Masoli deserves a Heisman look

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Ducks came up roses, but their quarterback really should be coming up with some major hardware at the end of this season.

Jeremiah Masoli showed on a national stage once again that he deserves some serious Heisman consideration, even though he's not likely to get it. There's not one thing or another that makes Masoli stand out, but the complete package. Let's break it all down and sort it all out.

First, we'll consider the statistics. Look at the other quarterbacks getting attention for this award. Masoli has 2725 total yards and 27 touchdowns, comparable to Tim Tebow's 2962 yards and 30 touchdowns, but doesn't really compare to Colt McCoy's 3,889 yards and 38 touchdowns, Kellen Moore's 3049 yards and 39 touchdowns and Case Keenum's 5042 yards and 42 touchdowns.

Based on statistics alone, Masoli appears to be a laugh as a Heisman candidate. But consider this. Masoli has faced more Top-40 defenses this year than McCoy, Moore and Keenum combined and two more than Tebow, including Boise State, Utah and Arizona, all top-20 teams. Tebow, Moore and Keenum also all had big days against FCS teams this season.

Throw on top of that the fact that Masoli has had to navigate possibly the most competitive conference in the nation, a league that features five ranked teams. His only conference loss came against a red-hot Stanford team in a game where Masoli score four touchdowns, but the Cardinal's Toby Gerhart had a school-record setting day. Oregon's schedule has featured five teams in the BCS Top-25 rankings heading into this week, more than the teams of any of the other quarterbacks considered played combined.

I show you all this simply to display that statistics alone do not paint the full picture. Masoli is a bulldog, just as much, if not more than Tebow gets credit for and last night's victory over Oregon State was a prime example of that. Masoli willed his team to a win by orchestrating a drive that took up the last 6:09 of the game to ensure victory, including picking up a key first down on fourth and three, lowering his head and bowling through a defender on a broken play for six yards.

Bottom line, Masoli is a winner. He's played the most difficult opponents of all the quarterbacks in the conversation and won what many consider to be the most difficult conference in the country. That has to count for more than just a little something.