Best individual seasons of the last 20 years: No. 9 - Johnny Manziel in 2012

Over a two-week period, theScore's NCAAF editors will be taking a look at the best individual seasons across the college football landscape over the last 20 years, focusing specifically on players from the Power 5 conferences.

Each day, we will be counting down the top 10 that college football has had to offer over the last two decades.

No. 9 - Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel's 2012 season

Forget, for a moment, what you know about Johnny Manziel.

Much has been made of his post-college career, in which his life spiraled out of control. After a brief stint in the NFL, he's currently in the CFL trying to salvage what's left of his football life.

But this space is not intended to be a career retrospective. It's a celebration of one of the best individual seasons in college football history and No. 9 on our list.

Manziel set records and broke new ground in 2012. His surprise meteoric rise left a trail through the vaunted SEC - and it all came in his freshman year.

The stats

Ho hum. In his first year above the high school level, Manziel set an SEC record, piling up 4,600 yards of total offense during the regular season.

Add to those numbers another set: 474 and 2,029. That's the amount of first-place votes and total points he received in Heisman balloting to become the first freshman to ever win the award.

What made the season so special?

Before it had even started, the odds were against anything special coming from the Texas A&M program.

The Aggies were making their debut in the SEC, the conference that produced the national champion the previous six seasons. They finished 7-6 the year prior while competing in the Big 12 and were beginning anew at the two most important positions in college football: quarterback and head coach.

Manziel was making his collegiate debut after sitting out the 2011 season. He'd originally committed to Oregon in 2010, then flipped his commitment to Texas A&M in the fall. Yet, in order to succeed Ryan Tannehill as the starter in 2012, he'd also have to beat out Jameill Showers - Tannehill's backup the previous season - for the job.

What happened next was incredible.

Following a season-opening defeat at the hands of Florida, the Aggies went 10-1 the rest of the way to finish second in the SEC West, booking a spot in the Cotton Bowl.

Manziel was a revelation. He completed more than 68 percent of his passes and had just one game in which he had less than a 124.0 quarterback rating. Along with his passing, Manziel showcased an innate ability to elude pressure and improvise. He often danced out of and around trouble, but also flashed breakaway speed.

Manziel piloted the Aggies offense and was the team's leading passer and rusher, recording 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground while averaging seven yards per carry.

There was his 453-yard passing day against Arkansas, his six-touchdown performance versus Louisiana Tech, the day he hung 63 points on Auburn, and, of course, when he led an upset over the undefeated defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

The phenomenon spawned the monikers "Johnny Football" and "Money Manziel." In 2012, the college spotlight was his alone.

The Moments

It's a disservice to Manziel to condense a season full of highlight-reel plays into just a couple of clips, but (in the interest of space and brevity) here are the defining moments of Johnny's Heisman year.

His Heisman moment came in Week 10 of the season, with Manziel Mania in full swing. The Aggies were 7-2 at the time and the No. 15-ranked team in the country. The ultimate test came against the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide - in Alabama.

Manziel's magic was on display from the outset of the game, including this third-and-goal play in the first quarter.

With a little guile, a little luck, and plenty of improvisational ability, Manziel stunned the Alabama crowd. Texas A&M ran out to a 20-0 first-quarter lead and eventually pulled out a 29-24 upset.

The Aggies kept rolling right into a matchup with the powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl.

Manziel compiled a record 516 total yards in a 41-13 blowout win over Oklahoma to cap one of the most exceptional years in college football history.

Top 10

• No. 10 - Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh
• No. 8 - Auburn QB Cam Newton
• No. 7 - Arizona State DE Terrell Suggs
• No. 6 - USC RB Reggie Bush
• No. 5 - Clemson QB Deshaun Watson
• No. 4 - Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree
• No. 3 - Texas RB Ricky Williams
• No. 2 - Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey
• No. 1 - Florida QB Tim Tebow

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)