2010 Heisman Trophy Finalists

December 6, 2010
By Todd Helmick
and Editor David Hershorin
Site Owner Todd Helmick maintains an Official Heisman Vote

December 6, 2010 - Without a doubt, this is the most difficult Heisman ballot this voter ever had to submit. Sadly enough, the decision to leave Auburn quarterback Cam Newton completely off the ballot is one not made with haste, abhorrence or lack of information. Based strictly with what has transpired on the football field, Newton has run away with the nation's most prestigious award. The candidates chasing Newton are also far short of the lofty status required to hold this hardware, thus making the decision that much more cumbersome.

The details pertaining to the Cam Newton pay-for-play accusations off of the field need not be rehashed while assuming anyone reading this would be doing so under the premise...we already know what's been printed and spoken aloud, true or untrue, opinion or fact. The decision here to leave Cam off the ballot is based on the fact that his father Cecil Newton did ask Mississippi State University for money in order to obtain his son's commitment to play in Starkville. The NCAA has stated this much as fact just this week. The decision is also based on my own personal belief that Cam Newton knew about it. Whether actual money ever changed hands is relevant on so many future roads explored, but not with this current decision.

I believe Cam Newton has had more than three weeks to address this situation. The silence implemented by Cam Newton and Auburn spoke volumes. Yes, unfortunately in a court of law that is the right of the accused, especially at the recommendation of legal council, to remain silent...your so-called "gag order". My distain for where lawyers, NCAA included, fit into a football decision is fodder for another day. Fortunately, the Heisman voters are the jury when it comes to doling out the nation's most prestigious award. The Heisman is nothing but a court of opinion.

So, say it ain't so Cam, say it ain't so. He can't simply, directly deny the allegations, for whatever reason. And when the SEC Championship Game came to a close Saturday evening and as Cam Newton stood in front of the eyes of a sports nation to give his post game remarks, he was thankful for his family.

I can't imagine where Pastor Cecil Newton must have been at this moment and what might have been running through his mind. The fact that he might not have even told his son about the pay-for-play money requests makes it far worse from a father standpoint. Through the past two weeks of sorting through the hate mail, I have come to one conclusion - after hearing what the NCAA had to say last week, we now know that Mississippi State officials were not lying about Cecil's request for money. We also now have allegations from the same people that Cam Newton himself called recruiters to inform them that he regrets not being able to play at Mississippi State because "the money was too good" for his father to pass up at Auburn. Somebody is not being truthful again and I am willing to presume it's not the same people the NCAA just stood up on a podium and said were correct the first time around.

The deepest and darkest side of this issue permeates the already unfair stench of the NCAA. When the NCAA decides to come after someone, history clearly shows they do it with both barrels. Full on. No holds bar. They reach into a situation, and extract facts at will, regardless of brevity and usually prior to getting past levels of conjecture to founded truth. Participants are sidelined often for months, held in a stasis of non-competing as the NCAA decides whether to play judge/jury and moral loudspeaker after doing true due diligence, or to just merely dole out a penalty for whoever they deem fit with no explanation. Cam's list of marginal behavior reaches way beyond this current scenario of pay-to-play, and past cases like this of players sequentially breaking multiple rules - especially in areas of scholastics - have earned those players instant exclusion from team activities until all facts have been revealed and evaluated, as well as often earning those institutions penalties that impact scholarship players who come after them for years.

If treated equally (like others before), Cam doesn't finish this season, period. Ask the thousands of players who have been sidelined first, and allowed to play only once the proverbial air has been cleared - fairness isn't part of the NCAA's profile. The NCAA power tree won't fall anytime soon, but somebody needs to continue to swing the axe of discontent. Whether discussing the Cam Newton affair or the possibility of a playoff system, there is no fairness here, never has nor will there ever be until multiple people on multiple levels keep swinging that axe.

It's painful as a true fan – of both the game and Newton himself, who is a sharp, likeable kid – that Cam had to be dealt these cards. But don't feel sorry for him. The argument that these young men are being treated unfairly due to the fact that major universities are making millions of dollars off their name and all the poor ole college kid gets is a free education doesn't wash. Amazingly enough, how many reading this were given a chance for a free education and how many of you are currently unemployed/struggling financially while trying to pay off a 10-year old college loan with interest? Don't feel sorry for these kids, not one of them. Sarcastically speaking, too bad the millions of dollars they make the university has to be spent building more university buildings of higher learning while giving other student-athletes of both sex a chance to play sports and get a free education. Never feel sorry that a college football player doesn't get his share of the collegiate football money pot. Everyone knows the deal up front, and it’s pretty good considering the miniscule amount of players who go on to the next level.

