Football
Heisman To Do List for Beanie Wells
By Tony GerdemanThere are probably twenty Heisman hopefuls in the nation this year, but only a select few Heisman favorites.
Buckeye running back Chris Wells is one of those select few.
Wells will enter the season in nearly everybody's top three list and if he just does what he's capable of--and what's expected of him--then he'll be in New York City waiting to hear somebody's name called. However, if he wants to hear his name called, then there are a few things he'll need to do to ensure it.
And if we’re going to treat this like a list of chores, keep in mind that failure to complete the vast majority of this list will result in Beanie’s Heisman candidacy getting grounded. Basically, it comes down to two things: running and winning. If Beanie gets the ball enough, he’ll get the necessary yards and the wins that come with it.
It’s trickle-down economics at its footballiest best.
So with that in mind, let's take a look at Chris Wells' Heisman “To Do” List.
(And maybe if I remember, we'll revisit the list in December.)
1. Show up against Southern Cal.
The Buckeyes don't have to win this game, but it sure would help the cause. Last year, Wells ran for 146 yards in the loss to LSU and seemed to gain respect in doing so, so the same would hold true this year. Anything over 100 yards against the mighty, mighty Trojans would be seen as an individual success. With 100 yards and a victory, Wells immediately becomes the "1B" to Tim Tebow's "1A". However, with 170 yards or more, Wells becomes both "1A" and "1B". At least for a week.
2. No injuries.
Had Maurice Clarett not battled injuries and missed games in 2002, I have no doubt that he would have been invited to New York as a freshman. Given that Chris Wells played the season throughout with injuries last season and was given a game off to heal up (Kent State, where he had four carries), avoidance of injuries is paramount. If we take off Wells' game against Kent and instead replace his 17 yards with what he averaged every other game last season, his 1,609 yards would become 1,725 yards--which is right about the minimum of what you need to win the Heisman. Don't believe me? Over the last twenty years, six running backs have won the award (averaging 2,020 yards rushing per season), with USC's Reggie Bush having the lowest rushing total at 1,658 yards, but Bush also added nearly 400 yards receiving onto that. Chris Wells won't have 400 yards receiving, so he'll need to keep his eyes on the 1,700-yard mark. However, Darren McFadden finished second in the Heisman voting in 2006 (1,647 yards ) and 2007 (1,725 yards), so maybe 1,800 yards would be a more remarkable target.
3. Be big in big games.
In the four games against Big Ten opponents who filled out the rest of the top five in the conference standings last season, Chris Wells averaged 150 yards rushing, including 222 against Michigan when everybody knew he was getting the ball. Of course, also in those four games was a 76-yard outing in the loss to Illinois. Had this been a win, his poor numbers could be forgiven, especially considering he scored two touchdowns in that game. However, a game in which Wells is perceived to have gotten "shut down", especially in a loss, could be disastrous. In 2006 and 2007, McFadden had a few of these types of games, and it may have cost him the award last season. If Beanie can start the season with a strong game at USC and finish it equally as strong against Michigan, this could be his year. And if he manages to put up good numbers at Wisconsin, the Michigan game may be the perfect way for Wells to finish his campaign.
4. No duds.
This follows right along with the above item. Last season, Beanie had games of 46 yards against Youngstown State and 17 yards against Kent State. I don't think anybody's asking for 200 yards per game against opponents that he could certainly get it against. Rather, just needs not to look bad. Not that Wells looked bad against Kent State, because he didn't. He was barely in long enough to earn his letter. But the Youngstown State game was definitely not Beanie's best effort. He would be best served to approach 100 yards if he gets the same 16 carries that he got last year. Against Auburn last season, McFadden was held to 43 yards rushing on 17 carries in a 9-7 loss. Two weeks later, Florida International held him to 61 yards on 19 carries. It took a 206-yard rushing day at LSU to get him back in the race. It's doubtful that a 200-yard day against Michigan in 2008 will carry as much weight as one against LSU's 2007 team, so Beanie may not have as much leeway as McFadden did last year.
5. Be consistent.
There are two ways to average 150 yards rushing per game. The first would be to have 200-yard games mixed in with various 80-yard games. The second would be to always be around the 150-yard mark. If you're always putting up good numbers, you're never going to find yourself on somebody's Heisman Watch article with a downward-pointing arrow next to your name. (Not that the majority of you would ever find yourself on anybody's Heisman watch list.)
6. Nickname your stiffarm.
This isn't a necessity, but it couldn't hurt. I may have written in the past about how we need to come up with a name for Beanie's stiffarm, but I'm not sure anything mentioned really suffices. Just some options to think about: The Dehumanizer; The Punisher; The Emasculator; The Crucible; The Annihilator; and The Bean Pole (we may have nixed that one a while back). I don’t want to be the only one using this nickname, so we need to come to some sort of collective agreement.
7. Have a signature game.
In 2005, Reggie Bush compiled 513 all-purpose yards, including 294 yards rushing, against Fresno State. It was this game that put him on top of the Heisman list. Ten years earlier, Eddie George rushed for 314 yards against the Illini--who at that time were the Buckeyes’ second rival. This game put him on top of the list after his 200-yard rushing games against Washington and Notre Dame put him on it. Even Rashaan Salaam had a signature game. In 1994, one week after rushing for 165 yards in Michigan Stadium, Salaam nearly doubled that output with a 312-yard game against the Texas Longhorns. As you can see, a 300-yard rushing game would be a John Hancock-like signature.
8. Improve from last season.
This should go without saying, but I’m saying it anyway. Beanie rushed for 1,463 yards in the regular season last year, averaging 121.9 yards per game. That’s not good enough to make it to New York. I’m not asking for 150 yards per game--since no Buckeye has ever managed that, but he will need to average around 140 yards per game to have an argument. You could probably make that one of the items on the checklist: Average at least 140 yards rushing per game.
9. Beat Michigan.
This isn’t a necessity, as Eddie George found out. However, item #9 should be on all Buckeyes’ lists--Heisman candidate or not. Plus, you always like to have those goals that are easy to reach--they make you feel better about yourself. It’s like shooting for a C in gym class. However, you can’t just focus on USC and Michigan, because two or three losses throughout the rest of the schedule would likely spell doom for Beanie’s chances.
10. Quarterback candidates need some slip ups.
Not counting Tim Tebow, only six running backs have won the Heisman Trophy over the last twenty years. Quarterbacks have won the award twice as much during that same span, so it’s obvious that the award is geared towards the single-callers. So not only does a running back like Beanie have to battle his opponents, he has to hope no quarterback blows up (Tim Tebow in 2007) or is the best player on the best team (Troy Smith in 2006). If the Florida Gators are undefeated, it will be tough for Wells to win the award over Tebow, as he‘d meet both the 2006 and 2007 criteria. Also, with quarterbacks of potential championship teams like Sam Bradford at Oklahoma, Chase Daniel at Missouri and Jimmy Clausen at Notre Dame already well-known, the potential is there for a Troy Smith-type of year. Beanie can’t do anything about this piece of the list, but if he handles eight or nine of the other items, it may not matter what anybody else does this season.
Return to the-OZone Front Page
(c) 2008 The O-Zone, O-Zone
Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.