Senior Week, Part V

We spend plenty of time around here focusing on 1 person but the truth is that this season would never be possible without the hard work of everybody involved with the BC Football team. From coaches to players, to staff, they all played a part in what has been the most fun and exciting season in recent BC memory. The senior class is already the most successful in BC history. They have won three straight bowl games and will look Saturday to become the first team in school history to post back-to back 10-win seasons. This week, we just want to say thanks to the 22 people who will suit up for their last game at Alumni Stadium this Saturday at noon. We'll name a few people every day leading up to our 2 favorite seniors on Friday. We invite you to click on the links and get to know the people you root for but might not know alot about. Today, we feature the final two players in the series. We feel that their body of work over the 4 years that they have been on the BC football team has been the most impressive. Without further ado, here are our 2 favorite seniors:

46- Johnny Ayers, P, Oakton, VA

12- Matt Ryan, QB, Exton, PA

Senior Week, Part III

We spend plenty of time around here focusing on 1 person but the truth is that this season would never be possible without the hard work of everybody involved with the BC Football team. From coaches to players, to staff, they all played a part in what has been the most fun and exciting season in recent BC memory. The senior class is already the most successful in BC history. They have won three straight bowl games and will look Saturday to become the first team in school history to post back-to back 10-win seasons. This week, we just want to say thanks to the 22 people who will suit up for their last game at Alumni Stadium this Saturday at noon. We'll name a few people every day leading up to our 2 favorite seniors on Friday. We invite you to click on the links and get to know the people you root for but might not know alot about. Here are our next 5 seniors:

27- DeJuan Tribble, CB, Cincinnati, OH

61- Kevin Sheridan, C, North Royalton, OH

41- Sulaiman Sanni, CB, Jamaica, NY

44- Jamie Silva, FS, East Providence, RI

67- Tom Anevski, OG, Cincinnati, OH

Senior Week, Part II

Quick Note: If you are undecided about going to the ACCCG, check out Bill's latest post at Eagle in Atlanta.

We spend plenty of time around here focusing on 1 person but the truth is that this season would never be possible without the hard work of everybody involved with the BC Football team. From coaches to players, to staff, they all played a part in what has been the most fun and exciting season in recent BC memory. The senior class is already the most successful in BC history. They have won three straight bowl games and will look Saturday to become the first team in school history to post back-to back 10-win seasons. This week, we just want to say thanks to the 22 people who will suit up for their last game at Alumni Stadium this Saturday at noon. We'll name a few people every day leading up to our 2 favorite seniors on Friday. We invite you to click on the links and get to know the people you root for but might not know alot about. Here are our next 5 seniors:

77- Gosder Cherilus, OT, Somerville, MA

40- Jo-Lonn Dunbar, LB, Syracuse, NY

72- Ryan Poles, OT, Canandaigua, NY

48- Tyrone Pruitt, LB, Brockton, MA

38- Patrick Quinn, FB, Seekonk, MA

Matt Ryan, Heisman Candidate? Part III: Why Matty Won't Win

Between now and Friday, we will be doing a little something we're calling Matt Ryan, Heisman Candidate?. It will be a 4 part series with one post each day. The schedule is Analyzing the Losses (Tuesday), Ryan at the Turn (Wednesday), Why Matty Won't Win (Thursday), and Why Matty Will Win (Friday). Here is Part III:

There are plenty of experts who are quick to declare the Ryan For Heisman campaign dead. They don't seem to go into alot of detail, instead the just point to the 3 picks that Ryan threw against Florida State. Here are 8 reasons the BC signal-caller will not walk out of Times Square with the stiff-arm trophy. Tomorrow we will be back with 12 reasons why he will.