For the majority of Heisman voters that feel Cam is eligible and deserves this award, their side of the argument is certainly due some respect and holds plenty of legal merit. That's the way it always has been in this court of opinion, and that is the way it should always be. We don't always agree. I don't regret that voters have differences.

Cam Newton will likely still win the Heisman. Cam Newton will play in the BCS National Championship Game. He will move on to the NFL and make his millions. But no one will ever be able to convince me he didn't know what his father was out there doing during recruitment. That is based on common sense. This Heisman voter does not buy into the high priced politically tendered legal setting being used to hide what most hopefully, on a common sense level, easily see. The NCAA has a (in)vested interest in playing the situation through this legal guise we now see, to protect themselves and the valued parties from the assured future fallout once the hypocrisy surfaces over time to ultimately reveal itself. With no one to police the college football police, we see enough wiggle room for all involved to find a viable, legally face-saving way out… no actual accountability for those at the highest levels, the 21st century American Way.

Say it ain't so Cam. Say it ain’t so.

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 2010 added and totaled. We'll put them side-by-side.

THE FINAL BALLOT - December 6, 2010

If this year's race were based solely on statistics, Kellen Moore would likely be tops on this ballot. When using the Big Game Comparison, Moore also takes top honors. What hampers Moore when comparing his wares to other BCS-aligned contestants is that the back end of his schedule was too light...an argument that haunted his team’s chances much the same. A Big Game Comparison does yield another important fact. Moore's opponents in the big games were just as highly regarded as those of Andrew Luck and LaMichael James. In fact, Stanford has not beaten a ranked team this year. The Pac Ten is in a down year, and Oregon is also a huge benefactor of their conference’s downturn. Moore's chances were dashed just last week on Thanksgiving Saturday - his Broncos lost everything in Reno as Nevada got a game winning field goal in overtime to subdue the improbable hope of another Boise State undefeated regular season and an argument they belonged in a National Championship discussion. In the process of this game - more importantly, in the second half - Moore failed to move the football. Just getting a first down proved awkward and the leadership abilities of the Bronco three-year starter get called into question. Boise State lost everything that day, and being that the loss came late in the season and given the way the college football cookie crumbles, his struggles are the last thing people now remember. Looking at the whole process however yields a superior case for Moore.

Oregon running back LaMichael James is the nation's top rusher, averaging 153 yards per game. His team is 12-0 and headed to the BCS title game, which in any given year translates to an automatic invitation to the Heisman ceremony in New York City. The adage that James is a product of the crazy, wide-open offensive system being run in Eugene probably holds some water. They were capable of plugging a new quarterback in for the touted Jeremiah Masoli, and team production never missed a step. They could just as well plug in back-up running back Kenjon Barner and produce similar results. But when watching James run with the pigskin, the naked eye sees the story. Few, if any, across the country can hit the perimeter with the speed and precision of James while seemingly leaving defenders running in slow motion. He averaged an amazing 6.5 yards per carry in his Big Game Comparison. While the young sophomore James has put up similarly impressive numbers the past two seasons, what holds him back is the fact the other two candidates on this ballot are more of a proven MVP structure, one where their teams cannot do well without them. Truly, a marginal tie-breaker

Ultimately, the choice for the 2010 Heisman goes to Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. His numbers are substantial, maybe not quite on par with those of Moore in regards to throwing the ball. But he does have a significant advantage in size, speed and using it all running with the football. The race is very close between these three. When a situation like this occurs it's better to ask, "If I were coaching a team, which one would I select first?" The answer always comes back to Luck despite the fact he tossed four interceptions in his Big Game Comparison. Luck has an extremely bright future at the next level. Although that has nothing to do with this college award, it's a good indication his physical presence is tough to deal with at any level. Opponents cannot just drop and cover when defending this junior. He can also beat teams with his feet. This dimension and the fact his schedule was tougher from top to bottom awards him this voter's selection over runner-up Kellen Moore.

