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Staying out of pits

By Randy Holtz, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 4, 2007 at 10:25 a.m.
Updated December 4, 2007 at 10:25 a.m.

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Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow

DarrenMcFadden

DarrenMcFadden

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One by one, the candidates elbowed their way to the front of the pack. One by one, they crashed and burned.

Two held their ground down the stretch, and when the little stiff-arming bronze dude is awarded with much pomp and ceremony in midtown Manhattan on Saturday, there will be rare drama when some well-tailored fellow opens that Heisman Trophy envelope.

In an up-and-down season that tested the candidacy of hopefuls from coast to coast, Tim Tebow, Florida's masterly all-purpose quarterback who runs like a rampaging fullback, is the winner of the seasonlong Rocky Mountain News Heisman poll. But if our 10-voter panel approximates the nationwide electorate of more than 900 voters, it could be one of the closest votes in recent history.

The ceremony, which has evolved into an hourlong television event, will begin on ESPN at 6 p.m. MST on Saturday.

The Rocky's weekly poll, in its 21st year, has predicted the actual winner 17 of the previous 20 years. This year, the final poll in this all-over-the-map season has Tebow, a resourceful and versatile sophomore, leading the way with 47 points and seven first-place votes.

But Darren McFadden, the preseason favorite, isn't far behind, the junior running back from Arkansas gathering 40 points and three first-place votes.

Chase Daniel, the dynamic junior quarterback from surprising Missouri, was thought to have a great shot to challenge Tebow and McFadden for the Heisman before this past weekend. But when Daniel failed to coax the Tigers into the BCS title game, losing against Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship, he fell out of favor in voters' minds. Daniel finished third in our final voting with 23 points, well behind Tebow and McFadden, with Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan winding up fourth with 18.

"In a season measured by disappointment and disaster, Tim Tebow was the only player who strung together a year's worth of good games," poll voter Dana O'Neil of the Philadelphia Daily News said. "Known for his running skills, he showed his arm was every bit as much a threat as his legs. And while everyone else rode the roller coaster of injury or simply awful games, Tebow was rock-steady."

Another poll voter, Tom Luicci of the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, begged to differ.

"The award goes to the best player in college football, right?" Luicci said. "McFadden is it, period. Tebow had great individual stats, but it's not all about numbers. Otherwise, Kevin Smith (of Central Florida) would win this in a landslide."

In a strange overall season in college football, a year when the national-champion combatants reached the precipice of a title pretty much by default, the Heisman race also was varied and unpredictable and weird. Five players led the Rocky poll during the season, and in one bizarre stretch, the leader changed seven times from one week to the next.

Among those leaders was Oregon's Dennis Dixon, whose Ducks faded late when Dixon injured his knee and was lost for the last few games. Boston College's Matt Ryan led the poll twice in October, and Kentucky's Andre Woodson also was the leader for one week in October.

The preseason poll in August had Southern California's John David Booty second, Louisville's Brian Brohm third and West Virginia's Steve Slaton fourth. None of the three received a single point in our final poll. It was that kind of year.

But in the end, everyone on our panel agreed either Tebow, who would be the first sophomore to win, or McFadden rose above the rest. All but one of our 10 voters had them 1-2 in some order.

"Despite Florida's three losses, Tebow's numbers and the teams he amassed them against are too spectacular to overlook,"

Vahe Gregorian of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said.

John Rohde of The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City went with McFadden.

"When choosing between McFadden and Tebow, I glanced at the official Heisman ballot where it says to vote for 'the most outstanding college football player in the United States,' " the Oklahoma columnist said. "McFadden is a more outstanding player than Tebow. McFadden is better than every player out there."

We'll see Saturday what the entire Heisman electorate thinks. But know this: This has been one seriously upside-down year in college football, the Heisman race included.

Heisman poll

* The Rocky Mountain News Heisman Trophy poll, in its 21st year, is the longest-running weekly survey in the country. This is the final vote of the year, with the winner being announced Saturday. The final poll correctly has predicted the Heisman winner in 17 of the previous 20 seasons.

* There are 10 voters, all college football writers and two from each voting region, who vote for five players each week. The tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with first place receiving five points, second four, etc. First-place votes are in parentheses.

* This week's poll, with statistics from last week:

Name, position School Last week Points

Tim Tebow, QB Florida Did not play 47 (7)

Darren McFadden, RB Arkansas Did not play 40 (3)

Chase Daniel, QB Missouri 23-of-39, 219 yards 23

Colt Brennan, QB Hawaii 42-of-50, 442 yards, 5 TDs 18

* Others receiving votes: Pat White (QB, West Virginia) 9; Kevin Smith (RB, Central Florida) 4; Dennis Dixon (QB, Oregon) 3; Sam Bradford (QB, Oklahoma) 3; Michael Crabtree (WR, Texas Tech) 2; Chad Hall (RB, Air Force) 1.

