. Now, to the business at hand:

CLICK THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE

The Bandwagon is so crowded that we needed to expand this week. Hopefully, this won't be the last time. We want that little Clydesdale to get his workout in. Luckily for him, the bye week led to just 2 new riders. Click on the "Bandwagon" label for explanations on why riders were added in previous weeks. Here are the 2 (3?)new guys for the week of October 24th:

1) The Rutgers Scarlet Knight: This one was open to fan vote and the Knight got alomost 50% of the vote, beating out Ray Rice and the holder who threw a TD pass last week against USF. Rutgers beat the Bulls and enabled BC to move into BCS position for tomorrow night's game against Virginia Tech. Now, with a win, BC, and by extension Matty Heisman, have the college football stage all to themselves for few days. The Clydesdale was lonely so the knight brought his horse along too.

2) Chris Fowler of College GameDay: After Erin Andrews held an interview with David Wright in which he said that there is no way that BC wins at Lane Stadium (side note: you would be hard pressed to find a bigger David Wright fan than us but for the next 24-48 hours, he's dead to us), Fowler said that "if there's one QB that can do it, it's Matt Ryan." This may sound like a run-of-the-mill quote but it was pretty important. BC was getting hit hard by Wright and Craig "Pin the tail on the AP ballot" James. Doug Flutie didn't want to sound like an outright homer so he stayed silent. Fowler got the last word and earned his 'Wagoneer's license. CF has also said that if BC wins tomorrow, they will soar up his AP ballot. We have a feeling that he represents the country as a whole.

Finally, Mel Kiper has been gushing over #12 lately and is very close to being named Conductor of the Ryan For Heisman Bandwagon.

Wednesday Links

-By now, everybody knows that Matt Ryan has his degree and has a light courseload, but Ivan Maisel takes a deeper look at how that has paid off.
-Fox Sports calls this game pivotal for Ryan's HT chances.
-It is clear that most people consider Tim Tebow, the Heisman leader right now, but to say that it's his lose is inaccurate.
-Ryan jokes about his recent use of his Communication degree and his quotes reinforce the idea that it is hard to like #12 because he says and does everything right.
-Gosder Cherilus says that if he keeps Ryan off his back, then he Cherilus has done his job.
-Army S Caleb Campbell has Matty Ice holding strong in his Heisman watch.
-So does USA Today.
-Nice piece on BC from alum and SI scribe Kevin Armstrong.
-Your Wednesday Mel Kiper bonanza:

Dave (Toronto): Who's drafted first, Brohm or Woodson?

Mel Kiper: First of all, I think Matt Ryan, we've established as the No. 1 QB taken. Brohm or Woodson is a race to the finish. I give the slightest edge to Brohm. But we're only about a quarter of the way through the evaluation process. You have the season, the bowl games, all-star games and the combine.

Jon (Fairfax, VA): BC or VT? Who ya got?

Mel Kiper: The homefield is so critical in these big games. The teams that have nothing to lose. This is a big game for VT, but they've already lost one. They're out of the national title picture and BC is trying to prove they're legit. First big game on the road. Having Matt Ryan gives them a chance to beat anybody. Look at this game and the homefield will be huge. BC has the best player on the field in Matt Ryan.

Tuesday Links and More Bonus...

-MSNBC talks to Matt Ryan about Thursday night's game, victory parades and everything in between.
-Gene Menez from SI has Ryan up to 3rd in his Heisman Watch.
-ESPN has #12 barely slipping behind Tim Tebow this week.
-CSTV had the same reaction.
-The nation's longest running HT poll has Ryan in 3rd.
-Another glowing piece on Matty Ice's go-to-guy.
-From Todd McShay's ESPN chat:

Jim (New York, NY): BC or VaTech? Lane stadium is a tough place to play, but BC is going there with senior leadership. Also, a stage for matt ryan to show the nation he is heisman material.

