http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/59837/mailbag-manziel-vs-kleinJason in Owasso, Okla., writes: Hey! I'm submitting this early so I hope you get it! Who do you think deserves the Heisman more? Collin Klein or Johnny Manziel? I think Manziel is more important to his team [Texas A&M] because K-State is a better team all-around and Klein gets more help than Manziel. Manziel has 2780 passing yards and 18 TDs with 6 INTs while Klein only has 2020 passing yards with 12 TDs and 3 INTs! Manziel also has more rushing yards! 1014 to 748 with only 2 more carries!!! To me it is no question who is having a better season and is more important to his team. Also, Manziel has been playing against WAY better defenses! With less experience also! What do you think?
Mike in Texas asked: Why is everything you stated about RGIII and his Heisman chances now invalid for Johnny Manziel, especially the W-L records you defended for Baylor?
David Ubben: If you want to talk simple yardage numbers, then fine. Manziel's advantage might have something to do with the fact that he's had the ball in his hands for almost 130 more plays than Klein, whose yards per pass attempt are significantly higher. Klein leads the nation with 9.7 yards an attempt, and led the nation in passer rating, too, until last week's rough outing against TCU that, unfortunately for Klein, came right after Manziel's big coming-out party versus Alabama.
You could argue importance any way you want, but I'd say that's mostly a push.
As for the wins argument, if you can't see the difference between RG3 and Manziel when it comes to winning the Heisman with losses, I can't help you. Winning 10 games at Baylor is really, really hard. Look at the Bears this season.
A&M has two nine-win seasons since 2006. Yes, this year's SEC is tougher than the Big 12, but outside of last week's victory over Alabama, where's the proof that A&M is blowing up in the SEC this year, winning games it couldn't win in the Big 12?
It lost to Florida and LSU and doesn't really have another strong win on the resume. At Alabama is obviously a better win than Oklahoma, but it's still only one game. The rest of the wins for both K-State and Texas A&M aren't all that different. Manziel failed to throw a touchdown pass in both of Texas A&M's losses and threw three picks (including one to seal the game) against LSU. Football's a team game, yes, but Manziel didn't make plays late to win those games.
He turned the ball the same number of times against LSU that Klein has all year. If Klein turns the ball over, K-State loses that Oklahoma game. He didn't. The Cats won. Manziel's got eight turnovers this year. Klein's got three. That's a big gap, especially when the competition is as close as it is.
When you look at the loss column, how do you not take that into account? Griffin lost games, yes, but winning 10 games at Baylor is a monumentally more difficult task than winning 10 games at Texas A&M in the SEC. The Aggies can talk about "that tough SEC schedule" all they want, but they're not racking up wins to make those 10 wins truly impressive. You can't take anything away from that Alabama win. It was amazing stuff. Manziel's a fantastic player. He's one of the best in the country.
He's just not better than Klein.
