Site Owner Todd Helmick maintains an Official Heisman Vote and is one of only 870 media members across the nation to obtain such an honor. His Heisman Invitation List is updated starting in mid-September.

Comparing statistics versus their three toughest opponents.

NationalChamps.net will create and utilize another added approach to selecting a Heisman winner, which no other publication attempts. Each candidate will have his statistics from the three toughest opponents played in 2004 added and totaled. We'll put them side-by-side.

December 6, 2004
Orange Bowl National Championship: Oklahoma versus USC
The Heisman Trophy Winner and National Champion Will Wear One/Both of these Uniforms.

Top candidates represent a 69-1 combined team record.

As we've seen in 2004, if you win football games and become the best player(s) on your team, your name is likely to make this Heisman list. The top six "favored" candidates have a combined winning team record of 69-1. Accordingly, the Heisman race boils down to either of the Orange Bowl QBs or RBs fighting for a chance at the national championship. But this race is even more intriguing with five players from undefeated teams worthy of consideration. It is quite possible that either a true freshman or sophomore could walk away with the hardware this Saturday, December 11th, as Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson have both made cases with their exciting athletic prowess. Peterson, in particular, is going to make this count really close for top honors.

Attempting to gauge the winner of this award can be difficult knowing how many voters tend to favor players in their own region, which is borderline absurd to this non-political voter. Under that realm of thinking, the east region(s) do not have a valid contender. The top dogs all reside in either Oklahoma, Texas or points west (L.A and Utah.). In a nutshell, it now depends largely on who has received the most national exposure. This much we will guarantee...just as the 2004 National Champion will be either Oklahoma or USC, the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner will also wear one of these uniforms.

SOS (Strength of Schedule) provided by the official NCAA website.

BIG GAME COMPARISON
QUARTERBACK   PASSING
PLAYER SCHOOL
CMP
ATT
YDS
CMP%
YPA
TD
INT
Matt Leinart USC
47
77
660
61.0
8.6
9
1
Jason White Oklahoma
48
85
556
56.5
6.5
8
2
Alex Smith Utah
64
94
847
68.1
9.0
7
2
Aaron Rodgers California
56
79
572
70.9
7.2
5
2
Stefan LeFors Louisville
54
72
686
75.0
9.5
6
0
Jason Campbell Auburn
50
72
511
69.4
7.1
4
2
RUNNING BACK  
RUSHING
RECEIVING
PLAYER SCHOOL
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
Cedric Benson Texas
94
425
4.5
2
6
46
7.7
0
Reggie Bush USC
22
71
3.2
0
8
178
22.3
4
Adrian Peterson Oklahoma
83
472
5.7
2
0
0
0
0
J.J. Arrington California
73
408
5.6
2
7
20
2.9
0
Quarterback
6-5, 225
Santa Ana, CA
SOS: 28
Matt Leinart - USC, Jr.
Team Record: 12-0
Passing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY
251 377 2990 66.6 7.9 28 6 154.5
Game Log Passing
DATE & OPP RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
CMP%
YPA
TD
INT
8/28 vs. Virginia Tech Won 24-13 19 29 272 65.5 9.4 3 0
9/11 Colorado State Won 49-0 20 31 231 64.5 7.5 2 0
9/18 @Brigham Young Won 42-10 22 34 236 64.7 6.9 2 1
9/25 @ Stanford Won 31-28 23 30 284 76.7 9.5 1 1
10/9 California Won 23-17 15 24 164 62.5 6.8 2 1
10/16 Arizona State Won 45-7 13 24 224 54.2 9.3 4 0
10/23 Washington Won 38-0 24 43 217 55.8 5.0 2 1
10/30 @ Washington St. Won 42-12 23 28 235 82.1 8.4 2 0
11/6 @ Oregon State Won 28-20 17 31 205 54.8 6.6 2 1
11/13 Arizona Won 49-9 27 35 280 77.1 8.0 3 0
11/27 Notre Dame Won 41-10 24 34 400 70.6 11.8 5 0
12/4 @ UCLA Won 29-24 24 34 242 70.6 7.1 0 1
  Analysis
As we claimed back in August and stuck to throughout, this race should ultimately boil down to a battle of Leinart versus White. Not just in this Heisman race, but the public will also now be benefited by watching these two genuinely settle it on the field with their respective teams. How lucky we truly are to be able to see this duel. This race is so very close. NationalChamps.net's "big game analysis" tends to sway decisions here, and Leinart wins this way by placing higher in total yards, completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns and with fewer interceptions. Bottom line - he won every single category when comparing his numbers with White versus the toughest competition. Ironically enough, White won last year with a lower passer rating than Leinart, while Leinart looks like the favorite this time though he now has the lower rating between the two. Both are outstanding college QBs. Leinart is obviously more geared to NFL draft ability by a long shot, but everyone should know by now that this isn't a factor (necessarily) when it comes to the Heisman.
 
