The 2013 Heisman Trophy finalists have been announced, just six days prior to the handing out of college football’s top hardware on Saturday night. With four quarterbacks and a pair of running backs, one player continues to stand out as a heavy favorite, especially after learning that no criminal charges would be filed against him following a long – and often controversial – investigation. Florida State Seminoles QB Jameis Winston is expected to become the second consecutive freshman to win the honor, following in the footsteps of fellow 2013 Heisman finalist and 2012 winner, Texas A&M Aggies QB Johnny Manziel. The other two quarterbacks are A.J. McCarron of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Jordan Lynch of the Northern Illinois Huskies. The two running backs are Andre Williams from the Boston College Eagles and Tre Mason from the Auburn Tigers.
The six finalists invited to the ceremony in New York are the most since 1994, although only one truly appears to have a legitimate chance at winning the Heisman, as Winston has appeared to be a lock for quite some time, provided he was cleared of facing any charges. While an outside possibility does exist that some voters will not vote for him due to character concerns, it would extremely shocking if any player other than Winston was seen striking the Heisman pose on Saturday night.
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Of course, that is not to say that the other players are not deserving. For whatever reason in 2013, it seemed that as soon as a player lost a game, regardless of how his final stat line looked, that they were eliminated from contention. The last to fall was Lynch, although he did not have a great game in the Huskies’ first and only defeat of the season. McCarron lost his final game of the regular season as well, which also coincided with the start of Mason’s campaign at Auburn. Williams and Manziel played on teams who both lost well more than one game this season, although their individual numbers are what kept them in the race and earned them invitations to New York on Saturday night. Williams became the first running back to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season since Donald Brown did it for the Connecticut Huskies back in 2008. It is worth noting that Brown did not win the award that season.
Winston set freshman records by passing for 3,820 yards and 38 touchdowns while leading No. 1 Florida State into the BCS Championship Game to square off against Mason and No. 2 Auburn. McCarron will lead Alabama into the Sugar Bowl to face the Oklahoma Sooners, Williams and his Eagles will face the Arizona Wildcats in the AdvoCare V1000 Bowl, Lynch will take Northern Illinois to the Poinsettia Bowl to take on the Utah State Aggies, while Manziel and his Aggies will face the Duke Blue Devils in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
While the BCS Championship Game may be the only bowl game featuring two Heisman Trophy finalists, the Discover Orange Bowl features four players who could have conceivably been invited to New York had one or two more breaks gone their way. In a game that could turn out to be the best of the bunch this college football bowl season, the Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Clemson Tigers in a game featuring two of the most explosive offenses in the country over the past two years. The Buckeyes are led by QB Braxton Miller and RB Carlos Hyde, while the Tigers rely on QB Tajh Boyd and WR Sammy Watkins.
The Discover Orange Bowl wants to know which side you are on when it comes to the big game in Miami on January 3. Are you rooting for the team from Death Valley to travel south and claim another victim in the new year? If so, make sure to visit http://www.discoverorangebowl.com/ and tweet your support for the Tigers, using the hashtag #Clemson as well as #DiscoverOrangeBowl. But, if you are rooting for Ohio State to win its first bowl game under Urban Meyer, then use the hashtag #Buckeyes, as well as the #DiscoverOrangeBowl from the website and in your tweets. In fact, feel free to upload images to the site and go crazy by showing your support for #Clemson or the #Buckeyes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
After you vote, feel free to keep the discussion going by tweeting #Clemson or #Buckeyes, remembering to use the hashtag #DiscoverOrangeBowl. Through an interactive social media dashboard at http://www.discoverorangebowl.com/, both Clemson and Ohio State fans can monitor just how socially active their fan base is through a real-time conversation meter that builds based on volume of messages fans send with team specific hashtags/keywords or #DiscoverOrangeBowl. Now that we know the two participants in the big game, it will be interesting to see which school’s fan base will be more active through social media!
* Discover Products Inc. sent me a Gift Card for participating as a Blogger in the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll program
So, how about it? Will Clemson fans outnumber Ohio State in terms of social media fan support? Or will the Buckeyes get the better of the Tigers? It is all up to the fans, thanks to Discover!
In terms of voting for the Heisman, it will likely be nowhere as close as the fans’ vote between the Tigers and Buckeyes for the Discover Orange Bowl. Ohio State is currently leading by a narrow margin, while Winston is expected to win in a landslide. In terms of a couple of more fun facts in relation to the Heisman Trophy award, all six finalists are expected to attend the ceremony, which would match 1994 for the most in Heisman history. Colorado Buffaloes tailback Rashaan Salaam won the Heisman that season, while a pair of Penn State Nittany Lions players – Ki-Jana Carter and Kerry Collins, along with Alcorn State’s Steve McNair, Alabama’s Jay Barker and Miami’s Warren Sapp were finalists.
In 1989, eight players were invited to the ceremony, but only four attended. Among the missing was Houston’s Andre Ware, who won the award but was preparing for a game. That will not be the case in 2013. While all six are preparing for their team’s bowl game, they will be there to watch the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner crowned.
Or, should I say, to watch Winston take home college football’s top honor bestowed. This could be the biggest blowout in recent Heisman history in terms of overall votes.
Discover has been an incredible sponsor for college football throughout the entire season. Aside from their participation with the Orange Bowl, they also are in charge of the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll, which asks college football fans across the country all sorts of entertaining questions related to their favorite college football team. You can follow Discover on Twitter and Facebook and make sure you use the hashtag #FanLoyaltyPoll!
Make sure that you stay tuned to Boston Super Blog for all of the latest polls and results from the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll. We have got you covered throughout the remainder of the 2013 college football season, leading all the way up to the BCS Championship Game! Make sure to Like Discover on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!
The Discover Fan Loyalty Poll is conducted twice a month by Rasmussen Reports, a nationally recognized leader in polling, who gathers sentiment by phone from 1500 college football fans who follow games at least once per week on television, radio, in person or online. The Poll leads up to the 2014 Discover Orange Bowl. Discover’s commitment to college football includes relationships with ESPN and Notre Dame Football on NBC.
About Discover
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company issues the Discover card, America’s cash rewards pioneer, and offers home loans, private student loans, personal loans, home equity loans, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its direct banking business. It operates the Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation’s leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discover.com/company.
