This early in the college football season, it's hard to definitively bury or anoint players as Heisman candidates. And yet, Jake Locker sure did his darnedest to shovel six feet of dirt on his trendy campaign.
↵Washington got rolled by Nebraska, a faster, bigger, more talented squad. Locker's contributions, however, were less "heroic in defeat" and more "HAHAHA." Locker completed four of 20 passes for 71 yards, the worst marks in completion percentage and yards per attempt of his four-year career, and threw two interceptions for the first time since October 2009. He compiled just 130 yards of total offense, the sort of pitifully low number that gets darkhorse Heisman campaigns euthanized.
↵But never fear, fans of Heisman hype: Nebraska signal caller Taylor Martinez likely jump-started his own crusade with a sensational day. Martinez had more yardage through the air (150 yards) and on the ground (137 yards) than Locker did total, accounted for four touchdowns, and broke an 80-yard sprint up the sidelines very reminiscent of other diminutive and mobile Huskers quarterbacks. The best players fitting that archetype tend to be Heisman favorites, and Martinez, just a freshman, would have novelty on his side as well.