1) His stats are not great. Ryan has a passer rating of 129.47, good for 60th in the nation.
2) Ryan does not play for a traditional power. Conventional wisdom is that in order to win the Heisman Trophy, a player has to come from a traditional power like Ohio State, Texas or USC or he has to be far and away better than the competition.
3) #12 played two uneven games on national television. Ryan had 2 chances to blow voters away, against Virginia Tech and against Florida State, he did not take full advantage of either opportunity.
4) There are too many other similar candidates. Voters will have plenty of choices including Dixon, Tebow, Daniel, McFadden and Hart. At this point, it is Dixon and everyone else. Ryan lost all of the separation that he had spent 2 months creating.
5) The perceived weakness of the ACC. Critics will point to the supposed lack of competition in the conference as one of the big reasons for Ryan's success.
6) The perceived weakness of BC's schedule. Even when the Eagles ventured out of conference, they didn't exactly have the toughest opponents.
7) Ryan stumbled at the wrong time. Heisman hopefuls are like national title contenders in that it is much better to trip early and get it out of the way. A meltdown on the first Saturday in November is going to stick with voters more than it would have in early October.
8) BC is not in the NC picture. One of the reasons why Ryan was on the radar of most experts was that Boston College was in the driver's seat for the BCS title game. Now that the perfect season is over, the Eagles will be an afterthought for at least the next week.

Matt Ryan, Heisman Candidate? Part II: Ryan at the Turn

Between now and Friday, we will be doing a little something we're calling Matt Ryan, Heisman Candidate?. It will be a 4 part series with one post each day. The schedule is Analyzing the Losses (Tuesday), Ryan at the Turn (Wednesday), Why Matty Won't Win (Thursday), and Why Matty Will Win (Friday). Here is Part II:

At the quarter mark of the season we did a comparison of Matt Ryan's stats to those of Heisman winning quarterbacks since 2000. At the time, it looked like Ryan would match, if not better, the other QBs on the list. Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned. Here is a look at how Ryan stacks up three quarters of the way through BC's schedule.

Year	QB	Comp. %	Pass YDs	Pass TDs	INTs	Rush YDs	Rush TDs
2000	Weinke	61.7%	4167	33	11	-97	1
2001	Crouch	53.9%	1572	7	11	1229	18
2002	Palmer	63.2%	3942	33	10	-122	4
2003	White	61.6%	3846	40	10	-150	1
2004	Leinart	65.3%	3322	33	6	-44	3
2006	Smith	67.0%	2507	30	5	233	1
2007	Ryan*	59.4%	3797	28	15	51	1

*Projected 2007 stats over a 12 game season

Matt Ryan, Heisman Candidate? Part I: Analyzing the Losses

Between now and Friday, we will be doing a little something we're calling Matt Ryan, Heisman Candidate?. It will be a 4 part series with one post each day. The schedule is Analyzing the Losses (Tuesday), Ryan at the Turn (Wednesday), Why Matty Won't Win (Thursday), and Why Matty Will Win (Friday). Here is Part I:


For the most part, mainstream media members keep saying that Saturday's loss to Florida State probably ended Matt Ryan's Heisman Trophy chances. Surely, one loss in which the BC quarterback threw for 415 yards and 2 touchdowns couldn't have been that bad, could it? The popular response will be that those numbers were negated by the fact that Ryan threw 3 interceptions, including one that was returned for a TD in the final minutes. If a momentary meltdown in the clutch precludes a player from winning the Heisman, then the trophy will not be given out this year. Consider the current leading candidates in their teams' losses:

