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You really can't compare Manti Te'o to either Collin Klein or John Manziel, if you can figure out how to compare a defensive player and his skill set to offensive players and their skill sets then you might be in line for a trip to a Sweden.
Mr. Te'o is arguably the most important player on the only undefeated team in the country, but that doesn't mean he is the best player at his position in the country or that he should be in the running for the Heisman. But if you are the type that likes to reward the best team in the country (based on record) then you should encourage everyone that votes for the Heisman to vote him #3 so ND has a representative at the ceremony. If you want my analysis of linebackers you can browse the BOTC archives for my Butkus analysis.
On the offensive side of the ball, it is difficult to compare players who play the same position because teams might have different offensive strategies and tactics and their opponents could just possibly have different strengths and weaknesses. For instance aTm has run 959 offensive plays versus 712 for K-State; On a per game basis, aTm runs approximately 80 plays while K-State runs approximately 65 plays. If you give one player 23% more opportunities does this make them a better player?
Which brings up the question of if it is possible to even decide if a player is the best in the country?
For comparison let's look at the best three games (qb rating) for passing and the best three games for rushing for Manziel and Klein (all stats from cfbstats.com, if there is a typo email me):
| 3 best games for QB rating | +/- from season average |
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| Opponent | QB Rating |
Pass Defense Rank |
Yards | Attempts | Completions | Rating | Yards | Attempts | |
| Manziel | Sam Houston | 221.6 | - | 267 | 20 | 14 | +65.79 | -17.917 | -13.33 |
| Arkansas | 202.5 | 117 | 453 | 38 | 29 | +46.66 | +168 | +4.667 | |
| South Carolina St. |
197.6 | - | 174 | 20 | 15 | +41.73 | -110.92 | -13.33 | |
| Klein | West Virginia | 266.82 | 124 | 323 | 21 | 19 | +112.7 | +112.9 | -2.91 |
| Miami | 254 | 103 | 210 | 11 | 9 | +99.88 | -.09 | -12.91 | |
| N Texas | 194.6 | 85 | 230 | 25 | 20 | +40.48 | +19.91 | +1.09 | |
| 3 best rushing games | +/- from season average |
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| Opponent | Rush Defense Rank |
Attempts | Yards | Avg | Attempts | Yards | Avg | ||
| Manziel | @Louisiana Tech | 87 | 19 | 181 | 9.53 | +3.6 | +81.3 | +3.11 | |
| @Ol' Miss | 29 | 20 | 129 | 6.45 | +4.6 | +29.3 | +.03 | ||
| @Miss State | 73 | 21 | 129 | 6.14 | +5.6 | +29.3 | -.3 | ||
| Klein | KU | 92 | 10 | 116 | 12 | -4.6 | +34 | +5.98 | |
| @ Iowa State | 71 | 25 | 105 | 4.2 | +8.67 | +19.17 | -1.06 | ||
| N Texas | 67 | 11 | 85 | 7.7 | -10.67 | +55.28 | +3.16 | ||
Now the 3 worst games for passing and rushing
| 3 worst games for QB rating | +/- from season average |
||||||||
| Opponent | QB Rating |
Pass Defense Rank |
Yards | Attempts | Completions | Rating | Yards | Attempts | |
| Manziel | LSU | 82.48 | 20 | 276 | 56 | 29 | -73.4 | -8.9 | +22.67 |
| @Auburn | 103.2 | 45 | 260 | 23 | 16 | -52.6 | -24.9 | -10.3 | |
| @Ol' Miss | 124.4 | 86 | 191 | 26 | 17 | -31.4 | -93.9 | -7.33 | |
| Klein | @Baylor | 103.3 | 122 | 286 | 50 | 27 | -50.87 | 75.91 | 26.09 |
| @TCU | 105.6 | 50 | 145 | 21 | 12 | -48.5 | -65.1 | -2.91 | |
| @OU | 123.5 | 22 | 154 | 21 | 13 | -30.61 | -56.1 | -2.91 | |
| 3 worst rushing games | +/- from season average |
||||||||
| Opponent | Rush Defense Rank |
Attempts | Yards | Avg | Attempts | Yards | Avg | ||
| Manziel | LSU | 10 | 17 | 27 | 1.59 | +1.6 | -72.7 | -4.8 | |
| Florida | 6 | 17 | 60 | 3.53 | +1.60 | -39.7 | -2.89 | ||
| Missouri | 50 | 12 | 67 | 5.58 | -3.4 | -32.7 | -.8 | ||
| Klein | Baylor | 89 | 17 | 39 | 2.3 | +1.45 | -33 | -2.34 | |
| @WVU | 41 | 12 | 41 | 3.4 | -3.71 | -38.43 | -1.63 | ||
| @TCU | 7 | 15 | 50 | 3.3 | -.4 | -25.30 | -1.56 | ||
After looking at the numbers for both quarterbacks, about the only thing I can say is that both are good at times and also have games which make you wonder. I don't know that it will change anyone's mind about the abilities of these quarterbacks.
The ball control offense that K-State uses will never have the numbers of a spread offense. Manziel has 400 pass and 184 rush attempts versus Klein's 258 pass and 171 rush attempts. Would Collin Klein have numbers better than Manziel if he had the same attempts in passing? Maybe, maybe not.
Every 16.67 plays Manziel throws a TD, every 50 plays an interception and he rushes for a TD once every 9.68 (13% more play than Klein) plays. Collin Klein throws a TD every 18.43 (10% more plays than Manziel) passes, an interception once every 43 (14% more often than Manziel) passes and rushes for a TD once every 8.55 plays. Which tells you that both are going to score on you, just one happens to be a slightly better runner and the other a slightly better passer.
Will Manziel win the Heisman, maybe? Considering Collin Klein has done 2 things no other QB in college football has ever done (most rushing TD's in a season by a QB in 1 fewer game than the other guy that set the record), and 2 seasons of 20 rushing and 10 passing TD's.), I'd like to see him win it. Neither Manziel or Te'o have set a record that I know about. (edit: Manziel has set the SEC yards in a season record with 4600, the NCAA record is 5,976 (B. J. Symon's of Texas Tech); so if Manziel was still in the B12 he would not have set a conference record)
But I don't vote and the Texas game is basically the time for Mr. Klein and the rest of the Cat's to show how they handle adversity.