A Few Words About the Heisman

I know it's not news, but the Heisman Trophy, otherwise known as the biggest joke in college football not called the BCS, is going to handed out tomorrow. If you are reading this then you are probably already aware of this and you know the names of the finalists.

But just in case you don't, here you are:

Mark Ingram, Running Back, Alabama
Toby Gerhart, Running Back, Stanford
Tim Tebow, Quarterback, Florida
Colt McCoy, Quarterback, Texas
Ndamukong Suh, Defensive Tackle, Nebraska

That's right people...a white running back and defensive tackle are among the finalists.

Here is why I think the Heisman Award is a joke. It is voted on by college football writers and former Heisman winners. So, most of the voting is done by beat writers who usually cover one team. Consequently, these writers know about the team they cover and the conference in which that team plays, but not much else.

And remember, these voters can put down any three names they want. The five finalists are not the only players eligible for the award; they are just the players most likely to win based on early voting.

That means there could be lots of bias and ignorance. Most of these writers lean towards these biases. Or worse, they use some goofy logic like - "He's the best player on the best team." or "He had that Heisman moment." Even my local paper's UVA beat writer, Jay Jenkins, is guilty of this. He said today on the radio that he voted Mark Ingram first even though he only watched Ingram play twice. He voted C.J. Spiller second because he has seen Spiller play all year while covering the ACC, and Colt McCoy third because he voted McCoy first last year. Yeah that's right, a sentimental pick for the most important award in college football. He also said he wouldn't put Suh on the ballot because he plays defense...what a joke.

Whatever happened to just voting for the best football player? Not the guy with the best numbers, or the guy on the best team, or the guy who made the best play. Just the best player.

All that being said, I figured I'd make my picks. I'm just as informed as these knuckleheads, if not more because I've actually played the game.

If I had a ballot it would look like this:

3. Toby Gerhart - I watched him play last weekend. This kid looked unstoppable, and almost untacklable. He is strong and fast. He hits hard. He plays hard. Now, I said something before about voting for the guy with the best numbers. I think voting for a guy simply because he has the best numbers is lazy, but the numbers should be taken into account, at least a little. Gerhart leads the NCAA FBS in rushing yards and touchdowns. And he plays for Standford! He is the only player of note on Stanford's team, all the defenses focus on him, and he still went for over 1700 yards and 26 touchdowns. That's bad ass.

2. Ndamukong Suh - I haven't seen much Nebraska football this year so I consulted my friend Henri. Henri is one of the smartest football fans I know - he's one of the flat-out smartest people I know. He is also one of the few Nebraska fans I know personally, so I think that makes him uniquely qualified to give an opinion on Suh. He said Suh plays at another level. For three years he has been the most dominant lineman on the field in every game he played. I think Suh might get some consideration, even though he plays defense, because he has great numbers and had a huge game against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game. (82(!) tackles for the season, 12 sacks, 4 sacks in the Championship game.)

1. Mark Ingram - Ingram plays in the toughest conference in college football and still made it look easy. In the biggest game of the year for Alabama, against undefeated, no. 1, holders of a 22-game winning streak, Florida in the SEC title game, he ran for 3 touchdowns after suffering a hip pointer the week before. (That game will go a long way to him winning. It got an 11.8 share. That means a lot of people watched.) He was among the leaders in FCS in rushing yards and touchdowns and he did it playing against SEC defenses. I think he was clearly the best player this year.

There are my picks, but, given my track record of picking and curses I think I've just guaranteed Colt McCoy will win the award.