Mac Smack
Moderated by Arkansas Online Staff
Where are all the Heisman Trophy candidates?
Posted October 24, 2007
McFadden's record
SEASON STATS 169 carries, 932 yards (133.1 yds/gm), 7 TDs
How the race is shaping up
Kirk Bohls
Austin-American Statesman
Check out the preseason leaders for college football’s most coveted award and what’s become of them: Brian Brohm’s Louisville defense did him no favors. Michigan’s Mike Hart is great at guarantees, but too fragile this season. Darren McFadden’s Arkansas team has too many losses. Same for Rutgers’ Ray Rice. Graham Harrell is too systematic. Colt Brennan is too ... far away. Colt McCoy has too many interceptions.
Best I remember, West Virginia had a couple of serious candidates before South Florida got a hold of Pat White and Steve Slaton. John David Booty was the next in line of great USC Heisman quarterbacks until he got fingered for bad throws.
So who’s that leave? Probably four real candidates: Tim Tebow, Andre Woodson, Matt Ryan and Dennis Dixon.
Probably in that order, unless Dixon and his Oregon buddies knock off Southern Cal this week and he leapfrogs everybody. Besides, Dixon’s early win over Michigan could grow in magnitude if the Wolverines end up winning the Big Ten.
Tebow’s the front-runner, and he has the appropriate cache with a national championship ring, a tough name befitting a lumberjack and a rugged running style. Woodson is every underdog’s favorite for making Kentucky relevant. Ryan is in the hunt unless Virginia Tech takes the Boston College quarterback out of it on Thursday.
Overall, however, it is shaping up as the most lackluster race in the 72-year history of the award.
The Rocky Mountain News poll, which tracks the weekly opinions of 10 Heisman voters, has had four different leaders in eight weeks. Eleven players have received a first-place vote in the poll. The Heisman race figures to be no different.
We wonder if they are even going to give one out this year.
“That’s the plan,” said Tim Henning, Heisman coordinator.
The Heisman chatter is simply mirroring the wackiness of the season. No one knows who’s any good any more. And we’ve always awarded college football’s top prize to someone on the best team or at least one of the best teams.
But no stud running back has taken charge, and the elite teams don’t have a set-apart elite player, at least statistically.
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