It is sitting on the desk.

Been there about a week.

It has only one week of life remaining.

It is the ballot for the 74 th annual Heisman Trophy, and the voting deadline is Dec. 10, but yours truly won’t push the deadline.

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The vote will made today or tomorrow because it only seems fair.

Of my six finalists, only two really have a chance to improve their chances because their teams are playing in conference championship games.

Listed in alphabetical order are the eight finalists: Quarterback Sam Bradford, Oklahoma; running back Donald Brown, Connecticut; wide receiver Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech; running back Shonn Greene, Iowa; quarterback Graham Harrell, Texas Tech; quarterback Colt McCoy, Texas; running back Javon Ringer, Michigan State; and last but never least, quarterback Tim Tebow, Florida.

Bradford and Tebow play on national television Saturday for their respective conference championships and therefore have one final chance to improve their standing.

If both win, then they would face each other in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game, but by then, someone will already own the 2008 Heisman Trophy.

Let it be said, Tebow needs a huge showing to repeat as the Heisman winner.

If he had put up the same numbers last year as he has this year, that Heisman Trophy would be overlooking the bay in Oakland, Calif., in Darren Mc-Fadden’s pad right now.

This season, Tebow has passed for 987 fewer yards and seven fewer touchdowns, and he has rushed for 388 fewer yards and 11 fewer touchdowns than last season.

When compared to the three guys from the quarterback conference (the Big 12 ), he comes up short on numbers.

Bradford has passed for 4, 080 yards and 46 touchdowns, Harrell for 4, 747 yards and 41 touchdowns and McCoy for 3, 445 yards and 32 touchdowns, but McCoy also has rushed for 576 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Bradford and Harrell are onedimensional quarterbacks, but they are very good at that one thing they do, which is complete passes.

Harrell, like Ringer, will get some consideration just because he is a senior during a time when underclassmen are shining.

Bradford is just a sophomore, but that wasn’t a factor last season when Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman.

Getting it down to the final three isn’t too hard.

Eliminate Ringer because he averages only 4. 3 yards per carry and Crabtree because of the fluky Texas Tech offense. Brown plays at a basketball school, and Greene is perhaps the best running back in the country this season but, like McFadden, gets hurt by team’s record.

Tebow is out because his stats don’t add up to the other quarterbacks, and since my ballot is going in before this weekend’s games, that leaves the three quarterbacks from the Big 12. All three have 11-1 records and are the authors of the most controversial finish in the conference’s history.

It would, however, be interesting to see Tebow’s ballot. As a former winner, he gets to vote each year for the rest of his life.

On one hand, if he won’t vote for himself, why would he expect anyone else to ? But he’s also a straight arrow who probably will vote for the guy he thinks is most deserving.

Oh, and there is another reason to send in the ballot early.

Not that it would probably matter to this scribe, but there is no need for any ESPN campaigning to be an influence.

ESPN, the most powerful sports entity in the world and an organization that did everything but lead cheers for Tebow last season, will have a favorite, and it will be obvious.

Expect it to be Bradford if OU wins.

ESPN loves a winner.

As for my ballot, well, I promised the Heisman folks it would be a secret until after the deadline.