* Voters: Wendell Barnhouse (Fort Worth Star-Telegram); Kirk Bohls (Austin American-Statesman); Dennis Dodd (CBSSports.com); Vahe Gregorian (St. Louis Post- Dispatch); Mike Griffith (Knoxville News-Sentinel); Randy Holtz (Rocky Mountain News); Michael Lewis (Salt Lake Tribune); Tom Luicci (The [Newark] Star-Ledger); Dana O'Neil (Philadelphia Daily News); and John Rohde (The Oklahoman).

Heisman poll week by week

Week First Second Third Fourth Fifth

Aug. 31 McFadden Booty Brohm Slaton Brennan

Sept. 18 McFadden Brohm Brennan Tebow Booty

Sept. 25 Tebow McFadden Woodson Booty Dixon

Oct. 2 Woodson McFadden Tebow Jackson Ryan

Oct. 9 McFadden Ryan Tebow Daniel Jackson

Oct. 16 Ryan Woodson Tebow Brohm Dixon

Oct. 23 Tebow Woodson Ryan Dixon McFadden

Oct. 30 Ryan Dixon Tebow White Boeckman

Nov. 6 Dixon Tebow McFadden Daniel White

Nov. 13 Dixon Tebow Daniel White McFadden

Nov. 20 Tebow Daniel White Reesing McFadden

Nov. 27 Tebow McFadden Daniel White Brennan

Dec. 4 Tebow McFadden Daniel Brennan White

Tim Tebow game by game

PASSING RUSHING Date Opponent Result Comp. Att. Yards TD Int. Att. Yards Avg. TD

Sept. 1 Western Kentucky Won 49-3 13 17 300 3 0 8 38 4.8 1

Sept. 8 Troy Won 59-31 18 25 236 3 0 17 93 5.5 2

Sept. 15 Tennessee Won 59-20 14 19 299 2 1 18 61 3.4 2

Sept. 22 at Mississippi Won 30-24 20 34 261 2 0 27 166 6.1 2

Sept. 29 Auburn Lost 20-17 20 27 201 1 1 19 75 3.9 1

Oct. 6 at Louisiana State Lost 28-24 12 26 158 2 1 16 67 4.2 1

Oct. 20 at Kentucky Won 45-37 18 26 256 4 0 20 78 3.9 1

Oct. 27 *Georgia Lost 42-30 14 22 236 1 0 13 -15 -1.2 2

Nov. 3 Vanderbilt Won 49-22 22 27 281 3 1 6 35 5.8 2

Nov. 10 at South Carolina Won 51-31 22 32 304 2 1 26 120 4.6 5

Nov. 17 Florida Atlantic Won 59-20 25 34 338 3 1 11 31 2.8 1

Nov. 24 Florida State Won 45-12 19 28 262 3 0 13 89 6.8 2

Totals 9-3 217 317 3,132 29 6 194 838 4.3 22

Darren McFadden game by game

RUSHING RECEIVING Date Opponent Result Att. Yards Avg. TD No. Yards Avg. TD

Sept. 1 Troy Won 46-26 24 151 6.3 1 2 30 15.0 0

Sept. 15 at Alabama Lost 41-38 33 195 5.9 2 3 16 5.3 0

Sept. 22 Kentucky Lost 42-29 29 173 6.0 1 2 10 5.0 0

Sept. 29 North Texas Won 66-7 19 138 7.3 2 0 0 0.0 0

Oct. 6 Chattanooga Won 34-15 25 122 4.9 1 0 0 0.0 0

Oct. 13 Auburn Lost 9-7 17 43 2.5 0 1 5 5.0 0

Oct. 20 at Mississippi Won 44-8 22 110 5.0 0 2 10 5.0 0

Oct. 27 Florida International Won 58-10 19 61 3.2 4 3 22 7.3 0

Nov. 3 South Carolina Won 48-36 34 321 9.4 1 1 4 4.0 0

Nov. 10 at Tennessee Lost 34-13 22 117 5.3 0 3 17 5.7 0

Nov. 17 Mississippi State Won 45-31 28 88 3.1 0 4 50 12.5 1

Nov. 23 at Louisiana State Won 50-48 (3OT) 32 206 6.4 3 0 0 0.0 0

Totals 8-4 304 1,725 5.7 15 21 164 1 7.8

Comments

  • December 5, 2007

    8:11 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    tookoolwinner writes:

    Ok, people let's cut to the chase, about this year's Heisman race.
    Contribution is the bottom line criterion. The most important contribution is not arbitrary measurements. It 's points that put you in position to win games. Anything else you can do all day and not score. No score, no victory. Who was the best at putting points on the board? You know, Tim Tebow, of course. His numbers speak for themselves. All due respect to the other outstanding players. It's all about how many times you make it happen in the pay dirt, baby!