So, it’s Florida quarterback Tim Tebow over Arkansas running back Darren McFadden for the Heisman Trophy. Hmm.

The end result was disappointing, but not surprising.

Don’t get me wrong, Tebow is a fine football player. But as good as McFadden ? It’s hard to say this without sounding like a homer, but “ D-Mac” got jobbed — again.

Let’s not kid ourselves. This isn’t the first time that the best player in the nation finished second or lower in the Heisman voting. These days, it happens on nearly a yearly basis.

Tennessee Vols quarterback Peyton Manning — now well on his way to being the greatest pro passer ever — had to sit and watch as Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson hoisted the Heisman Trophy in 1997.

ADVERTISEMENT

When Southern Cal QB Matt Leinart won the trophy in 2004, Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson finished a distant second. No offense to Leinart (now on injured reserve with the Arizona Cardinals ), but I think the Minnesota Vikings are more than happy with their rookie running back.

Good grief, when Florida State QB Chris Weinke took home the Heisman in 2000, he bested Purdue QB Drew Brees (third ), TCU RB LaDanian Tomlinson (fourth ), Virginia Tech QB Michael Vick (sixth ) and Miami WR Santana Moss (seventh ).

As they used to say on “ Sesame Street, ” one of these names is not like the others.

All one needs to do is look at the list of Heisman winners before the award became “ quarterbacks only” to see how the results have changed. From 1975 to 1990, the list is littered with names like Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, Billy Sims, Marcus Allen, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson and Barry Sanders.

Since 1990, there have been more names like Ty Detmer, Eric Crouch and Jason White popping up.

I’m well aware that the Heisman Trophy goes to the nation’s top college player, not pro. Even so, I think the voters missed the mark again this year.

Someday soon, people all over the world will be saying, “ Can you believe Troy Smith and Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy over Darren McFadden ? What were those voters thinking ? They had the next Eric Dickerson in front of them and they voted for the next Gino Torretta. ” By the way, Torretta beat out some run-of-the-mill running back named Marshall Faulk for the 1992 Heisman. Just in case you were wondering.

• • • At this point, there’s no denying ESPN’s influence over which player wins the Heisman Trophy. The talking heads like to deny it, but the hype machine has been rolling for Tebow for weeks now. The presentation show itself showed ESPN’s bias. “ Are there any flaws in Tim Tebow ? ” analyst Kirk Herbstreit asked during Tebow’s segment, which, strangely, came at the end of the show right before the award was presented. The bottom line is, very few Heisman voters get to watch enough college football on a weekly basis to make a definitive choice on the best player. Unfortunately, voters are basically just getting ESPN’s best guess. Hey, my best guess could be wrong, too. I haven’t been able to see that many college games myself. But I have seen Darren McFadden play a lot. And I’ve never seen a running back like him.

• • •

Heisman or not, McFadden’s college career has been another boon for the state of Arkansas.

It blows my mind sometimes when I think how much sway our little state holds on the national scene. We’ve produced one of the most popular U. S. presidents in recent memory, and it’s entirely possible that the next presidential election will come down to two former residents of the governor’s mansion in Little Rock.

And in our northwest corner of the state, we’ve got the nation’s largest retailer and other giants of the business world.

McFadden’s Heisman campaigns have shined even more light on the Natural State. No Arkansas football player has ever achieved the heights that he has achieved, and none may ever again.

Through this entire process, McFadden has carried all the hubbub as easily as he carries the football through SEC defenses. He represented every Razorback fan, and every Arkansan, with humility and class.

We all have reason to proud.

Joe West is the assistant sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.