Was West Virginia's Stedman Bailey Snubbed for the Biletnikoff?

Marquis Lee, wide receiver for the USC Trojans, recently won the Fred Biletnikoff Award for being the most outstanding receiver in the 2012 season.

The award has recognized the most outstanding receiver in Division I college football since 1994. The winner of the award is voted for by a national selection committee consisting of journalists, commentators, broadcasters and former players.

Marquis Lee was thought by many to be the best receiver during the 2012 season, but others think the award should have went to West Virginia Mountaineers’ Stedman Bailey, who broke a number of records at WVU this season, and was one of the top receivers in the country.

Bailey finished as a Biletnikoff final, but many feel as though he was snubbed by the committee.

So, was he?

Let’s take a look at the stats from the 2012 season to compare Lee and Bailey.

I’ll list the two stat lines, without names first, and allow my readers a chance to guess which stat line belongs to which receiver.

Receiver A had 112 receptions for 1680 yards and 14 touchdowns during the regular season and averaged 15 yards per reception.

Receiver B had 106 receptions for 1501 yards and 23 touchdowns during the regular season and averaged 14.2 yards per reception.

So, the two receivers averaged roughly the same amount of yardage per reception, and one had nine more touchdown receptions than the other.

So naturally the one with the more touchdowns won the award right?

Surprisingly, receiver B is WVU’s Stedman Bailey. Receiver A is USC’s Marquis Lee.

On paper, it’s tough to make a case for why Lee would have been the favorite for the award. Both players had a similar amount of receptions and averaged only one yard per reception difference throughout the season.

The only drastic difference between the two receivers is the amount of touchdowns receptions on the year, which I would think is a fairly important stat, and that was in Bailey’s favor.

Well, that’s ok, USC at least finished the season with a better record than WVU right? That’s why Lee won?

Once again, that’s not the case. USC and WVU both finished the season at 7-5. USC finished 5-4 in conference play, and WVU finished 4-5 in conference play.

So unless one conference win is a big enough deal to change the recipient of an award, the award was about more than stats.

I’m not necessarily saying Bailey was snubbed, but it seems as though the criteria for winning the award extends to more than just statistics.

What do you think? Leave a comment below or write me on Twitter with your thoughts at @MikeAtkinsonRS.

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