Sam Bradford (from left), Colt McCoy, and Tim Tebow would all look at home with the Heisman.
Call it a game of seconds rather than inches.
If Texas had held off Texas Tech for one more second, Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy would probably have locked up the Heisman Trophy and Texas would probably be preparing for the BCS title game in Miami Jan. 8 against Florida.
But when Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell connected with wide receiver Michael Crabtree with one second remaining to squeeze out a 39-33 victory over Texas Nov. 1, the Heisman scenery changed, as did the BCS title chase.
Harrell and Crabtree are out of the Heisman mix and Texas Tech is out of the BCS mix because of a 65-21 pounding it received from Oklahoma Nov. 22.
Oklahoma, not Texas, is in the BCS title game because of the vagaries of a system that broke a three-way tie among Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma - each of which beat the other - in the Big 12 South. The system selected the team with the highest BCS ranking as Big 12 South champ, which was Oklahoma, and the Sooners routed North champ Missouri last Saturday in the Big 12 championship and were awarded a spot in the BCS title game.
And the good news kept coming for Oklahoma. Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford became one of three Heisman finalists who will be in New York tonight when the announcement is made.
Bradford is considered the front-runner - by a slim margin over McCoy and last year's winner, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who carried the Gators from midseason through a win in the Southeastern Conference title game last Saturday over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Alabama.
Whether that run carries Tebow into the history books as only the second player to win two Heisman trophies is another story.
Add McCoy, who carried arguably a less talented team, and you have the ingredients for a great debate.
Welcome to College Football 2008, where most things are subjective, including picking the two best teams and the best player.
How muddled is the situation? Take a look at what has already happened:
McCoy won the Walter Camp Award.
Harrell won the Johnny Unitas Award.
Tebow won the Maxwell Award.
Bradford won the Davey O'Brien Award.
The awards recognize the most outstanding offensive player/quarterback/all-around player in college football.
In other words, too close to call.
Harrell took his Heisman exclusion in stride. His coach, Mike Leach, did not."If Graham is not invited to the Heisman, they ought to quit giving out the award," said Leach in a statement Wednesday when the finalists were announced.
To be sure, this is the year of the QB, if not the QB in the Big 12 South. It is the first season since 2001 when all the finalists are quarterbacks.
It is also the first time since Archie Griffin won back-to-back Heisman Trophies at Ohio State in 1974 and 1975 that a repeat winner seems like a real possibility.
After becoming the first sophomore to win the Heisman, Tebow has put together a remarkable reelection campaig
"It's a good thing I don't have a vote," said Bradford, who had the best statistical year, with 4,464 yards and 48 touchdown passes. "I couldn't decided.
Although Tebow's stats (28 touchdown passes, 12 rushing) are down from last season, when he had 32 TD passes and 23 rushing TDs, he is playing on a better team, with the 12-1 Gators on the brink of another national championship.
"Tim is a winner," said Florida coach Urban Meyer. "He's motivated like all of us are. But he's a team-first guy."Whatever happens, it figures to be close, very close, with 870 voters making the decision.
The narrowest margin in Heisman history was in 1985, when Auburn running back Bo Jackson edged out Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points.
Boston Globe.