Todd McShay: BC has a tough schedule during the month of Nov. but Thu night's trip to Va. Tech will be the toughest test. I tend to agree with you on the senior leadership. I know Ga. Tech hasn't been very good this season but I was thoroughly impressed with Matt Ryan's composure on the road versus a fast, aggressive defense. If he plays like that on Thu night, BC will emerge unscathed.

Finally, here is the white version of the Matty Ice wallpaper I posted yesterday:

If you want to see other wallpapers by me, go here.
If you want to see wallpapers made by someone else for BC and just about any other team you can think of, start here.

Two Bonus Items

Here is the video of Matt Ryan on Jim Rome Is Burning:

And here is a Matty Ice wallpaper that I whipped up:For other wallpapers, look here.

Monday Links

-A Chicago Sun-Times voter has Matt Ryan 2nd in the HT race.
-CBSSports.com has Ryan 4th after Dennis Dodd inexplicably dropped Ryan from 1st and out of his top-5.
-A few notes from ESPN chats:

Joe (New York, NY):: It seems like everyone is picking VT over BC on Thursday. VT's offense vs. BC's defense has to go to BC by a landslide. Do people really believe that Virginia Tech's defense and special teams will give them enough of an edge, even going against an offense run by Matt Ryan and Steve Logan?

Bob Davie: I like BC particularly because of Matt Ryan and their scheme on offense. They have a great screen pass package and that will be a big part of their plan against Virginia Tech. If you watched BC against Georgia Tech you see that their pass protection can handle blitzing defenses. In reality, you have an NFL QB running an NFL offense and even though Virginia Tech is good on defense, BC will be tough to defend. I do not think Tech can score enough points to keep up with the BC offense. It will be a great atmosphere, but BC will win.

Joe (Blacksburg): I have heard that Taylor is looking as though he will be ok for the game on Thursday, do you think with his athleticism, Beamer Ball, and the Hokie D that BC will take it's first loss on Thursday?

Mark Schlabach: (2:02 PM ET ) Taylor came back in a non-contact condition late last week. I think he'll probably be ready to go, but I'd expect Sean Glennon to get some snaps as well. I was up in Blacksburg the last time B.C. came into town on a Thursday night and it wasn't even close. A little different with Darryl Tapp coming off the edge, though. Hokies have to get pressure on Ryan, or he'll pick them apart. Can the Hokies do it without a couple of thier linebackers? We'll see.

Sunday Links

-Mike Lupica talks up BC and Matt Ryan.
-Opposing ACC coaches have very good things to say about #12. Thanks to Clifford for the heads up.
-The Oklahoman thinks that BC and Matt Ryan are college football's next feel good story.

Friday Links

-USA Today has Matt Ryan leading their Heisman Watch. I have added the poll to the sidebar.
-Ryan remains 3rd in the Heisman Pundit straw poll.
-Nice to see AC get the spotlight for once. He is quietly having a very good season.
-Matty Ice remains atop the list according to the New Hampshire Union-Leader.
-Chris Fowler is looking forward to seeing #12 next week. He also says that, with a win at VT, BC will soar up his rankings.
-This is a couple of days late but CBSSports.com has Ryan as it's Midseason All-American QB.

You can't spell BCS without B-C

Please vote on the right side of the page for who gets to represent Rutgers on next Wednesday's Bandwagon:

Notre Dame Mega Post

Lots of stuff to get to from the weekend. First of all, the Ryan For Heisman t-shirt that Tim Russert is referring to in this clip is ours. Two things about the interview were disappointing. First, Russert said that his son gave him the shirt even though that's not exactly how it happened. Second, the NBC camera man dropped the ball. TR opened his shirt to show the RFH t-shirt and the camera guy never zoomed out. All things considered, all press is good press for the RFH movement. Here is a small sampling of my pictures:

BC takes the field:

The coin-toss:

A Panoramic of Notre Dame Stadium (photo credit: RFH2):

RFH2 (in shamrock face paint) and RFH3:

Callender celebrates his 1st TD with teammates:

Touchdown Jesus:

Ryan back to pass:

The golden dome:

SuperFans:

Baldwin and the cheerleaders:

The stadium might be on the campus of Notre Dame but Boston College owns it:

RFH and RFH2:

Finally, the videos:

Thursday Links

-The Sporting News thinks that Matt Ryan has entered the Heisman race. In other breaking news, the NHL is thinking of expanding beyond 6 teams.
-The Saint has some nice things to say about #12 but he also brings up the idea that BC has played a weak schedule. Repeat after me, "it's not who you've played, it's who you've beaten."
-Ryan does not seem worried about the hostile environment that awaits the Eagles one week hence.
-Matty Ice gets quoted in a story about TOB and Dana Bible's current QB situation.
-Ryan is all business in this AP article about his old coach.

Bandwagon Wesnesday (10/17)

CLICK THE PICTURE TO ENLARGEThe Bandwagon is awfully crowded. Click on the "Bandwagon" label for explanations on why riders were added in previous weeks. We have 4 new riders on the official Ryan For Heisman Bandwagon this week:

1) Jesse Palmer of ESPN's College Football Live: The Bachelor has been all over ESPN for the past week. On more than one occasion, he has gushed over Matt Ryan and said that the BC QB is the Heisman frontrunner. If actual HT voters are going to catch on, the mainstream media has to lead the charge. More after the jump...

2) Mike Wilbon of PTI: On the mini-PTI during Monday Night Football, the question was whether Ohio State or USF was more likely to make it to the BCS Championship Game. Wilbon said "neither" and Kornheiser asked who would. Wilbon replied, "Boston College. Could this be the year in New England?" Goodnight Canada.

3) Benny Beaver: Oregon State pulled the improbable upset over Cal on Saturday night. The only way that Matt Ryan wins this thing is if BC wins out. It doesn't hurt the RFH movement if the Eagles get NC attention. With a win, Cal would have been atop the BCS standings and BC would be 4th. Instead, BC is on the doorstep.

4) The Great State of New Mexico: Tommy Trujillo of The New Mexican is the only AP voter to give his first place vote to BC so far. When the rest of the voters catch on, Trujillo can say that he was the first one on the bandwagon.

Wednesday Links

-The Detroit Free Press has Matt Ryan as an also-ran.
-The Army Safety who has a weekly Heisman watch has Ryan as the HT leader.
-The Fort Worth Star-Telegram likes #12.
-Heisman Pundit explains why he is not gung-ho on Matty Ice. I have to say that I agree.
-Stewart Mandel is not sold on Matt Ryan.
-But Mel Kiper is:

Tom, Boston: How good can Matt Ryan be in the NFL?

Mel Kiper: He's got a chance to be outstanding. The problem is that we're counterproductive in the way we develop QBs. The ones who have had success in this league were off-the-radar completely in their first or second year, for the most part (Matt Hasselbeck, Trent Green, Matt Schaub, definitely Brady, Jake Delhomme, Marc Bulger, Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia, Jon Kitna, Tony Romo). For every Peyton Manning and Big Ben, you have many examples of QBs who have struggled early. Ryan has a chance to be an outstanding QB--a big kid with a strong, powerful arm whose decision-making has improved. He doesn't have a phenomenal WR to throw to, but certainly he's my No. 1 senior QB and has a chance to be the first QB taken. If you're Atlanta, it's an interesting decision for Bobby Petrino--Ryan or Brohm.

Brian (Seattle): Mel, who's your Hiesman front runner right now???

Mel Kiper: My Heisman front-runner is Matt Ryan, and I put a guy second who no one else had in their top 5--Matt Grothe from USF. He's a young kid, not a veteran, but you talk about MVPs--where would USF be without Matt Grothe? He had a huge game against a good team this week. Tough kid, great poise and confidence. South Florida is ranked second in the country, and nobody found reason to put him in the top 5? We'll see how he does in their national game this week against Rutgers. I had Tebow second, Hart fourth, and Dixon fifth. I will reserve judgment on Woodson depending on how he does against Florida this week. McFadden dropped out, but he has to be the MVP of a team that does well. To me, it's not about who the best player is, it's who the true MVP is. Where would BC be without Matt Ryan, or Florida without Tebow? Those are the things I look at.

