MORGANTOWN — The absurdity — and, perhaps, even obscenity — of it all requires a moment of silence.

We are speaking, of course, of this early-season Heisman mania that is surrounding West Virginia University quarterback Geno Smith, who may be the only person within 200 miles of campus not caught up in the hype.

No one, of course, wins a Heisman Trophy in the first two games of a season.

Maybe the last two, but not the first two.

And Maryland being in town at noon today representing the first BCS conference opponent that the Mountaineers will face magnifies just how premature all of the talk is … yet this is Morgantown, W.Va., and what else would we be talking about in September?

True, his performance to date has been magnificent, completing 88 percent of his passes, throwing 9 touchdowns and 9 incompletions.

Not so great, you say. A year ago there was a college quarterback who in his first three games threw 12 touchdowns and 11 incompletions.

True, but that was Robert Griffin III, who wound up winning the Heisman.

All of this is leading to comparisons between the two, legitimate on a talent level, but again Griffin has his Heisman on his shelf having put together that magical season, the one thing that remains lacking on Smith’s resume being completing this senior year.

“I’ve been hearing all about that, and I want to put a stop to that real soon,” Smith said this week. “RG3’s a great guy and he’s doing good things in the NFL, and I’m only a college quarterback hoping to get where he is. We’re two different guys. He has a different style and I have a different style, and I’m pretty sure the only thing we both hope to do is just win games.”

Besides, Smith isn’t so sure that he’s been playing all that well.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’m playing that great. I’ve been making some good decisions, but I’m really inaccurate at times and guys have been bailing me out,” Smith said. “I think some of it’s been overblown. It’s only been Game 2, so I think I can play a lot better. We’ll see. That’ll come with time.”

No one expects Smith to complete 88 percent of his passes once he starts seeing defensive backs with Oklahoma on their shirts and pass rushers wearing Texas uniforms, so while he may actually play better from this Maryland affair on, the numbers may not be able to back that up.

No one can deny, however, that Smith is as legitimate a candidate as West Virginia has ever had, and WVU may be as successful a football program as anyone to have never had a Heisman Trophy winner. Certainly Major Harris was a legitimate candidate, and Patrick White well might have been able to wear a “I Won The Heisman Trophy” T-shirt had he not been banged up by Pitt in the game that cost WVU a shot at the national championship it has never won.

What may be as interesting as Smith’s journey through this season toward both that national title and the Heisman is that he is throwing the ball to a pair of players who well might be as legitimate candidates for the Heisman as he is in wide receivers Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin.

This, of course, creates a strange situation for they can’t continue to run 1-2 among receivers in the NCAA unless Smith continues his miraculous performance … and history tells us that the quarterback will take home the hardware before any wide receiver is considered.

The truth is that only five players other than quarterbacks and running backs have won the Heisman – end Larry Kelly of Yale who took home the second Heisman to be awarded; another end named Leon Hart from Notre Dame who won in 1949; Tim Brown, the Irish wide receiver and kick return who won in 1987 and went on to a 15-year NFL career; Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard in 1991; and Charles Woodson, also of Michigan, who won in 1997 as a defensive back and returner who also dabbled at wide receiver.

With those numbers staring you in the face, it would seem that Bailey and Austin have no real chance at the honor when it is Smith throwing them the football.

Smith, to his credit, genuinely is blasé toward winning the Heisman.

“It’d be better for the program and the exposure that we’ll get, but it will not make me feel better about myself or be a notch on my belt. It’ll just be another trophy that I won,” Smith said. “I understand that the Heisman is the biggest individual accolade in sports, and I’m honored to be mentioned among the likes of guys who worked so hard every year and who have done it in the past, but at the same time, my only goal is to win the national championship, and I really want to make that clear.”

Now, let’s all take a break from this foolishness and see how the season plays out, being as unknown as it is with WVU moving into the Big 12. If there is a Heisman in Smith’s future, rest assured, it will be won by how he plays against Oklahoma and Texas and how WVU fares in conference play.

Email Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @bhertzel.