Handicapping the Heisman

Hello everyone out there in Blog land. Twins is swamped lately with homework and the like, so in his place I'm writing a little guest post. If you're a regular to this blog or to The Sports Flow, you've probably seen my (hopefully) excellent comments on their blogs. I've tried my hand at a couple of blogs, but apparently a regular gig isn't my thing. But anyways I digress. This year's college football season has been topsy turvy all around, and this has obviously impacted the Heisman race. Since I'm all about uneven numbers, I'm going to do a top 6 list.

6. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri

Right now Daniel has a lot of hype, and with big wins over Kansas and either Oklahoma or Texas in the Big 12 championship game, Daniel can certainly shoot up to the top of the list. Daniel has thrown for 3,590 yards and 30 touchdowns with just 9 picks. As good as Daniel's stats are, I have a tough time putting him higher on the list when he isn't even the most talented player on his own team, that being Freshman wideout Jeremy Maclin

5. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas

Many people's preseason #1, McFadden is probably the best pro prospect in college football. 5th in the nation in rushing, McFadden has shared time with Felix Jones all year. He does have 12 touchdowns but McFadden has been hurt-fairly or not- by Arkansas losing 4 games this year. Only rushing for 43 yards against Auburn and 61 against Florida International probably didn't help either

4. Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas

I know what youre thinking: a cornerback? Yes a cornerback. In fact, Talib should probably be even higher. Check out these stats: 4 touchdowns, 10.8 yards per catch, 8 interceptions, 1 sack. Not bad right? Well those arent Talib's stats. They belong to 1997 Heisman Trophy Winner Charles Woodson. Talib's are even better. Talib has 22.8 yards per catch, with 4 touchdowns, plus an interception return for a touchdown, which Woodson didn't have. Talib only has 3 picks this year, because no quarterback in his right mind will throw the ball his way. Talib dominates the game more- yes more- than Charles Woodson did in his Heisman season.

3. Dennis Dixon, QB, Oregon

Without his knee problems this season Dixon would probably be #1 on the list. Dixon's run pass ability is something to be marveled at, and the way he leads the Ducks spread offense makes him one of the great players to watch. Ironically, one of his best passing games came in the Ducks first loss, to Cal back on September 29th. Only one game has been a truly poor rushing game for Dixon, when he ran for just 8 yards against Stanford, but he threw for 374 in that game. Sadly, with Dixon's injury combining with the Ducks' exclusion from the BCS title race he will fall short of the Heisman.

2. Todd Reesing, QB, Kansas

Undoubtedly the darkhorse of the chase. Why in the world has no one talked about Todd Reesing? The Sophomore from Austin, Texas has thrown for under 3,000 yards, but he has 33 touchdowns compared to just 4 picks, good for a 156 rating. Kansas leads the nation in turnover ratio, and Reesing is a huge part of that. Just 5'11", Reesing's escapability has proven to be a valuable asset, although he only has 1 rushing touchdown on the season. He was hobbled by a sore ankle in the Iowa State game but still led the Jayhawks to a 45-7 win. With two more wins, Reesing could vault himself into serious Heisman consideration.

1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida

A Freshman or Sophomore has never won the Heisman. Both of my top two are Sophomores. Why? Well for starters, Tebow is the only player in 1-A (No I will not call it the FBS) history to both rush and throw for 20 scores in a season. He also just moved passed, among others, Shaun Alexander on the career SEC rushing TD's list. It remains to be seen how Tebow projects as a professional, but he leads the defending champs in both rushing and passing. He's thrown more picks than Reesing, but only 2 more, and they have nearly the same amount of yards. Combine that with the pass/run threat that Tebow possesses and he is 2007's best college football player.