QB Andrew Luck - Stanford
Class: Junior
Height: 6-4 Weight: 235
Hometown: Houston, TX
Team Record: 11-1
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
245 349 3051 70.2 8.7 28 7 166.1 51 438 8.6 3
Big Game Comparison ..
68 102 864 66.7 8.5 6 4 .. 18 102 5.7 1
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
9/4 Sacramento State
Won 52-17
17
23
316
4
0
3
8
0
9/11 at UCLA
Won 35-0
11
24
151
2
0
7
63
0
9/18 Wake Forest
Won 68-24
17
23
207
4
0
3
69
1
9/25 at Notre Dame
Won 37-14
19
32
238
1
2
4
23
0
10/2 at Oregon
Lost 31-52
29
46
341
2
2
8
39
1
10/9 Southern California
Won 37-35
20
24
285
3
0
6
40
0
10/23 Washington State
Won 38-28
20
28
190
3
1
4
11
0
10/30 Washington
Won 41-0
19
26
192
1
1
5
92
1
11/6 Arizona
Won 42-17
23
32
299
2
0
3
25
0
11/13 at Arizona State
Won 17-13
33
41
292
0
1
3
3
0
11/20 at California
Won 48-14
16
20
235
2
0
3
72
0
11/27 Oregon State
Won 38-0
21
30
305
4
0
2
-7
0
                   
 
QB Kellen Moore - Boise State
Class: Junior
Height: 6-0 Weight: 191
Hometown: Prosser, WA
Team Record: 11-1
Passing
Rushing
CMP ATT YDS CMP% YPA TD INT EFFICIENCY ATT YDS AVG TD
245 345 3506 71.0 10.2 33 5 185.0 16 -21 -1.3 1
Big Game Comparison ..
73 106 1070 68.9 10.1 8 2 .. 4 -30 -7.5 0
Game Log .. Passing Rushing
DATE & OPP
RESULT
CMP
ATT
YDS
TD
INT
ATT
YDS
TD
9/6 vs. Virginia Tech
Won 33-30
23
38
215
3
0
2
-19
0
9/18 at Wyoming
Won 51-6
20
30
370
2
1
2
-1
0
9/25 Oregon State
Won 37-24
19
27
288
3
0
2
-1
0
10/2 at New Mexico State
Won 59-0
13
18
196
3
0
0
0
0
10/9 Toledo
Won 57-14
16
22
267
3
0
1
6
0
10/16 at San Jose State
Won 48-0
14
16
231
2
0
1
4
0
10/26 Louisiana Tech
Won 49-20
20
28
298
2
1
1
-13
0
11/6 Hawai'i
Won 42-7
30
37
507
3
2
0
0
0
11/12 at Idaho
Won 52-14
19
26
216
3
0
1
1
0
11/19 Fresno State
Won 51-0
27
38
333
4
1
2
0
0
11/26 at Nevada
Lost 31-34
20
31
348
2
0
2
-11
0
12/4 Utah State
Won 50-14
24
34
237
3
0
2
13
1
                   
 
RB LaMichael James - Oregon
Class: Sophomore
Height: 5-9 Weight: 185
Hometown: Texarkana, TX
Team Record: 12-0
Rushing Receiving
ATT YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD
281 1682 6.0 21 13 169 13.0 1
Big Game Comparison ..
95 622 6.5 8 4 18 4.5 0
Game Log .. Rushing Receiving
DATE & OPP
RESULT
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
REC
YDS
TD
9/4 New Mexico Won 72-0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
9/11 at Tennessee Won 48-13 16 134 8.4 1 0 0 0
9/18 Portland State Won 69-0 14 227 16.2 2 1 9 0
9/25 at Arizona State Won 42-31 28 94 3.4 1 0 0 0
10/2 Stanford Won 52-31 31 257 8.3 3 0 0 0
10/9 at Washington State Won 43-23 25 136 5.4 2 2 87 1
10/21 UCLA Won 60-13 20 123 6.2 2 1 25 0
10/30 at Southern California Won 53-32 36 239 6.6 3 1 -2 0
11/6 Washington Won 53-16 26 121 4.7 3 3 19 0
11/13 at California Won 15-13
29
91
3.1
0
2
11
0
11/26 Arizona Won 48-29
28
126
4.5
2
3
20
0
12/4 at Oregon State Won 37-20
28
134
4.8
2
0
0
0