Handicapping the Heisman

More Season Preview featuring Terry Bowden:
What to watch for | Preseason Sweet 16
ACC | Big East | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-10 | SEC
Handicapping the Heisman | More

It's time again to handicap the most coveted award in college football, the Heisman Trophy. The most important thing to remember is that this trophy seldom goes to the best player in college football. It goes to the best player at the right position on the right team. In other words, to get the award nowadays you need to be a quarterback, a running back or maybe, just maybe, a wide receiver playing at a BCS school.

I'm not saying that is the way it should be but rather that is just the way it is. The last player at a different position to get the award was cornerback Charles Woodson at Michigan in 1997.

There is no standard set of rules on how to vote for the Heisman. However, if you look back over the last few years it is easy to see that a pattern of voting tendencies has been established.

For a quarterback it is more about leading your team to a championship than it is statistics. You can throw for a million yards on a 7-4 team, and you won't get a sniff of the trophy. But if you are a QB that has your team in contention for the national championship at the end of the season, you are almost guaranteed a trip to New York City.

A running back is not held to the same standard. His success is all about total stats. A running back pretty much needs to lead the nation in rushing or have put together several great seasons. If you are a wide receiver or an all-purpose back, you don't need to be the statistical leader in the country, but you had better be versatile and have a great selection of 10-second highlight videos. It really helps if you can throw in a few reverses, punt returns or passes or can also line up at defensive back.

With that being said, here is my first attempt to handicap the Heisman.

1. Matt Leinart (Sr., QB, USC)
Last year's Heisman Trophy winner could become the second two-time recipient. Archie Griffin won back-to-back awards in 1974-75 for Ohio State. In 2004 Leinart threw for 3,322 yards including 33 touchdowns and only six interceptions, leading USC to its second straight national title. The Trojans again will be in the hunt for the national championship, and as an added attraction Leinart likely will be the projected No. 1 NFL draft choice.

2. Reggie Bush (Jr., RB/KR/PR, USC)
Bush is the best athlete on the nation's best team. He is the most versatile player in college football; over the last two years he has produced touchdowns rushing, receiving, returning punts, returning kickoffs and even passing. He accumulated 2,330 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns in 2004.

3. Vince Young (Jr., QB, Texas)
Last year's Rose Bowl MVP is 17-2 as a starter and is surrounded by a talented team favored to win the Big 12 championship. Young is often criticized for his poor throwing mechanics (as was Philip Rivers several years ago), but he has the highest completion percentage after two seasons in school history. His 59-percent completion rate ranks ahead of both of his predecessors, Chris Simms and Major Applewhite.

4. Adrian Peterson (Soph., RB, Oklahoma)
In 2004 Peterson finished second in Heisman Trophy balloting, the highest ever for a freshman. He also set an NCAA freshman record with 1,925 yards rushing, averaging 148 yards per game and scoring 15 touchdowns.

5. Gerald Riggs Jr. (Jr., RB, Tennessee)
Last year Riggs rushed for 1,107 yards sharing duties with the departed Cedric Houston, who also rushed for more than 1,000 yards. Riggs will line up behind a veteran offensive line in a run-oriented offense, and Tennessee is favored to win the SEC.

6. Chris Leak (Jr., QB, Florida)
Leak was the leading quarterback in the SEC last season throwing for 3,197 yards and 29 touchdowns. Plus, he will be in charge of new coach Urban Meyer's offense, the one that helped Utah's Alex Smith become the No. 1 selection in this year's draft.

7. Ted Ginn Jr. (Soph., WR/PR, Ohio State)
Ginn returns for his sophomore season as the Big Ten's No. 1 playmaker. He single-handedly beat Michigan State last year as a freshman, scoring on a reverse, a punt return and the game-winning reception. He led the nation with a 25.6-yard punt return average and brought four back for touchdowns.

8. Drew Tate (Jr., QB, Iowa)
Tate was named the first-team all-conference quarterback last season after completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 2,786 yards. He also threw 20 touchdown passes. Iowa again is a serious contender for the Big Ten championship.

9. Laurence Maroney (Jr., RB, Minnesota)
Last year Maroney rushed for 1,348 yards (6.2 per carry) and 12 touchdowns for his second straight 1,000-plus yard season. This year he won't have to split duties with Dallas Cowboy draftee Marion Barber III, who netted 1,269 yards in 2004.

10. DeAngelo Williams (Sr., RB, Memphis)
I know I said you have to be on a BCS conference team to win the Heisman, but Williams just might be the best player in all of college football. After rushing for 1,948 yards in 2004 he enters his senior season as the NCAA's active career leader in rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, yards per carry and all-purpose yards.