Heisman Trophy: And the Winner Is...

First, I'd like to say that it looks like the Heisman committee got the finalists right. At various points, 10 or more players had a legitimate shot at it, but injuries eliminated candidates like Dennis Dixon. Todd Reesing has a poor schedule to blame and lost to Chase Daniel, and Pat White's numbers aren't even in the same ballpark as Tebow's.

Biggest snub of the awards season: Kevin Smith, RB, UCF. Many of you may not have heard of him if you don't watch enough football on Saturdays. The numbers: 2,448 rushing yards (5.9 yds/carry), 29 rushing TDs (30 total). That's just 180 yards shy of Barry Sanders' single season record. He was not even a finalist for the Doak Walker Award (best RB). WOW. And unlike other RBs getting national attention, he plays for a conference champion (UCF was 10-3 and won C-USA). I have plenty of respect for Mike Hart and Ray Rice, but are you kidding me? Mike Hart didn't even play half the year. Just look at those guys' numbers. At least give him an invite.


That having been said, my projections for the Heisman:
4. Chase Daniel: A good year, but getting blown out by Oklahoma cemented his fate as a runner-up. You have to do something special to overcome the "system" stereotype (see Texas Tech QB from any year in the Leach era).

3. Colt Brennan: Set the record for most career TDs, but also played the weakest schedule in the land. In addition, the voters saw the other guys every week. Hawaii made national TV four times maybe, and only once or twice at a reasonable hour. I don't think this is an East Coast shaft.

2. Darren McFadden: Another impressive year, and almost everyone thinks he's best player in college football. But there are a number of reasons to be disappointed. First, the Razorbacks struggled early in the year, starting 0-3 in SEC play. While the Heisman is not officially "the best player on the best team", they're going to switch to that soon. The Hogs were never in the SEC race and he lost a lot of press. Second, if you exclude the two huge games against SC and LSU, he averaged 121 yds rushing/game and had a total of 3 rushing TDs in the other 6 SEC games. I know he splits time with Felix, but how did that work out for Cadillac and Ronnie Brown? He needed to be more consistent, carry his team, dominate games... it only happened twice and it was already too late for their season. Not to worry, he'll make big bucks in the draft and avoid the Heisman curse.

1. Tim Tebow: Everyone knows that Tebow is a battering ram as a runner. Most of you have heard about the record setting 22 rushing TDs and 29 passing TDs. How about the second-best passer rating in the nation at 177.8? True, Florida didn't win the SEC, or even make the title game. But a 68.5 completion pct, almost 10 yds/attempt, and no more than 1 INT in any game? He had at least 1 rushing TD and at least 1 passing TD in EVERY game this year. That's leading your team every game, doing what you have to do. Two of their three losses were to teams in the BCS top 5. Say what you will about the Urban Meyer system, Tim Tebow was awesome this year and deserves it more than anyone in a few years. And I don't even like Florida.