Heisman survey: New leader is Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel
Heisman Trophy ballots will be cast in two weeks, and it's beginning to look as if something unprecedented is going to happen when the award winner is announced Dec. 8 in New York.
Kansas State's lopsided loss at Baylor didn't just cloud the BCS title picture. It also jeopardized Wildcats quarterback Collin Klein's Heisman candidacy, leaving the door open for a freshman or a linebacker to win the award for the first time.
| Rank | Player | 2012 statistics | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| 1 | Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M | 3,047passing yards, 21 TDs; 1,114 rushing yards, 17 TDs | 15 | 11 | 7 | 74 |
| 2 | MantiTe'o, Notre Dame | 98tackles, 6 interceptions | 15 | 10 | 4 | 69 |
| 3 | CollinKlein, Kansas State | 2,306 passing yards, 14 TDs; 787 rushing yards, 20 TDs | 3 | 7 | 11 | 34 |
| 4 | BraxtonMiller, Ohio State | 1,850 passing yards, 14 TDs 1,214 rushing yards, 13 TDs | 3 | 3 | 9 | 24 |
| 5 | Marqise Lee, Southern Cal | 1,605 receiving yards, 14 TDs | 3 | 2 | 8 | |
| 6 | Tajh Boyd, Clemson | 3,367 passing yards, 33 TDs | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 7 | AJ McCarron, Alabama | 2,291 passing yards, 21 TDs | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 8 | Kenjon Barner, Oregon | 1,426 rushing yards, 19 TDs | 1 | 2 | ||
| Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois | 2,582 passing yards, 22 TDs 1,504 rushing yards, 16 TDs | 1 | 2 | |||
| Others receiving votes: Johnathan Franklin, UCLA, 1; Landry Jones, Oklahoma, 1. | ||||||
Klein slipped to third in the USA TODAY Sports Media Group survey of its 37 official Heisman voters after holding a comfortable lead for nearly a month. He retained three first-place votes but was named on only 21 ballots with a total of 34 points. He is now one of 11 players getting votes in the survey, and nobody was named on every ballot, signifying the race is still up for grabs.
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has a slim edge this week. The freshman sensation, who burst on to the Heisman radar by leading the Aggies to victory at then-No.1 Alabama, received 74 points with 15 first-place votes, though his attempt to kick an extra point in a tune-up win Saturday against Sam Houston State didn't go so well.
The Aggies wrap up their regular season this week with a home game against fellow Southeastern Conference newcomer Missouri.
Close behind Manziel is Notre Dame's Manti Te'o. The senior linebacker led another dominant performance by the Fighting Irish defense in a 38-0 whitewash of Wake Forest. He received 69 points this week, also with 15 No.1 votes.
Top-ranked and unbeaten Notre Dame concludes its regular season Saturday at Southern California. The game will give Te'o one last national stage to make his case with the game on ABC in prime time.
Klein will have the benefit of playing a game closest to the balloting deadline. The Wildcats are off this week and conclude their regular season Dec. 1 against Texas.
A couple of other quarterbacks, Ohio State's Braxton Miller (three) and Clemson's Tajh Boyd (one), also got first-place support. Miller checks in fourth overall this week with 24 points.