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.

December 2, 2007 - FINAL BALLOT
 
QB Tim Tebow - Florida
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-3 Weight: 235
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Team Record: 9-3
Strength of Schedule: 8
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
217 317 3132 68.4 9.9 29 6 177.9 (#2) 194 838 4.3 22
Big Game Comparison ..
40 67 693 59.7 10.3 5 2 .. 47 113 2.4 5
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
CMP%
YPA
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
9/1 Western Kentucky
Won 49-3
13
17
300
76.5
17.6
3
0
8
38
1
9/8 Troy
Won 59-31
18
25
236
72.0
9.4
3
0
17
93
2
9/15 Tennessee
Won 59-20
14
19
299
73.7
15.7
2
1
18
61
2
9/22 @ Mississippi
Won 30-24
20
34
261
58.8
7.7
2
0
27
166
2
9/29 Auburn
Lost 17-20
20
27
201
74.1
7.4
1
1
19
75
1
10/6 @ Louisiana State
Lost 24-28
12
26
158
46.2
6.1
2
1
16
67
1
10/20 @ Kentucky
Won 45-37
18
26
256
69.2
9.8
4
0
20
78
1
10/27 vs. Georgia
Lost 30-42
14
22
236
63.6
10.7
1
0
13
-15
2
11/3 Vanderbilt
Won 49-22
22
27
281
81.5
10.4
3
1
6
35
2
11/10 @ South Carolina
Won 51-31
22
32
304
68.8
9.5
2
1
26
120
5
11/17 Florida Atlantic
Won 59-20
25
34
338
73.5
9.9
3
1
11
31
1
11/24 Florida State
Won 45-12
19
28
262
67.9
9.4
3
0
13
89
2
                       
 
RB Darren McFadden - Arkansas
Class: Junior
Height: 6-2 Weight: 215
Hometown: Little Rock, AR
Team Record: 8-4
Strength of Schedule: 65
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
304 1725 5.7 15 21 164 7.8 1
Big Game Comparison ..
71 366 5.2 3 4 22 5.5 0
Game Log .. Rushing Receiving
DATE & OPP
RESULT
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
REC
YDS
TD
9/1 Troy Won 46-26 24 151 6.3 1 2 30 0
9/15 @ Alabama Lost 38-41 33 195 5.9 2 3 16 0
9/22 Kentucky Lost 29-49 29 173 6.0 1 2 10 0
9/29 North Texas Won 66-7 19 138 7.3 2 0 0 0
10/6 UT-Chattanooga Won 34-15 25 122 4.9 1 0 0 0
10/13 Auburn Lost 7-9 17 43 2.5 0 1 5 0
10/20 @ Mississippi Won 44-8 22 110 5.0 0 2 10 0
10/27 Florida International Won 58-10 19 61 3.2 4 3 22 0
11/3 South Carolina Won 48-36 34 321 9.4 1 1 4 0
11/10 @ Tennessee Lost 13-34
22
117
5.3
0
3
17
0
11/17 Mississippi State Won 45-31
28
88
3.1
0
4
50
1
11/23 @ Louisiana State Won 50-48
32
206
6.4
3
0
0
0
 