Quarterback
6-3, 226
Tuttle, OK
SOS: 22
Jason White - Oklahoma, Sr.
Team Record: 12-0
Passing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY
231 354 2961 65.3 8.4 33 6 162.9
Game Log Passing
DATE & OPP RESULT CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT
9/4 Bowling Green Won 40-24 21 31 238 67.7 7.7 3 1
9/11 Houston Won 63-13 14 18 257 77.8 14.3 2 0
9/18 Oregon Won 31-7 17 23 213 73.9 9.3 0 0
10/2 Texas Tech Won 28-13 15 24 151 62.5 6.3 3 0
10/9 vs. Texas Won 12-0 14 26 113 53.8 4.3 0 2
10/16 @ Kansas State Won 31-21 20 31 256 64.5 8.3 4 1
10/23 Kansas Won 41-10 27 44 389 61.4 8.8 4 0
10/30 @ Oklahoma State Won 38-35 14 26 221 53.8 8.5 3 0
11/6 @ Texas A&M Won 42-35 19 35 292 54.3 8.3 5 0
11/13 Nebraska Won 30-3 29 35 383 82.9 10.9 3 0
11/20 @ Baylor Won 35-0 19 32 194 59.4 6.1 2 0
12/4 vs. Colorado Won 42-3 22 29 254 75.9 8.8 3 2
  Analysis
Last year's Heisman winner has another great shot at winning the award and becoming only the second player to ever win it twice (Archie Griffin, 1974-75). White's legacy in Norman will likely be as the best QB the school has ever had (he just became OU's all-time leading passer). Some questioned the NCAA for allowing him back for a sixth year of eligibility - their inconsistency when deciding the fate of players in similar situations makes this decision seem somewhat inappropriate. That doesn't matter here, though. Out of all the candidates, White has thrown the most TD passes (33). The fact that RB Adrian Peterson is likely to take away some votes does hurt his cause, as does the fact that he won it last year when many ballots were cast before White's sub-Heisman-level performance in OU's Big XII championship loss versus Kansas State. This aspect should not be used by a voter this time to penalize White, especially in light of the preemptive voting practices from last year's race. At the same time, Reggie Bush is also likely to take votes from Leinart at USC, making this race extremely intriguing and unpredictable.
 
Running Back
6-0, 215
Midland, TX
SOS: 14
Cedric Benson - Texas, Sr.
Team Record: 10-1
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
303 1764 5.8 19 22 179 8.1 1
Game Log Rushing Receiving
DATE & OPP
RESULT
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
REC
YDS
TD
9/4 North Texas Won 65-0 15 181 12.1 2 1 2 0
9/11 @ Arkansas Won 22-20 29 188 6.5 1 1 13 1
9/25 Rice Won 35-13 20 189 9.5 1 0 0 0
10/2 Baylor Won 44-14 34 188 5.5 3 3 23 0
10/9 vs. Oklahoma Lost 0-12 23 92 4.0 0 3 33 0
10/16 Missouri Won 28-20 28 150 5.4 2 1 20 0
10/23 @ Texas Tech Won 51-21 38 168 4.4 1 0 0 0
10/30 @ Colorado Won 31-7 32 141 4.4 2 2 6 0
11/6 Oklahoma State Won 56-35 23 141 6.1 5 5 51 0
11/13 @ Kansas Won 27-23 28 161 5.8 1 3 18 0
11/26 Texas A&M Won 26-13 33 165 5.0 1 3 13 0
  Analysis

Some readers may be surprised here. I arrive at this ranking for Benson as the proud watcher of multiple football games each Saturday - there has to be an effort amongst voters to look beyond the cornerstone of ESPN headlines. Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is likely to run away from Benson in total votes, which proves our headline point about a team's perception versus an individual's ability. Answer these questions: through the regular 11-game season:
- Who had more yards rushing per game? Benson did, 160-153.5.
- Who lost less yards? Benson, 28-112.
- Who had more TDs? Benson, 19-12.
- Who had more receptions? Benson. Peterson had 3 total receptions all year. Benson averaged 8.1 yards per for his 22 receptions.
- Who has the best offensive line? Three of OU's linemen are likely All-Big XII First Team selections.
- Who has the best passing QB in the backfield with him? The team with a Heisman frontrunner, making opposing defenses play that much further off the line when facing Peterson. The Texas QB (Vince Young) has been ridiculed for his arm. If you think defenses stuff the box on an occasion to stop Peterson…watch a Longhorn game.