What Really Matters?

Many experts have Matt Ryan at or near the top of their Heisman lists. Many others think Ryan has done a good job but they seem to have one knock: Who has he played? They are all missing the point. If you want to go by the quality of a candidate's opponents, the better question is this: Who has he BEATEN? If a HT hopeful has played good opponents but come out on the losing end, does that make his performance any better than his peers? Here is a little stat comparison of the hopefuls and their W/L quality. There are a few disclaimers:
1) The ratings used are the Sagarin Ratings. More specifically, they are the ELO-CHESS ratings that Sagarin submits to the BCS. Obviously, these are subjective but a system that incorporates every team in the country is essential and Sagarin is the cream of the crop in that category.
2) Obviously, performance tends to decrease when the quality of opponent increases. Thus, SOS is important. The point here is only that it is silly to use SOS as a knock without considering a team's W-L record as well.

Player	W	W Average	L	L Average	BCS (W-L)	BCS W
Matt Ryan	7	70.28	0	0	(0-0)
Andre' Woodson	6	68.83	1	3	(1-1)	4
Mike Hart	5	75.8	2	25.5	(0-1)
Tim Tebow	4	66.75	2	6.5	(1-2)	21
Harrell/Crabtree	6	117.17	1	43	(0-0)
Dennis Dixon	5	77.6	1	14	(1-1)	25
Darren McFadden	3	123.33	3	18.67	(0-2)

As you can see from the W Average, only Woodson and Tebow have beaten better teams than Ryan when taken as a whole and even that is not by much. Tebow has clearly played a tougher schedule than any other Heisman hopeful thus far, but his team lost 2 of the 3 tough games. When it comes down to it, there is only 1 win by any candidate that sets him apart from the field and that is Woodson's win over LSU. Are we saying that Matt Ryan should be the clear Heisman frontrunner? No, of course not. It's wide open. However, to keep Ryan, or any other candidate, off of a ballot solely based on SOS is nonsense.

Tuesday Links

-Matt Ryan is now the leader in the nation's longest running national Heisman poll as well as ESPN's Heisman Watch.
-Ryan is also 1st according to CSTV.
-Mel Kiper has #12 fifth on his Big Board.
-Here is another great video from Vinny '03:

Monday Links

We will roll out lots of ND related stuff in the next few days but for now, here are the links:
-Matt Ryan is now the consensus #1 in the HT race according to CBSSports.com
-SI has Ryan holding at 4 and says that the VT game will be the most important game of the year for RFH.
-A nice piece on Ryan from the Philadelphia Enquirer. The quotes from Logan are great.
-Boston Magazine lists Matty Ice and BC as two of the reasons why Boston is the "Best Sports Town in America"
-The Bears GM was in South Bend and had good things to say about #12.
-Heisman Pundit is not sold on either Matt Ryan or BC. To each his own.
-Matt Ryan is currently in 8th place in the HT fan poll, but he is only 35 votes out of 5th. The increase in his total has been tremendous but there is still work to be done.
-Could the last line here be referring to Matt Ryan?

Friday Links

-A columnist from the Sporting News explains his omission of Matt Ryan from a Heisman list. Seems like pretty lame logic to me. SOS doesn't seem to affect anyone else on his list.
-Blaudschun says that the next 2 games will be make or break for the Ryan For Heisman campaign.
-Funny quote from Jags at the bottom of this article.

That's it for us this week. We are headed out to South Bend for the game and will return on Monday with plenty to talk about, hopefully all good.

