by Todd Helmick
Site Owner Todd Helmick maintains an Official Heisman Vote.

2008 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 2008 added and totaled. We'll put them side-by-side.

This vote is absolutely as close to call as the debate two weeks ago as to whether Texas or Oklahoma belonged in the Big 12 Championship Game. For this Heisman decision, the race is between Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford. Statistically speaking, McCoy has a much better completion percentage (77.6% compared to Bradford’s 68.33%). In fact he leads all Heisman Candidates in this regards. He also is the top rusher for his team as well as amongst this list of candidates. Inherently, Sam Bradford is not a running QB. What gives Bradford an edge is his remarkable passing efficiency (ranked No. 1 nationally this year and last) and his touchdown-to-interception ratio (48:6). In our final analysis, when comparing these two players’ statistics when playing against their toughest opponents, the result gives Bradford another slight edge based on the fact he has thrown for more yards and maintained a whopping 13:2 ratio in touchdowns-to-interceptions. This breakdown was so brutally close; it seems a shame that only one guy can get the first place vote. If the award were based solely on which player meant more to his team, this vote would likely go to McCoy. The depth of game-changing talent surrounding him at Texas may not quite be on par with that of his Sooner counterpart, especially when it comes to the level of Texas’s offensive line play and how Colt’s feet have made the Longhorns a difficult offense to defend in crucial situations.

Seeing Tim Tebow get this award would not be surprising considering that McCoy and Bradford are likely to split much of the regional voting. Considering that Tebow won the award last season, many voters will likely continue to cast him as their top candidate. His will to win and team leadership will carry Tim’s case. However, both McCoy and Bradford have a better won/loss record over the past two seasons…ergo, these two Big 12 QBs also drive their teams as much through their sheer will to win. Tebow's pure passing numbers are dwarfed by many other QBs. Could this be because Florida has so much more in terms of other options? The answer is yes, to some degree. Tebow is completing less than 65% of his passes, and his rushing numbers fall just short of those that McCoy put up. The only reason Tebow would win this award is that too many voters base their choice on overall (media) recognition. He got our vote last season, but falls way short of McCoy and Bradford in other measurements.

In a nutshell, Sam Bradford gets our vote by a nose. He has the best arm of any QB playing in a BCS bowl game.

 

THE FINAL BALLOT - December 8, 2008
QB Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
Class: Sophomore
Height: 6-4 Weight: 218
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK
Team Record: 12-1
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
302 442 4464 68.3 10.1 48 6 186.3 40 65 1.6 5
Big Game Comparison ..
72 102 1061 70.6 10.4 13 2 .. 17 29 0.6 1
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
8/30 Chattanooga
Won 57-2
17
22
183
2
0
0
0
0
9/6 Cincinnati
Won 52-26
29
38
395
5
2
3
3
0
9/13 at Washington
Won 55-14
18
21
304
5
0
1
1
1
9/27 TCU
Won 35-10
19
34
411
4
0
4
-31
0
10/4 at Baylor
Won 49-17
23
31
372
2
1
2
4
1
10/11 Texas
Lost 35-45
28
39
387
5
2
8
-5
0
10/18 Kansas
Won 45-31
36
53
468
3
0
4
14
0
10/25 at Kansas State
Won 58-35
13
32
255
3
0
1
1
1
11/1 Nebraska
Won 62-28
19
27
311
5
1
2
14
0
11/8 at Texas A&M
Won 66-28
22
33
320
4
0
5
23
1
11/22 Texas Tech
Won 65-21
14
19
304
4
0
5
18
0
11/29 at Oklahoma State
Won 61-41
30
44
370
4
0
4
16
1
12/6 vs. Missouri
Won 62-21
34
49
384
2
0
1
7
0
                   
 
QB Colt McCoy - Texas
Class: Junior
Height: 6-3 Weight: 210
Hometown: Tuscola, TX
Team Record: 11-1
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
291 375 3445 77.6 9.2 32 7 179.2 128 576 4.5 10
Big Game Comparison ..
86 114 962 75.4 8.4 5 2 .. 37 88 2.4 1
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
8/30 Florida Atlantic
Won 52-10
24
29
222
3
0
12
103
1
9/6 at UTEP
Won 42-13
20
29
282
4
1
5
8
0
9/20 Rice
Won 52-10
19
23
329
4
0
8
83
1
9/27 Arkansas
Won 52-10
17
19
185
3
0
9
84
2
10/4 at Colorado
Won 38-14
23
30
262
2
2
11
39
0
10/11 vs. Oklahoma
Won 45-35
28
35
277
1
0
14
31
0
10/18 Missouri
Won 56-31
29
32
337
2
0
11
23
2
10/25 Oklahoma State
Won 28-24
38
45
391
2
1
10
41
1
11/1 at Texas Tech
Lost 33-39
20
34
294
2
1
13
16
0
11/8 Baylor
Won 45-21
26
37
300
5
2
8
21
0
11/15 at Kansas
Won 35-7
24
34
255
2
0
16
78
1
11/27 Texas A&M
Won 49-9
23
28
311
2
0
11
49
2
                   
