First, a quick Virginia Tech note: receiver Danny Coale and tight end Chris Drager were named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America Football second team Friday. The school has the full release here.

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Now for something more national: my Heisman ballot. I’ve been fortunate enough to have one the last couple years and in the past have justified my ballot in a blog post before the announcement. I voted for Stanford running back Toby Gerhart two years ago (he finished second to Alabama’s Mark Ingram) and Auburn quarterback Cam Newton last season (a no-brainer in my opinion).

This year was harder. There were plenty of worthy candidates, and while I think one distinguished himself in the end, my Nos. 2 through 6 picks probably could have been interchangeable. Nevertheless, we’re required to submit a top three, so that’s what I did.

But first, those who just missed the cut, in no particular order:

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: 261-373, 70%, 3,170 yards, 35 TD, 9 INT

He was the frontrunner all year, but I don’t like to vote for a guy just because of reputation. He had a great year, no doubt, just looking at his numbers. I normally give weight for how players perform in their biggest games, though, so a slight demerit for a rough outing in the Cardinal’s biggest game against Oregon (27-41, 256 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT).

Matt Barkley, QB, USC: 308-446, 69.1%, 3,528 yards, 39 TD, 7 INT

He had better numbers than Luck, although he also had better receivers and threw the ball much more frequently. I think he got lost in the shuffle because of the Trojans’ postseason ban, but he was certainly Heisman worthy. He only really had one off game (Arizona State), which was a USC loss. One other problem I had was distinguishing between Luck and Barkley. They were very similar.

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama: 263 carries, 1,583 yards, 6.0 avg., 20 TD, 327 receiving yards, 3 TD

I have no doubt that he’s the most talented back in the country, but this award is about who had the most outstanding season. And I think Richardson was close to having the best season of a running back, but not quite there. The biggest argument I see in his favor is how he performed in the big, bad SEC. And the conference is good, don’t get me wrong. But other than LSU (against whom Richardson was outstanding, it should be noted), the Tide missed the league’s other banner defenses, not playing South Carolina and Georgia. Vanderbilt (No. 27) was the second-toughest rushing defense he faced. He had a huge game against Florida (No. 40 in rushing D, 181 yards, 2 TD) but faced far fewer tough defenses than many like to claim, hence he just missed the cut.

Now for the guys who were on my ballot, in descending order:

3. Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin: 275 carries, 1,759 yards, 6.4 avg., 32 TD, 255 receiving yards, 6 TD

He had a better quarterback than Richardson, yes, and Wisconsin is an offense built around running the ball, but those stats — 38 touchdowns! — are hard to overlook. Ball had more yards, far more touchdowns and a better yard-per-carry average than Richardson. He played in a weaker conference, you’ll say. Not necessarily when it came to defenses. Ball had two games against Michigan State (No. 12 rushing defense) and finished with 252 rushing yards and four touchdowns (plus two receiving scores). One of those was in the Big Ten championship game, which is a big deal. Against Illinois (No. 42 rushing) he had his best game of the year, with 224 rushing yards and four scores.

Take ‘Bama and Wisconsin’s one common opponent — Penn State — and Ball had a better game (156 rushing yards, 4 TD) than Richardson (111 rushing, 2 TD). I’ve heard the argument that anyone would rush for yards in Wisconsin’s offense. That might be true. But it’s not like Ball was piling up meaningless yards. His 138.7-yard average against ranked teams was tops in the nation, and he had 12 rushing touchdowns in those four games. That’s called producing when it matters.

2. Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU: 71 tackles, 6 FF, 2 INT, 2 PR TD

I’ve been hesitant in the past to vote for defensive players. I did not have Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on my ballot two years ago simply because historically the award has always gone to an offensive player. (And quite honestly, the self-righteous sportswriters who vote for a defensive player, touting their selection as the best “football player” while pooh-poohing people who don’t follow their lead bug me. It’s not like they ever consider offensive linemen when the make that kind of decision. It’s always somebody with easy-to-digest stats like sacks or TFLs.). ANYWAY, I made an exception with Mathieu.

It’s not the Honey Badger nickname that makes him different (and quite honestly, has that meme exhausted itself yet?). And I had no problem with his one-game drug suspension (he missed the Auburn game; all that did was take a touchdown or two off his stats). He is the No. 1 game-changer on the No. 1 team in the nation and that should count for something. He might not be the best cornerback on his own team (Morris Claiborne is ridiculously good), but Mathieu does a bit of everything for that team. He’s a cornerback but plays like a linebacker. He makes plays, whether it’s stripping the ball loose or scooping it up. He’s a magnet for the ball. His punt return skills are among the best in the country. But his timing might be his biggest quality. When the Tigers started slow against Arkansas, his punt return for a score got them going. When LSU were down early against Georgia in the SEC title game, he jumpstarted them with a 62-yard punt return, then set up another two scores with a fumble return and long punt return. Yes, LSU would be good without him and yes, he might not be the most talented player on that defense, but the sum of everything he does was so incredibly valuable for the Tigers that I thought he was worthy of being No. 2 on my ballot.

1. Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor: 267-369, 72.4%, 3,998 yards, 36 TD, 6 INT, 644 rushing yards, 9 TD

It’s not just the stats … but dang, look at them. He set the NCAA passing efficiency record this year. Simply from a head-to-head standpoint, he out-passed Luck and Barkley in terms of yardage. His passing touchdown total might even with them, but that’s before you count his rushing totals. I think his performance in big games sets him apart from those other two quaterbacks, however. Against teams ranked in the AP pll, Griffin completed 69 percent of his passes, throwing for 402.3 yards per game with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. Luck (69.1%, 293.0 ypg, 6 TD, 3 INT) and Barkley (68%, 303.5, 7 TD, 2 INT) couldn’t quite match him. Against teams with winning records, Griffin threw for 389 ypg and 20 touchdowns to only four interceptions. That’s performing when it counts.

I won’t argue that the Big 12 had some dreadful defenses. Only one ranked higher than No. 61 overall and that was Texas (although Griffin was 15-for-22 for 320 yards and two touchdowns with two more scores on the ground in a win against the Longhorns.) But Griffin’s value was how much he meant to the program. Baylor won 9 games and finished the season ranked in the top 15. Read that again. Baylor. It’s the school’s first 9-win season since 1986. The Bears have a chance to win 10 games for the first time since 1980, when they won the Southwest Conference. And this all happened with a defense that ranked 114th nationally out of 120 FBS teams. There’s a reason for that, and it was Griffin. Without him, that team might have won two or three games. He had the biggest impact on a team this year and therefore got my vote.