by
Todd Helmick
Site Owner Todd Helmick maintains an Official Heisman
Vote.
2007
Heisman Trophy Candidates
BIG GAME COMPARISON
--- Comparing statistics versus their toughest opponents
---
NationalChamps.net
will create and utilize another approach to selecting
our Heisman winner, which no other publication attempts.
Each candidate will have his statistics from the three
toughest opponents played in 2007 added and totaled.
We'll put them side-by-side.
Florida
QB Tim Tebow has won the Heisman Trophy…well,
at least on this official ballot. For the record, my
decision was very close. After digesting the final weekend
of regular season games with overwhelming BCS and conference
championship ramifications, Tebow will hold on to the
top slot without even playing.
In
a topsy-turvy season, the best scenario for many individual
players and teams to advance was sometimes not to play
at all. Case in point, Ohio State - they spent the last
two weeks sitting at home watching others lose while
“not playing” their way into a second straight
Buckeye title shot. Along the same lines, Tim Tebow
and runner-up Darren McFadden did not have to play this
past weekend while Missouri QB Chase Daniel did. The
Tiger signal caller actually had a good chance of winning
the award if a dominating performance over Oklahoma
occurred. While Chase did not really have a bad game
by most standards, he was just not able to overcome
the constant pressure the Sooners were putting on his
team’s national championship run and his chance
to win the nation’s most prestigious honor. He
needed a big game. He didn’t get it…he threw
an interception (that really was not his fault as the
pass bounced off his receiver’s hand) and failed
to throw a touchdown for the first time in a game this
entire season.
This
race is going to boil down to SEC counterparts McFadden
and Tebow on the national scale. Choosing between a
running back and a quarterback while trying to compare
statistics is obviously apples and oranges. McFadden
means more to his Razorback team than any other RB in
the country does to their respective squads. Ergo, the
term ‘most valuable player’ seemingly fits,
for his final game (in beating then No. 1 rated LSU
on the road) really proved such a statement. He was
taking handoffs for big gains, taking the snap directly
from center (‘wild hog’ formation), and
both running for big gains and throwing the ball better
than starting QB Casey Dick. On the other hand, Tim
Tebow is going to live off of two aspects…his
51 touchdowns (29 passing and 22 rushing) and his passing
efficiency, which is ranked No. 2 in the country. While
Tebow is not going to dazzle voters with impressive
40 to 50-yard scrambles, he is going to impress with
his gritty style/desire to get in the end zone one way
or another. In comparison, Tebow is more of a product
of the Gator’s system employed by head coach Urban
Meyer, especially in terms of generating scores. Not
many QBs would have their name called again and again
from inside the three-yard line, as does Tebow. At the
same time, you have to be a Tim Tebow for the coach
to design such a plan.
On
Saturday when the Heisman trophy is presented from Times
Square in New York City, either Tebow or McFadden will
walk away with the hardware. Both of these candidates
are worthy of holding this piece of 25-pound hardware
in front of the cameras, and both still have the fortunate
ability of returning for next season. Tebow is only
a true sophomore, so he is still, by rule, one year
away from being able to legally declare early for the
NFL Draft…he’ll be back. However, McFadden
(being a junior) is likely going to announce his decision
that puts him in next April’s NFL Draft. Neither
of these two has put their team into a position of playing
for a national championship, and the college football
decision makers finally come to the refreshing conclusion
that the Heisman is about more than just winning (the
most) games. Since the new millennium, six of the seven
past Heisman winners have played in the national championship.
Of those, five have lost the game for all the marbles
(only Matt Leinart in 2004 won a title).
If the Florida QB becomes the winner on this Saturday
night’s stage, the 2008 presses will already start
to roll as the headline rings clear…’Can
Tim Tebow Join Archie Griffin’ and become the
only players in college football history to win the
Heisman Trophy twice?
This
2007 season has been a zany, unpredictable adventure.
No one team appears to be heads above all the others.
The Heisman Trophy is just a microcosm of the entire
process…no one candidate is heads above the other,
but someone has to win.
Strength
of Schedule provided by the official NCAA website.
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