1. Kellen Moore, Boise State: Simply put, the guy is just a terrific college quarterback. He is so decisive and cool under pressure, as evidenced by his winning drive in the final two minutes in a very loud, pro-Virginia Tech environment Monday night. Moore went 4-of-5 on the drive, carving up the Hokies' D to keep the Broncos in the discussion for the BCS title game. In 2009 and Monday night's game, his team hasn't been behind often, but when it has, Moore is 23-of-32 (72 percent) and has led BSU on scoring drives six of eight times, including five touchdowns. Moore also has gone 25 quarters without throwing an interception.
2. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State: The Buckeyes' huge, dual-threat talent is in great position to make a Heisman run. He finished off the 2009 season with a superb showing in the Rose Bowl and was sharp in a Thursday night rout of Marshall, throwing for 247 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Next up is a bigger test against Miami in Columbus.
3. Ryan Mallett, Arkansas: The strongest arm in football has great size and an impressive group of receivers. He's also in an ideal system and plays in the highest-profile conference. If he can lead the Hogs to a few big wins (most notably versus Alabama on Sept. 25), his Heisman hopes will skyrocket.
A big key this year is not only leading Arkansas into the top 15 but also in the process keep improving his completion percentage, which has gone from 43 percent in his first season to 56 percent in 2009. So far, he's at a ridiculous 88 percent after bombarding Tennessee Tech for 301 yards and three touchdowns on a 21-of-24 day. Mallett figures to pad those stats again with a visit from Louisiana-Monroe before the schedule gets spicy with games against Georgia, Alabama, Texas A&M and Auburn.
4. Christian Ponder, Florida State: The Texan plays for a glamour program that might be on the brink of being back. We'll find out a lot more when the Seminoles visit Oklahoma, where no one has knocked off the Sooners in a very long time. If the Noles' D can step up, it will have a shot because its QB is just that good.
In a tuneup game against FCS school Samford, Ponder was excellent, going 12-of-14 passing with four touchdowns and one interception in one half. He is a very underrated athlete and has flashes of both of the Noles' two Heisman-winning quarterbacks from the good old days -- Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke.
5. Patrick Peterson, LSU: If the award is for the most outstanding player in college football, Peterson deserves to be in the mix. The 6-1, 222-pound corner is a spectacular talent who is physical, shifty and explosive. And, as he proved to UNC and everyone else in the Georgia Dome on Saturday night, he's also a devastating return man. Peterson set an LSU record with a combined 257 combined yards on kickoff- and punt-return yards in his first action as the Tigers' main return guy. Those 257 yards are the second-highest total in SEC history.
Source ESPN