• Dennis Dixon: vs. Cal (6-3) in Eugene- 31/44, 306 yards, 2 touchdowns (1 rushing), 2 interceptions. On the surface, Dixon appears to have played an average game. His two interceptions, however, both came in the final 5:46. The first INT set up Cal's game winning touchdown.
• Tim Tebow: vs. UGA (7-2) in Jacksonville- 14/22, 236 yards, 3 touchdowns (2 rushing), -15 yards rushing. In Florida's 3 losses, Tebow has averaged 241 total yards and an interception, but the Georgia game stands out the most. Tebow had a career worst day on the ground and his fumble in the red zone with 2:23 left in the game allowed the Bulldogs to get one first down and put the game away.
• Darren McFadden: vs. Auburn (7-3) in Fayetville- 17 carries, 43 yards. At home, against Arkansas's toughest opponent of the season to date, McFadden was a non-factor. In the other 2 losses by the Razorbacks, McFadden had big rushing totals but also fumbled the ball once.
• Chase Daniel: vs. Oklahoma (8-1) in Norman- 37/47, 361 yards, touchdown, 2 interceptions, fumble. In Missouri's only game against an opponent that is currently ranked, Daniel threw two picks and the fumble was inside his own 20. It was returned for an Oklahoma touchdown early in the 4th quarter and made it a 2-score game.
• Mike Hart has played the best in his team's losses of any popular Heisman pick. He was the bright spot for the Wolverines in both games actually. There is a chance that Michigan could play in a BCS bowl, even with a loss to Ohio State. As we stated in September, no HT winner since 2000 has played for a 3-loss team and only 1 HT winner since the advent of the Bowl Championship Series has failed to lead his team to a BCS game. Hart will need to actually play and play well to overcome those factors.

As you can see, playing poorly in a loss is a knock against all of the Heisman Candidates right now. In fact, Dixon and McFadden had bad days at home, while Tebow was on a neutral field. There seems to be an extreme backlash against Ryan right now because pundits had just anointed him as the leader. It also does not help that the rest of the country waited until late October to watch him play and then were treated to uneven performances in horrible conditions. We think that if Ryan plays well in the 3 (or 4) games left on BC's schedule, he can overcome the Florida State loss and, at the very least, will be right in the thick of an extremely close Heisman vote.

State of the Heisman

When Geno Hayes ran into Alumni Stadium's North Endzone on Saturday night to make the score 26-17 in favor of Florida State, a few things ended. 1) Boston College's undefeated season 2) the nation's second longest home winning streak and 3) the nervous bickering about BC being done by fans from Baton Rouge to Eugene to Norman. BC no longer controls its own destiny. However, the current favorite in the ACC was not, as many people will claim in the week ahead, completely eliminated from the NC picture and Ryan For Heisman did not die with an errant pass ripped from the hands of Ryan Purvis. Boston College will need plenty of help to get to New Orleans, probably too much. The Eagles still control their fate when it comes to a BCS berth and the Orange Bowl. They have 4 games left if you include a potential ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville. As for the Heisman, Dennis Dixon is now your clear-cut leader and he deserves to be. But if we have learned anything from this year, it's that things can change at the drop of a helmet. Matt Ryan has 3(or 4) games to show Heisman voters why he deserves to take home the hardware. In the days ahead, we will go in depth on the issue and offer more analysis than ever. In the meantime, ignore all of the talking heads who want to deal in extremes. Just as Matt Ryan did not suddenly become great a week and a half ago in Blacksburg, he did not forget how to play quarterback Saturday in Chestnut Hill. Just look at the picture above and know that the Ryan For Heisman movement is refocused and that it is alive and well.

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.

"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.

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.

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!

Eagles on the Warpath...

Another great day for the Eagles and Matt Ryan. Ryan looks to be the leader at the turn in the Heisman Trophy race. 312 yds, 4 TDs in 3 quarters of work. Losses by USC and Wisconsin. 4 picks for JD Booty and another loss by Tim Tebow, not to mention an average day for Darren McFadden against an inferior opponent. Now BC has 3 straight TV games on the horizon. I have been told to assume that Florida State will be a night game at Alumni Stadium. If BC takes care of business in October could GameDay be headed to the Heights for the first Saturday in November? Crazy.