Benson has rushed for over 1000 yards in each of his four years at Texas, progressively increasing his totals from each prior season. Benson is ostensibly the reason Texas made it into the BCS.
 
Quarterback
6-4, 212
La Mesa, CA
SOS: 91
Alex Smith - Utah, Jr.
Team Record: 11-0
Passing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY
185 280 2624 66.1 9.4 28 4 174.9
Rushing
ATT YDS AVG TD
120
563
4.7
10
Game Log   Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
CMP%
YPA
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
9/2 Texas A&M
Won 41-21
21
29
339
72.4
12.4
3
0
13
76
2
9/11 @ Arizona
Won 23-6
12
22
170
54.5
7.7
2
0
6
-3
0
9/18 @ Utah State
Won 48-6
9
12
163
75.0
13.6
1
0
7
44
1
9/25 Air Force
Won 49-35
13
23
260
56.5
11.3
2
0
13
84
1
10/1 @ New Mexico
Won 28-7
14
28
167
50.0
6.0
0
1
10
6
2
10/16 North Carolina
Won 46-16
29
37
341
78.4
9.2
4
1
10
55
1
10/23 UNLV
Won 63-28
11
19
147
57.9
7.7
3
0
9
77
1
10/30 @ San Diego St
Won 51-28
22
33
298
66.7
9.0
5
0
15
45
0
11/6 Colorado State
Won 63-31
21
26
291
80.8
11.2
4
0
9
55
0
11/13 @ Wyoming
Won 45-28
17
27
244
63.0
9.0
3
0
14
90
1
11/20 Brigham Young
Won 52-21
16
24
184
66.7
7.7
1
2
14
34
1
  Analysis
Alex Smith is going to garnish Heisman votes as much as his Utah team is garnishing poll votes - it's not going to be enough to win with the big names he is competing against. But the combined rushing and passing numbers for this junior should not be ignored. He, like Benson for Texas, is the main reason Utah is the first non-BCS-aligned team to be headed to one of the "Big Four", the Fiesta Bowl. When looking at the big game numbers, it's easy to see that New Mexico and North Carolina represented the toughest competition in terms of rankings. But that isn't going to win anyone this award. On a similar note, had Louisville beaten Miami that Thursday night on ESPN, Cardinals QB Stefan LeFors (the nation's No.1 rated passer) could just as easily have made a case, but that would be if we are only going by numbers, which we aren't. This high of a final placing says much about someone you know has no chance at the actual statue.
 
RB/WR
6-0, 200
Spring Valley, CA
SOS: 28
Reggie Bush - USC, So.
Team Record: 12-0
Rushing Receiving KR PR
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
REC
YDS
TD
KR
PR
137
833
6.1
6
41
478
7
26.4 avg.
16.0 avg.
Game Log Rushing Receiving
DATE & OPP RESULT
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
REC
YDS
TD
8/28 vs. Virginia Tech Won 24-13
9
27
3.0
0
5
127
3
9/11 Colorado State Won 49-0
12
84
7.0
1
1
2
0
9/18 @Brigham Young Won 42-10
14
124
8.9
1
4
42
1
9/25 @ Stanford Won 31-28
16
95
5.9
1
4
25
0
10/9 California Won 23-17
8
23
2.9
0
1
6
0
10/16 Arizona State Won 45-7
5
21
4.2
0
2
45
1
10/23 Washington Won 38-0
13
55
4.2
0
6
41
1
10/30 @ Washington State Won 42-12
14
42
3.0
1
5
23
0
11/6 @ Oregon State Won 28-20
11
88
8.0
0
2
6
0
11/13 Arizona Won 49-9
12
45
3.8
0
4
19
0
11/27 Notre Dame Won 41-10
8
25
3.1
0
1
69
1
12/4 @ UCLA Won 29-24
15
204
13.6
2
6
73
0
  Analysis
Lasting impressions mean everything in this race. The Heisman polls on most major sites have shuffled their top positions with each week's performances, depending on who did what. It's all about "what have you done for me lately", right? Then given this statement, anyone who watched the USC-UCLA game this past Saturday saw that Reggie Bush has another gear in terms of speed and agility that allow him to break into the open like a gazelle running for his life. It isn't luck, either, it's sheer will and great moves. His combination of rushing, receiving, kick returns and punt returns make him, by far, the most versatile ball-handler and maybe the most valuable player in the country. Here comes the big final prediction from the back of our pack - do not be surprised if freshman darling Adrian Peterson walks away with the hardware.
 
 
 
THE 2003 OFFICIAL HEISMAN BALLOT