QB Chase Daniel - Missouri
Class: Junior
Height: 6-0 Weight: 225
Hometown: Southlake, TX
Team Record: 11-2
Strength of Schedule: 13
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
372 534 4170 69.7 7.8 33 10 151.9 (#12) 104 284 2.7 4
Big Game Comparison ..
114 150 1081 76.0 7.2 7 2 .. 31 -1 0.0 0
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
CMP%
YPA
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
9/1 vs. Illinois
Won 40-34
37
54
359
68.5
6.6
3
0
11
-6
0
9/8 @ Mississippi
Won 38-25
31
42
330
73.8
7.9
5
0
11
55
0
9/15 Western Michigan
Won 52-24
27
46
328
58.7
7.1
2
2
5
60
1
9/22 Illinois State
Won 38-17
21
34
294
61.8
8.6
3
2
1
7
0
10/6 Nebraska
Won 41-6
33
47
401
70.2
8.5
2
0
11
72
2
10/13 @ Oklahoma
Lost 31-41
37
47
361
78.7
7.7
1
2
13
-1
0
10/20 Texas Tech
Won 41-10
14
19
210
73.7
11.1
1
1
7
11
0
10/27 Iowa State
Won 42-28
28
37
250
75.7
6.8
1
1
4
11
0
11/3 @ Colorado
Won 55-10
26
44
421
59.1
9.6
5
1
6
24
0
11/10 Texas A&M
Won 40-26
27
35
352
77.1
10.1
3
0
10
15
0
11/17 @ Kansas State
Won 49-32
28
41
284
68.3
6.9
4
0
7
4
0
11/24 @ Kansas
Won 36-28
40
49
361
81.6
7.4
3
0
7
6
0
12/1 vs. Oklahoma
Lost 17-38
23
39
219
59.0
5.6
0
1
11
26
1
 
QB Pat White - West Virginia
Class: Junior
Height: 6-2 Weight: 185
Hometown: Daphne, AL
Team Record: 10-2
Strength of Schedule: 47
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
134 197 1548 68.0 7.9 12 4 150.1 (#14) 177 1185 6.7 14
Big Game Comparison ..
34 50 347 68.0 6.9 1 3 .. 52 377 7.3 4
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
CMP%
YPA
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
9/1 Western Michigan
Won 62-24
10
18
192
55.6
10.7
2
0
9
97
2
9/8 @ Marshall
Won 48-23
13
18
149
72.2
8.3
2
0
17
125
1
9/13 @ Maryland
Won 31-14
8
13
95
61.5
7.3
0
0
11
22
1
9/22 East Carolina
Won 48-7
18
20
181
90.0
9.1
2
0
9
42
2
9/28 @ South Florida
Lost 13-21
12
18
100
66.7
5.6
0
1
9
36
0
10/6 @ Syracuse
Won 55-14
12
15
148
80.0
9.9
1
0
14
89
1
10/20 Mississippi State
Won 38-13
8
12
61
66.7
5.1
2
1
5
89
1
10/27 @ Rutgers
Won 31-3
10
16
144
62.5
9.0
0
0
22
156
1
11/8 Louisville
Won 38-31
16
25
181
64.0
7.2
2
0
24
147
1
11/17 @ Cincinnati
Won 28-23
13
19
140
68.4
7.4
0
1
27
155
2
11/24 Connecticut
Won 66-21
9
13
107
69.2
8.2
1
1
16
186
2
12/1 Pittsburgh
Lost 9-13
5
10
50
50.0
5.0
0
0
14
41
0
 
QB Graham Harrell - Texas Tech
Class: Junior
Height: 6-3 Weight: 203
Hometown: Ennis, TX
Team Record: 8-4
Strength of Schedule: 75
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
468 644 5298 72.6 8.2 45 14 160.5 (#6) 34 -63 -1.9 4
 
QB Dennis Dixon - Oregon
Class: Senior
Heightt: 6-4 Weight: 205
Hometown: San Leandro, CA
Team Record: 8-3
Strength of Schedule: 18
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
172 254 2136 67.8 8.4 20 4 161.2 (#4) 105 583 5.6 9
 
RB Kevin Smith - UCF
Class: Junior
Height: 6-1 Weight: 211
Hometown: Miami, FL
Team Record: 10-3
Strength of Schedule: 69
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
415 2448 5.9 29 21 230 11.0 1
 
QB Colt Brennan - Hawai'i
Class: Senior
Height: 6-3 Weight: 201
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Team Record: 12-0
Strength of Schedule: 117
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
337 472 4174 71.4 8.8 38 14 166.3 (#3) 73 65 0.9 8
 
QB Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
Class: Freshman
Height: 6-4 Weight: 214
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Team Record: 11-2
Strength of Schedule: 39
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
216 308 2879 70.1 9.3 34 7 180.5 (#1) 24 8 0.3 0
 