Steve Spurrier punches his Bandwagon ticket

Last Friday, we wrote this entry. Never in our wildest dreams did we think that the 7 people then in front of Matt Ryan on ESPN's Heisman Watch would each actually have a loss in just 6 days. Now, thanks to the Gamecocks' defense, they all do. The last to fall was Kentucky QB Andre' Woodson. He had 23 completions for 227 yards and 2 TDs tonight against South Carolina. He also had 2 fumbles (both returned for TDs) and an interception in the endzone. Most importantly for the RFH movement, Woodson's team lost and it did so on national television. Tune in next Wednesday when SC coach Steve Spurrier will officially board the Ryan For Heisman bandwagon.

State of the Heisman

There is no way around it. Matt Ryan did not have a great game against UMass. However, he did have an adequate game. RFH would even argue that his Heisman standing went up in the 24-14 win. In reality, how many of the 924 Heisman voters actually saw this game? (Side note: you are a Heisman voter. An internet vote counts as 1/924th of the final poll.) Take a look at the stats from this weekend for #12 and ten of his closest competitors:(Chart after the jump)...

PLAYER	RESULT	LINE
McFadden	W	19 Carries, 138 YDs, 2 TDs,
Tebow	L	20/27, 201 YDs, TD, INT, 19 Carries, 75 YDs, TD
Woodson	W	26/33, 301 YDs, 5 TD, INT
White	L	12/18, 100 YDs, INT, Fumble
Slaton	L	13 Carries, 54 YDs, 2 Fumbles
Dixon	L	31/44, 306 YDs, TD, 2 INT, 8 Carries, 17 YDs, TD
Ryan	W	24/42, 204 YDs, TD
Brennan	W	30/49, 369 YDs, 3 TD, 5 INT
Jackson	W	11 Rec., 160 YDs, 2 TD
Booty	W	20/37, 236 YDs, TD, 2 INT, Fumble
Rice	L	21 Carries, 97 YDs, TD, Fumble

What does all of this mean? White, Slaton and Rice should be out of the picture for a while if not for good. Tebow had a very average day and faces LSU's defense next week. McFadden did nothing to hurt his chances but you have to wonder if a player on a team that should lose at least 3 games can win the HT. Jackson had a very nice day but it is hard for a WR to win the Heisman. Dixon and Booty played decently but not better than Ryan. When is 369 yards a bad thing for a HT candidate? When it is paired with 5 Colt Brennan INTs. Advantage Ryan. That leaves Andre' Woodson. He would be our current favorite for the Heisman. However, Kentucky has a tougher remaining schedule than BC and the Wildcats are hardly a power. With big time TV exposure coming up, Ryan is very much in this thing as long as BC keeps winning games.

Food for Thought...

Take a look at ESPN's Heisman Watch. There is a very decent chance that every one of the players currently ranked ahead of Matt Ryan right now could have at least one loss at the close of play one week from today. The West Virginia loss tonight was huge for #12's hopes. Not one but two top HT candidates laid an egg on national TV. On the flip side, Matt Grothe scares me. The Big East needs to start cannibalizing itself.

10 Heismandments, Part II

Yesterday, we analyzed how the first half of the 10 Heismandments apply to #12. Today, we'll take a look at Heismandments 6-10:

6) The winner cannot be considered an obvious product of his system.

There is no denying the fact that Matt Ryan's stats are a result of Steve Logan's offense. However, Ryan is not solely the product of a system. He is seen by many as a Top-10 pick in next year's NFL Draft so it is clear that people have looked beyond the system. If anything, this could work in Ryan's favor. The QB with gaudy numbers who has the best chance to go undefeated is Colt Brennan. It Helps #12's Heisman chances if Brennan is seen as a product of a June Jones offense. Check.

7) If you are a quarterback, running back or multi-purpose athlete at one of the following schools, you have a good chance to win if you have a very good statistical season, are an upperclassmen and your team wins at least 9 games: Notre Dame, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami and Florida State.

None of the above.