Matty Ice Video...(Breaking News Added 10:56PM)

BC Athletics is getting set to launch a Matt Ryan for Heisman website of their own. The URL? mattyice.com. The site is not yet live but this is a video from it made by Vinny '03. When this site started, he was the first one to offer help and he has obviously done some great work. If you have a minute to spare, use the comments section to thank him:

Thursday Links

-Matt Ryan is up to 3rd in Heisman Pundit's straw poll.
-Nice piece on the ND and Matty Ice from Fox Sports.
-There are always pieces about BC's grad rates but this one from Yahoo! is particularly good.
-Todd McShay calls Andre Callender BC's X-factor and says that #12 will need him when the weather gets worse.
-Here's a good video from ESPN's first take featuring a debate between a BC student and an ND student:

Ryan For Heisman Film Room

Todd McShay shows why he was added to the Bandwagon back in September. He appeared on SportsCenter today and called Matt Ryan the "Heisman leader":

Bandwagon Wesnesday (10/10)

CLICK THE PICTURE TO ENLARGEThe Bandwagon is starting to get awfully crowded. Click on the "Bandwagon" label for explanations on why riders were added in previous weeks. We have 5 new riders on the official Ryan For Heisman Bandwagon this week:

1) Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN's College GameDay: GameDay is the Bible of college football. You can see Herbie here say that Matt Ryan is his HT leader. That is national exposure at its best. Besides, he is playing a tuba. After all, it is a bandwagon. More after the jump...

2) David Letterman: CBS was the first, but not last, media outlet to place #12 atop its HT rankings. Letterman is a big Ball State fan and is CBS's most visible personality. It was either him or the CBS Eye.

3) The Stanford Tree: When in doubt, the HT voters hand the award to a player on a powerhouse school, even when that player might not be deserving. This season, John David Booty looked like the guy who could be the default winner. Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal eliminated that concern last week and for that we thank them.

4) Mel Kiper Jr: The ESPN draft guru has anointed Matty Ice as the top senior QB and has called him the Heisman front runner. Clooney no longer has the best hair on the Bandwagon.

5) South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier: The Gamecocks knocked then-frontrunner Andre' Woodson out of the picture for now.
Lastly, George Clooney finally has his headset.

Wednesday Links

-Mel Kiper has Matt Ryan 5th on his Big Board and he says that #12 is his Heisman Front runner. More Kiper related news below.
-This Rivals piece mentions the fact that a Matt Ryan-Notre Dame relationship was a non-starter thanks to Brady Quinn. We have never liked Brady Quinn more than we do right now.
-Most of the HT polls that we link to are either a major media outlet or an actual voter. This one is pretty cool so we'll make an exception.
-Nice piece here on Barry Gallup, Jr. and his relationship to guys on the BC team, including #12.
-Decent read on Matty Ice from an ND blogger. However, the writer makes the mistake of committing our biggest pet peeve. He repeatedly refers to BC as the "Golden Eagles," ugh.
-Kiper was asked a question about QBs in today's chat: More after the jump...

Mike (New York): How many QBs do you see getting drafted in the first round? Do you still rank them Brohm woodson adn then ryan?

Mel Kiper: (1:07 PM ET ) Ryan, Brohm, and Woodson, as of today. They're the only first-rounders from the QB position. Booty is probably a second-round pick. We'll have to see how Henne plays. Brennan is a system QB, and we'll see where he goes. There's no elite QB. Nate Longshore from Cal would be the No. 1 junior QB, if he came out today. Woodson needs to have a solid game against LSU, as he did not play well against South Carolina.

Here are Kiper's Top 5's:

Top 5 Seniors By Position

Quarterbacks
1. Matt Ryan, Boston College
2. Brian Brohm, Louisville
3. Andre' Woodson, Kentucky
4. John David Booty, USC
5. Chad Henne, Michigan

Offensive Tackles
1. Jake Long, Michigan
2. Sam Baker, USC
3. Gosder Cherilus, Boston College
4. Tony Hills, Texas
5. Chris Williams, Vanderbilt

Cornerbacks
1. Mike Jenkins, South Florida
2. Chevis Jackson, LSU
3. DeJuan Tribble, Boston College
4. Terrell Thomas, USC
5. Trae Williams, South Florida