FINAL HEISMAN POLLS
Tebow the choice in final Scripps Heisman Poll
By RANDY HOLTZ
Scripps Howard News Service
2007-12-04 00:00:00
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 New York City on Saturday night, 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 masterful all-purpose quarterback who runs like a rampaging fullback, is the winner of the season-long Scripps Howard Heisman poll. But if the 10-voter panel approximates the nationwide electorate of more than 900 voters, it could be one of the closest votes in recent history.
Compiled by the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Scripps 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 before this past weekend. But when Daniel failed to coax the Tigers into the BCS title game, losing against Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, he fell out of favor in voters' minds. Daniel finished third in the 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 wild season in college football, a year when the national-champion combatants reached the precipice of a title pretty much by default, the Heisman race was equally unpredictable. Five players led the poll during the season, and in one bizarre stretch, the leader changed in seven consecutive weeks.
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 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.
The poll has 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.
The final poll, with statistics from last week:
Name, Position, School, Last week, Points
1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida, Did not play, 47 (7).
2. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas, Did not play, 40 (3).
3. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri, 23-of-39, 219 yards passing, TD run, 23.
4. Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii, 42-of-50, 442 yards, 5 TD passes, 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).
2007 Scripps Heisman Poll week by week
Week, First, Second, Third, Fourth.
-- Aug. 31: McFadden, Booty, Brohm, Slaton.
-- Sept. 18: McFadden, Brohm, Brennan, Tebow.
-- Sept. 25: Tebow, McFadden, Woodson, Booty.
-- Oct. 2: Woodson, McFadden, Tebow, DeSean Jackson.
-- Oct. 9: McFadden, Ryan, Tebow, Daniel.
-- Oct. 16: Ryan, Woodson, Tebow, Brohm.
-- Oct. 23: Tebow, Woodson, Ryan, Dixon.
-- Oct. 30: Ryan, Dixon, Tebow, White.
-- Nov. 6: Dixon, Tebow, McFadden, Daniel.
-- Nov. 13: Dixon, Tebow, Daniel, White.
-- Nov. 20: Tebow, Daniel, White, Reesing.
-- Nov. 27: Tebow, McFadden, Daniel, White.
-- Dec. 4: Tebow, McFadden, Daniel, Brennan.
(Chuck Hickey contributed to this story.)
(Contact Randy Holtz at holtzr@RockyMountainNews.com.)
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(Randy Holtz writes for the Rocky Mountain News at www.rockymountainnews.com.)
Florida's Tebow finishes at top of Heisman Watch
The Gators quarterback received six first-place votes and totaled 46 points. He did not play on the last weekend his season, but finished with 29 passing touchdowns and 22 rushing scores.
Right behind Tebow is another SEC standout. Arkansas running back Darren McFadden grabbed three first-place votes and solidified his standing in second place at 40 points. McFadden and the Razorbacks also had the weekend off after completing the year at 8-4.
Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan rose into the third spot with 31 points after throwing for five touchdowns as the unbeaten Warriors defeated Washington to secure a spot in the Sugar Bowl. Brennan finished with 38 touchdowns while effectively missing two games.
A rough outing against Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game dropped Missouri's Chase Daniel down to fourth. The junior quarterback garnered 13 points following a season with more than 4,000 passing yards, while leading the Tigers to an 11-2 record.
Moving up to fifth was Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon. The senior was the Heisman Watch leader before missing the final two games of the season with a knee injury. He still ended his campaign with solid totals of 20 touchdown passes and 583 yards rushing.
Four other players received votes, including West Virginia quarterback Pat White and Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan.
| USA TODAY Heisman Trophy poll | |||||||||
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| Rank | Player | 2007 Stats | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Total | |
| |||||||||
 |  | Tim Tebow, QB, Florida | 217-for-317, 3,132 yards, 29 TDs; 194 carries, 838 yards, 22 TDs | 6 | 4 | | | | 46 |
| |||||||||
 |  | Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas | 304 carries, 1,725 yards, 15 TDs | 3 | 4 | 3 | | | 40 |
| |||||||||
 |  | Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii | 337-for-472, 4,174 yards, 38 TDs | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
| |||||||||
 |  | Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri | 372-for-534, 4,170 yards, 33 TDs | | | 1 | 4 | 2 | 13 |
| |||||||||
 |  | Dennis Dixon, QB, Oregon | 172-for-254, 2,136 yards, 20 TDs; 105 carries, 583 yards, 9 TDs | | | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| |||||||||
 |  | Pat White, QB, West Virginia | 134-for-197, 1,548 yards, 12 TDs; 177 carries, 1,185 yards, 14 TDs | | | | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| |||||||||
 |  | Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College | 366-for-607, 2,148 yards, 17 TDs | | | | 1 | | 2 |
| |||||||||
 |  | Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma | 216-for-308, 2,879 yards, 34 TDs | | | | 1 | 1 | |
| |||||||||
| |  | Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech | 125 receptions, 1,861 yards, 21 TDs | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| |||||||||
Heisman Watch: The Final Edition
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow: The vote will be close, but he becomes the first underclassman to win the award.
Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden: His statistics this season are better than last year when he was the runner-up.
Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan: An invitation to New York for the Heisman ceremony will be the equivalent of winning the award.
Central Florida tailback Kevin Smith: Needs 181 yards in the Liberty Bowl (Dec. 29 against Mississippi State) to break Barry Sanders’s N.C.A.A. single-season rushing record.
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford: Shattered the N.C.A.A. freshman record for touchdown passes and is the nation’s top quarterback in passing efficiency.
posted by Trader Rick @ 7:31 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Wise words indeed. And a very interesting blog to boot. Check out mine and the "REALLY POLITICALLY INCORRECT" and "SHE-BEAST" links in my blogs read list.
You'll find us companionable, methinks.
GO GATORS!
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