8) There are statistical benchmarks for each position in order to be considered:
b. If you are a passing quarterback on a traditional power or national title contender, you need to pass for at least 3,000 yards and must have at least a 2-1 touchdown to interception ratio, with at least 20 TD passes and an efficiency rating of at least 135.0.

Again, only the national title contender could apply to BC here. As for the stats, 3,000 yards, 20+ TDs and an efficiency rating of 135.0+ all seem likely. As of right now, the TD/INT ratio is 2-1 so it's good enough to get Ryan into the debate. With the low INT numbers of some other top quarterbacks, we am not sure it's good enough to win the HT. Check, for now.

9) There will never be another two-time Heisman winner.

Doesn't apply, check.

10) The winner must be likeable.

Don't take our word for it. Ask The New York Times, Sports Illustrated and WEEI. Check.


What does this all mean? Eight of the ten Heismandments apply to Matt Ryan as of today, one is a maybe and one does not. What that tells us is that he is never going to be the leading candidate, no matter how well he does. But if he keeps up the pace and BC keeps winning, he has a very good shot to be one of three people invited to New York on December 8th.

Matt Ryan Shalt Follow The 10 Heismandments

If you are not familiar with The 10 Heismandments, created by HeismanPundit, you should take a look. Chris Huston, the author of the site is a former SID at USC. He worked on the Heisman campaigns of Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart and he knows his stuff. He lays out 10 guidelines which govern the way that the HT is selected. Between today (1-5) and tomorrow (6-10), I will break down the Heismandments and see where Matt Ryan fits in and what his chances might be at this point. If you agree or disagree, use the comments section to say why. Without further ado:

1) The winner must be a quarterback, a running back, or a multi-threat athlete.
Quarterback, check.

2) The winner must be a junior or senior.
Senior, check.

3) The winner must put up good numbers in big games on TV.
1-for-1, Georgia Tech, check.

4) The winner must have some prior name recognition.
The requirement is some recognition. 1+ year as a starter and a darkhorse entering the season is enough. The publicity that Ryan is getting now also works in his favor, check.

5) The winner must be one or more of the following 3:
a) The top player on a national title contender.
b) A player that puts up good numbers for a traditional power that has a good record.
c) A player who puts up superlative single-season or career numbers on a good team, or
numbers which are way out ahead of his Heisman competitors.
BC is not a traditional power, 5b doesn't apply.
There is a chance that Ryan could move way ahead of his competitors but that is only if Brennan, Tebow, Bradford and Woodson see their passing yards go down as they navigate their conference schedules. Ryan also needs to increase the TDs and decrease the INTs, ?.
The best bet to satisfy number 5 at this point is for BC to win out. They don't need to make it to the NC game but they need to get to the Orange Bowl undefeated, ?.

Check back tomorrow for Heismandments 6-10.

Official RFH Marketing

Some people have been asking why the BC athletic department is not openly promoting #12 as a Heisman candidate. I have 3 responses to that:
1) BC is obviously getting Ryan's name out there with the ESPN chat and the national interviews. They know that attention for Ryan means attention for BC and that is what truly matters in terms of recruiting and bowl prospects.
2) BC is doing everything right. What is there to gain from an official marketing campaign at this point? It only places undue pressure on the team and its QB. If the team continues to play well and Ryan holds serve, the attention will come.I assume Florida State will be a regional broadcast on ESPN and ND and VT will be EXCLUSIVE national broadcasts. That means that everyone who gets NBC (ND) or ESPN (VT) will see #12 in action. The potential for exposure there is much more valuable than a letter writing campaign. Besides, I have no direct knowledge but I assume the days when a voter could be influenced by an official campaign are over. That is why this site is for the fans. It is not for voters or a platform to force #12 on people. It's a place to have fun and keep up with the football team.
3) I am happy that BC is not wasting $ on an official campaign right now. The money is better spent elsewhere. For example how many people support the nationally ranked Men's (13th) and Women's (8th) soccer teams?