Heisman Race Up In Air
FAVORITE YET TO EMERGE
Thursday, November 5, 2009
LITTLE ROCK — Due to arrive in the office in two weeks, the Heisman Trophy ballot will sit idle for another two weeks.
The top four candidates are clustered together, treading water, and this voter is waiting for somebody to latch onto the trophy with a Sam Bradford-like November.
Last year, Oklahoma scored 60 or more on four Saturdays in November and Bradford was remarkably consistent, completing 85-of-123 passes for more than 1,300 yards. Each week, he threw for at least 300 yards and completed at least two-thirds of his passes.
His totals included 17 touchdown passes and one interception.
It was enough to separate him from Tim Tebow of Florida and Colt McCoy of Texas and push him to the podium in New York to accept the trophy.
At this point - and in no particular order - Tebow, McCoy, Alabama running back Mark Ingram and Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen are in line for an invite to the Big Apple in December. Despite doubts about the opposition and the argument that he is a product of the Houston system, Case Keenum is on the cusp of the select list.
The group is so rudderless that a week ago, Ingram ran for less than 100 yards, lost a fumble for the first time in his career, failed to score a touchdown for the first time in eight games and moved up in a couple of weekly Heisman updates.
The darling of many members of the media, Tebow gets plenty of national exposure, and he is in line for additional face time against South Carolina on Nov. 14 and Florida State two weeks later.
If he wins the trophy for the second time in three years, it will be because of the perception that he wills the Gators to victory and a reward for career accomplishments, such as breaking Herschel Walker’s Southeastern Conference record for rushing touchdowns.
The winner of the trophy is supposed to be the best player of 2009 and to go for Tebow, a voter must overlook his turnovers, including a couple of interceptions when he forced passes, and Florida’s failures inside the 20. Sans playmakers such as Percy Harvin, a front-runner for NFL Rookie of the Year, Tebow cannot come close to his fantastic 2007, but navigating the Gators through a seasonlong minefi eld would be impressive.
Remarkably accurate the past two years, McCoy had an excuse for his so-so numbers against Oklahoma and he was 42-of-52 the next two weeks. He’ll have Bradford-like opportunities against Baylor, Central Florida, Texas A&M and Kansas, which line up as Nos. 46, 90, 98 and 100 nationally in pass defense.
In the premier game in the country on Saturday, Ingram will be the focal point for both Alabama and LSU. No. 3 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, the Crimson Tide will hand him the ball and the No. 9 Tigers will try to stop him. During October, he carried anywhere from 18 to 28 times per game and made 99 to 246 yards against the defenses of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss and South Carolina.
If Ingram does well and Alabama wins, the sophomore will be in the Heisman race to the end. An o◊-game - say 20 carries for 78 yards - will put him in a waituntil-next-year hole.
Clausen’s numbers are solid, but Notre Dame lost to the two best teams on its schedule. His best chances to impress are against oncebeaten Pittsburgh next week or Stanford on Nov. 28. Playing for the Irish helps his cause. So does the fact that he has thrown only two interceptions compared to 17 last season.
Still, he needs a Bradfordlike November.
HARRY KING IS SPORTS COLUMNIST FOR STEPHENS MEDIA’S ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU.
Sports, Pages 7 on 11/05/2009
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