 
QB Tim Tebow - Florida
Class: Junior
Height: 6-3 Weight: 240
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Team Record: 12-1
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
174 268 2515 64.9 9.4 28 2 176.7 154 564 3.7 12
Big Game Comparison ..
48 73 689 65.6 9.4 6 0 .. 44 103 2.3 5
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
8/30 Hawai'i
Won 56-10
9
14
137
1
0
9
37
0
9/6 Miami FL
Won 26-3
21
35
256
2
0
13
55
0
9/20 at Tennessee
Won 30-6
8
15
96
2
0
12
26
0
9/27 Mississippi
Lost 30-31
24
38
319
1
0
15
7
2
10/4 at Arkansas
Won 38-7
17
26
217
2
1
12
32
0
10/11 Louisiana State
Won 51-21
14
21
210
2
0
12
22
1
10/25 Kentucky
Won 63-5
11
15
180
2
1
9
48
2
11/1 vs. Georgia
Won 49-10
10
13
154
2
0
12
39
3
11/8 at Vanderbilt
Won 42-14
12
17
171
3
0
11
88
2
11/15 South Carolina
Won 56-6
13
20
173
2
0
14
39
1
11/22 The Citadel
Won 70-19
9
11
201
3
0
2
34
0
11/29 at Florida State
Won 45-15
12
21
185
3
0
16
80
1
12/6 vs. Alabama
Won 31-20
14
22
216
3
0
17
57
0
                   
 
QB Graham Harrell - Texas Tech
Class: Senior
Height: 6-3 Weight: 205
Hometown: Ennis, TX
Team Record: 11-1
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
406 568 4747 71.5 8.4 41 7 163.0 35 -58 -1.7 6
Big Game Comparison ..
109 158 1291 69.0 8.2 11 1 .. 12 -57 -4.8 0
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
8/30 Eastern Washington
Won 49-24
43
58
536
2
1
2
2
1
9/6 at Nevada
Won 35-19
19
46
297
1
2
2
-2
0
9/13 SMU
Won 43-7
31
48
418
5
0
3
-7
0
9/20 Massachusetts
Won 56-14
27
34
322
4
0
1
1
0
10/4 at Kansas State
Won 58-28
38
51
454
6
0
1
1
1
10/11 Nebraska
Won 37-31
20
25
284
2
0
1
1
1
10/18 at Texas A&M
Won 43-25
44
56
450
3
2
3
4
2
10/25 at Kansas
Won 63-21
34
42
386
5
0
7
14
1
11/1 Texas
Won 39-33
36
53
474
2
0
3
-17
0
11/8 Oklahoma State
Won 56-20
40
50
456
6
0
5
-2
0
11/22 at Oklahoma
Lost 21-65
33
55
361
3
1
4
-38
0
11/29 Baylor
Won 35-28
41
50
309
2
1
3
-15
0
                   
 
RB Shonn Greene - Iowa
Class: Junior
Height: 5-11 Weight: 235
Hometown: Sicklerville, NJ
Team Record: 8-4
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
278 1729 6.2 17 8 49 6.1 0
Big Game Comparison ..
81 421 5.2 3 3 11 3.7 0
Game Log .. Rushing Receiving
DATE & OPP
RESULT
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
REC
YDS
TD
8/30 Maine Won 46-3 22 109 5.0 1 1 -3 0
9/6 Florida International Won 42-0 13 130 10.0 1 0 0 0
9/13 Iowa State Won 17-5 20 120 6.0 1 1 15 0
9/20 at Pittsburgh Lost 20-21 23 147 6.4 1 2 5 0
9/27 Northwestern Lost 17-22 21 159 7.6 1 1 5 0
10/4 at Michigan State Lost 13-16 30 157 5.2 0 0 0 0
10/11 at Indiana Won 45-9 23 115 5.0 1 1 -2 0
10/18 Wisconsin Won 38-16 25 217 8.7 4 0 0 0
11/1 at Illinois Lost 24-27 21 103 4.9 1 1 23 0
11/8 Penn State Won 24-23
28
117
4.2
2
1
6
0
11/15 Purdue Won 22-17
30
211
7.0
2
0
0
0
11/22 at Minnesota Won 55-0
22
144
6.5
2
0
0
0