Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, October 7, 2013

When the season started, Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller was considered by most to be a top Heisman contender. Why not?

Miller finished fifth in 2012 balloting for the Heisman, finishing behind Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te?o, Kansas State quarterback Colin Klein and USC receiver Marqise Lee. Miller led the Buckeyes to a 12-0 mark as a sophomore in his first season as a starter.

Miller has looked good when he has played this season, but he has missed almost three games dealing with a knee injury suffered early in the second game of the season vs. San Diego State. Does he have any shot to get in the 2013 race?

?Braxton Miller's Heisman hopes are virtually nil at this point,? says Chris Huston, who runs Heismanpundit.com. ?Missing three games is too much of a disadvantage for Miller when it comes to the Heisman. Not having those games to add to his overall production will hurt him down the road when voters assess his Heisman worthiness. No Heisman winner in modern times has missed that many games.?

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Each week, Heismanpundit.com polls media members, asking for their top three Heisman candidates. Manziel, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd and Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater are the top contenders, according to Heismanpundit.com.

Miller is nowhere to be found, which is understandable. But he still has six games to play this season for the 6-0 Buckeyes. Miller has hit 65 percent of his passes this season for 609 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also has run 57 times for 233 yards.

If Miller can?t win the Heisman, could he at least possibly finish high enough to earn an invite to the Heisman ceremony in New York City?

?I think if he goes on a tear to finish the season and Ohio State wins out, there's a shot to get to NYC,? said Huston. ?If he averaged 250 passing yards and three touchdowns per game, and 120 rushing yards and two scores per game, that'd give him a season total that looked like this: 2,359 passing yards, 27 TDs, 1,073 rushing yards, 14 TDs That'd probably do the trick. He basically needs to look like a slightly-souped up 2012 Braxton the rest of the way.?

About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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