RB Ray Rice - Rutgers
Class: Junior
Height: 5-9 Weight: 205
Hometown: New Rochelle, NY
Team Record: 7-5
Strength of Schedule: 44
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
345 1732 5.0 20 23 224 9.7 1
 
RB Matt Forté - Tulane
Class: Senior
Height: 6-2 Weight: 223
Hometown: Slidell, LA
Team Record: 4-8
Strength of Schedule: 109
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
361 2127 5.9 23 32 282 8.8 0
 
QB Todd Reesing - Kansas
Class: Sophomore
Height: 5-10 Weight: 200
Hometown: Austin, TX
Team Record: 11-1
Strength of Schedule: 81
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
256 409 3259 62.5 8.0 32 6 152.4 (#11) 82 203 2.5 2
 
RB Rashard Mendenhall - Illinois
Class: Junior
Height: 5-11 Weight: 224
Hometown: Skokie, IL
Team Record: 9-3
Strength of Schedule: 10
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
245 1526 6.2 16 29 259 8.9 2
 
RB Chris "Beanie" Wells - Ohio State
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-1 Weight: 235
Hometown: Akron, OH
Team Record: 11-1
Strength of Schedule: 48
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
254 1463 5.8 14 5 21 4.2 0
 
WR Michael Crabtree - Texas Tech
Class: Freshman
Height: 6-3 Weight: 208
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Team Record: 8-4
Strength of Schedule: 75
Receiving
REC YDS AVG/CATCH TD
125 1861 14.9 21
 
QB Brian Brohm - Louisville
Class: Senior
Height: 6-4 Weight: 224
Hometown: Louisville, KY
Team Record: 6-6
Strength of Schedule: 32
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
308 473 4024 65.1 8.5 30 12 152.4 (#10) 57 -46 -0.8 3
 
QB Andre' Woodson - Kentucky
Class: Senior
Height: 6-5 Weight: 230
Hometown: Radcliff, KY
Team Record: 7-5
Strength of Schedule: 9
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
295 468 3351 63.0 7.2 36 10 144.3 (#20) 65 -167 -2.6 3
 
RB Jamaal Charles - Texas
Class: Junior
Height: 6-1 Weight: 205
Hometown: Port Arthur, TX
Team Record: 9-3
Strength of Schedule: 58
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
231 1458 6.3 16 15 188 12.5 0
 
RB Jonathan Stewart - Oregon
Class: Junior
Height: 5-11 Weight: 230
Hometown: Lacey, WA
Team Record: 8-3
Strength of Schedule: 18
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
257 1469 5.7 10 20 116 5.8 1
 
QB Matt Ryan - Boston College
Class: Senior
Height: 6-5 Weight: 220
Hometown: Exton, PA
Team Record: 10-2
Strength of Schedule: 20
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
366 607 4258 60.3 7.0 28 18 128.5 (#57) 59 26 0.4 2
 
RB Michael Hart - Michigan
Class: Senior
Height: 5-9 Weight: 202
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Team Record: 8-4
Strength of Schedule: 25
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
233 1232 5.3 12 7 43 6.1 0
 
RB Steve Slaton - West Virginia
Class: Junior
Height: 5-10 Weight: 190
Hometown: Levittown, PA
Team Record: 10-2
Strength of Schedule: 47
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
210 1053 5.0 17 25 348 13.9 1
 
QB Cullen Harper - Clemson
Class: Junior
Height: 6-4 Weight: 220
Hometown: Alpharetta, GA
Team Record: 9-3
Strength of Schedule: 27
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
268 400 2887 67.0 7.2 27 6 146.9 (#17) 63 -86 -1.4 3
 
RB Felix Jones - Arkansas
Class: Junior
Height: 6-0 Weight: 207
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Team Record: 8-4
Strength of Schedule: 65
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
123 1117 9.1 11 13 111 8.5 0
 
RB Ian Johnson - Boise State
Class: Junior
Height: 5-11 Weight: 195
Hometown: San Dimas, CA
Team Record: 10-2
Strength of Schedule: 108
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
203 1030 5.1 16 25 312 12.5 1