Week 10: Despite allegations, Cam Newton still leads Heisman race
46 of 58 voters say "allegations make no difference" in their view of Newton.
This week, StiffArmTrophy.com asked Heisman voters if the recent allegations against Auburn QB Cam Newton would affect their vote. 46 of 58 Heisman voters who responded said the allegations would make no difference. Twelve voters said the allegations would make them less likely. (Zero said "more likely.")
Asked for on-the-record comment, a number of voters shared the sentiment expressed by Fanhouse's Brett McMurphy (a Florida voter): "These are still only allegations. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?"
Others went further, arguing that their vote will reflect their view of on-field performance, as the Oregonian's John Hunt said, "The Heisman Trust may see fit to take a trophy away, but it's not our place to judge players' character - just what they do on the field."
Making the counterargument was Mississippi voter Chuck Hathcock from the Grenada Star, "These things seem to be more and more prevelant in college football. It has to stop."
Auburn QB Cam Newton remained on top in the StiffArmTrophy.com top 20 ranking of Heisman candidates, followed as last week, by Boise State QB Kellen Moore and Oregon RB LaMichael James. Moving up one spot to #4 was Stanford QB Andrew Luck. TCU QB Andy Dalton jumped from #8 to #5 this week, slipping ahead of Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor and Michigan QB Denard Robinson.
Big upward moves this week came from Oklahoma St WR Justin Blackmon (who jumped from #16 to #8), Oregon QB Darron Thomas (from #13 to #9), and Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett (from #20 to #10).
After two big weeks, Baylor QB Robert Griffin sank from #7 to #13. Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez dropped from #10 to #16. And Alabama RB Mark Ingram dropped eight spots from #9 to #17.
66 actual Heisman voters from 34 states participated in this week's StiffArmTrophy.com poll.
Full details of the poll on the jump...
This week's StiffArmTrophy.com Heisman Poll
| rank | player | weighted% | votes | prev | |
| 1 | Auburn QB Cameron Newton | 97% | 64 | 1 | |
| 2 | Boise St QB Kellen Moore | 95% | 62 | 2 | |
| 3 | Oregon RB LaMichael James | 91% | 61 | 3 | |
| 4 |  | Stanford QB Andrew Luck | 85% | 55 | 5 |
| 5 | | TCU QB Andy Dalton | 73% | 47 | 8 |
| 6 |  | Ohio St QB Terrelle Pryor | 69% | 45 | 4 |
| 7 | | Michigan QB Denard Robinson | 61% | 40 | 6 |
| 8 | | Oklahoma St WR Justin Blackmon | 31% | 21 | 16 |
| 9 | | Oregon QB Darron Thomas | 19% | 12 | 13 |
| 10 | | Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett | 17% | 15 | 20 |
| 11 | Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi | 16% | 10 | 11 | |
| 12 | | Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick | 15% | 9 | 14 |
| 13 | | Baylor QB Robert Griffin | 14% | 9 | 7 |
| 14 | | LSU DB Patrick Peterson | 11% | 8 | 15 |
| 15 | | Wisconsin RB John Clay | 9% | 7 | 12 |
| 16 | | Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez | 8% | 7 | 10 |
| 17 | | Alabama RB Mark Ingram | 6% | 4 | 9 |
| 18 | | South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery | 5% | 5 | -- |
| 19 | | Michigan St LB Greg Jones | 4% | 3 | -- |
| 20 | | USC QB Matt Barkley | 4% | 4 | -- |
Here's the regional breakdown:
| rank | player | Atlantic (10) | Midwest (11) | Northeast (7) | South (20) | Southwest (9) | West (9) |
| 1 | Auburn QB Cameron Newton | 90% | 100% | 100% | 95% | 100% | 100% |
| 2 | Boise St QB Kellen Moore | 100% | 90% | 100% | 85% | 100% | 100% |
| 3 | Oregon RB LaMichael James | 90% | 100% | 85% | 95% | 88% | 88% |
| 4 | Stanford QB Andrew Luck | 90% | 81% | 85% | 75% | 77% | 100% |
| 5 | TCU QB Andy Dalton | 90% | 63% | 57% | 55% | 77% | 100% |
| 6 | Ohio St QB Terrelle Pryor | 60% | 72% | 85% | 65% | 44% | 88% |
| 7 | Michigan QB Denard Robinson | 80% | 63% | 71% | 55% | 44% | 55% |
| 8 | Oklahoma St WR Justin Blackmon | 10% | 9% | 28% | 40% | 77% | 22% |
| 9 | Oregon QB Darron Thomas | 20% | 27% | 28% | 10% | 11% | 22% |
| 10 | Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett | 30% | 18% | 0% | 45% | 0% | 11% |
| 11 | Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi | 0% | 27% | 14% | 10% | 11% | 33% |
| 12 | Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick | 30% | 9% | 28% | 5% | 11% | 11% |
| 13 | Baylor QB Robert Griffin | 30% | 27% | 14% | 5% | 11% | 0% |
| 14 | LSU DB Patrick Peterson | 20% | 9% | 14% | 15% | 11% | 0% |
| 15 | Wisconsin RB John Clay | 0% | 27% | 0% | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| 16 | Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 11% | 22% |
| 17 | Alabama RB Mark Ingram | 0% | 9% | 14% | 5% | 0% | 11% |
| 18 | South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery | 0% | 0% | 0% | 20% | 11% | 0% |
| 19 | Michigan St LB Greg Jones | 0% | 18% | 0% | 0% | 11% | 0% |
| 20 | USC QB Matt Barkley | 0% | 0% | 14% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
Participating voters included:
Mid-Atlantic: Frank Bodani, Mike Casazza, Doug Doughty, Chuck Landon, Tom Luicci, Susan Lulgjuraj, Kevin McCrarey, Matthew Osborne, Keith Sargeant, Caulton Tudor
Midwest: Andy Baggot, Randy Beard, Mike Carmin, Doug Clarke, Pete DiPrimio, Don Doxsie, Dave Hackenberg, Sean Keeler, Tony Krausz, Drew Sharp, Jon Spencer
Northeast: Mark Blaudschun, Mike DiMauro, C.J. McCarthy, Cory McCartney, Rick McGowan, Brad Riter, Lenn Robbins
South: Brady Ackerman, Sean Baligian, Joe Biddle, Andy Bitter, Olin Buchanan, David Ching, Pat Dooley, Mark Edwards, Scott Ferrell, Chuck Hathcock, Ron Higgins, Joey Johnston, Randy Kennedy, Phillip Marshall, Brett McMurphy, Joshua Parrott, Billy Reed, Jeff Shepard, Bob Tompkins
Southwest: Adam Van Brimmer, Jimmy Burch, Sean Callahan, Mike Forman, Suzanne Halliburton, Kevin Haskin, Harry King, Reid Laymance, Dave Matter, John Rohde
West: Mark Anderson, Steve Bisheff, Ken Goe, Dan Hinxman, John Hunt, Mike Lewis, Kevin Schnepf, George Schroeder, Scott Wolf