Boston College’s Matt Ryan is the best quarterback in college football right now. Say what you want about Colt Brennan from Hawaii or Kentucky’s Andre Woodson; Matt Ryan is the best. After leading the BC Eagles to a dominating 55-24 win over Bowling Green, throwing for 312 yards and four touchdowns, and a number four national ranking two weeks ago, and a very solid 27-14 victory over Notre Dame, and a number three ranking last Saturday, it is safe to say that Matt Ryan is among the elite. Leading the team with a quiet confidence that is reminiscent of Tom Brady, Matt Ryan has made Boston College a team to fear in the ACC. If you compare Colt Brennan’s numbers to those of Matt Ryan, they are almost exactly the same. Matt Ryan has thrown for 2,184 yards with 17 touchdowns after throwing for 291 yards and two TD’s last week against Notre Dame, while Brennan has thrown for 2,395 yards with 20 touchdowns while playing a much easier schedule for Hawaii. However, Brennan threw four interceptions last week against San Jose State, giving him 10 for the season. This alone dropped him way down on the list of potential Heisman candidates. Yet Colt Brennan is getting much more national attention than Ryan. This is partly because of the way Hawaii has been beating its opponents; its lowest point total of the season was 42 last week against San Jose. But its toughest opponent this year was Charleston Southern. Who? The point I’m trying to make is Colt Brennan has put up some spectacular numbers, yeah, but who has he played? He is still unproven against a tough team. So where is the national love for Ryan and his Eagles? Sure, Stanford’s upset of USC is a huge story and deserves a lot of attention, but why is no one talking about BC’s highest ranking since 1984, when Heisman trophy winner Doug Flutie led the Eagles? The reason is twofold. First, the ACC is the most underrated conference in the NCAA and secondly BC has yet to be challenged by a legitimate bowl team. Their toughest game came against then #15 ranked Georgia Tech, a game in which BC won 24-10. Georgia Tech is now out of the top 25. BC’s first real test of the season will be against Virginia Tech in two weeks. Despite all of this, BC is still a real bowl threat. It has manhandled every opponent that its faced thus far and Matt Ryan has proven that he is the best quarterback in the NCAA. There is no doubt in my mind that he should be the Heisman winner. His remarkable stats easily throw him into the top tier of NCAA players, but his team and conference take something away. Besides Brennan, his biggest competition will be Darren McFadden, the junior running back from Arkansas. His 822 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns this year easily distinguishes him as the best running back in college football. However the Razorbacks are not ranked at 3-3 and do not appear to be a serious bowl contender. Also, last Saturday, McFadden ran for just 17 yards on 43 carries which greatly affected his Heisman considerations. Granted, Arkansas is in the SEC, but it has not had many tough opponents, playing the likes of Troy and North Texas. Regardless, McFadden is not the favorite for the Heisman right now just because of his dismal performance against Auburn last Saturday, but he is definitely in the top three. The fact that Matt Ryan is not the favorite to win the Heisman this year is ridiculous. His numbers clearly show that he is the best player in college football right now. The fact that he has led BC to a 7-0 start and the number three ranking in the country, all the while compiling some very impressive numbers indicates the kind of player that he is; a Heisman trophy-caliber player.
