The Heisman Race
Well the Heisman votes are in, at least from our local panel of experts. There were six respondents to the Heisman question, though we can eliminate two right off. One voter listed Noah Brindise, and another listed Fred Weary. That is not allowed. The votes:
Kevin: 1. Charles Woodson, 2. Ron Dayne, 3. Thad Busby
Danny: 1. Randy Moss, 2. Ryan Leaf, 3. Peyton Manning
Schmookie: 1. Charles Woodson, 2. Peyton Manning, 3. Thad Busby
Steve: 1. Ryan Leaf, 2. Ricky Williams, 3. Brock Huard
So our consensus Heisman, thus far, is Charles Woodson, DB/WR, Michigan, with Ryan Leaf, QB, Washington State, running a close second. I think everyone made intelligent choices; a case could be made for any of them. Here is a statistical comparison of the most likely players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. Charles Woodson is a little more difficult to characterize statistically than the others; it is interesting that two of our experts picked him first; for the other two, he did not crack the top three.
Quarterbacks
| Player | Cmp | % | Yards | Yds/Att | TD | INT | W-L | Rating |
| Brock Huard, Washington | 103 | 60.2 | 1586 | 9.3 | 18 | 3 | 7-1* | 169.4 |
| Ryan Leaf, Washington State | 300 | 55.0 | 3021 | 10.1 | 29 | 8 | 8-1 | 166.2 |
| Cade McNown, UCLA | 142 | 60.2 | 2344 | 9.9 | 16 | 5 | 7-2 | 161.7 |
| Thad Busby, FSU | 185 | 58.5 | 2702 | 8.6 | 20 | 8 | 9-0 | 146.4 |
| Peyton Manning, Tennessee | 205 | 60.8 | 2500 | 7.4 | 23 | 7 | 7-1 | 141.5 |
| Brian Griese, Michigan | 142 | 62.8 | 1641 | 7.3 | 13 | 5 | 9-0 | 138.4 |
*Did not play in Washington's loss to Oregon due to injury.
Running Backs
| Player | Carries | Yards | Avg | Yds/game | TD | W-L |
| Ricky Williams, Texas | 220 | 1499 | 6.8 | 166.6 | 20 | 3-6 |
| Tavian Banks, Iowa | 198 | 1396 | 7.1 | 155.1 | 15 | 6-3 |
| Ron Dayne, Wisconsin | 219 | 1295 | 5.9 | 143.9 | 15 | 7-2* |
| Ahman Green, Nebraska | 200 | 1287 | 6.4 | 143.0 | 14 | 9-0 |
| Curtis Enis, Penn State | 158 | 933 | 5.9 | 116.6 | 13 | 7-1 |
*Did not play in Wisconsin's win over Boise State; was also sidelined for much of Wisconsin's win over Iowa.
Wide Receiver
| Player | Catches | Yards | Avg | Yds/Game | TD | W-L |
| Troy Edwards, Louisiana Tech | 96 | 1501 | 15.6 | 150.1 | 11 | 8-2 |
| Randy Moss, Marshall | 76 | 1376 | 18.1 | 137.6 | 21 | 8-2 |
| Charles Woodson, Michigan* | 7 | 161 | 23.0 | 23.9 | 2 | 9-0 |
*Woodson has 5 INTs; the NCAA leader has 7.
In my opinion, the above players (with the exception of Curtis Enis) all have a legitimate shot at the Heisman Trophy. At quarterback, my current favorite is Ryan Leaf, because no team depends on their quarterback as much as Washington State. He has some Plummer-esque comeback skills, and has thrown over 33 passes a game. Huard, McNown, and Griese all have been outstanding leaders this year, but haven't thrown as much as the other quarterbacks on the list. Thad Busby, as John so elegantly (and somewhat inaccurately) campaigned last week, is a much overlooked player who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the others. At this point in the season, Peyton Manning is a step behind Leaf, Huard, and Busby. Shame on you, Schmookie, for voting him ahead of more deserving quarterbacks. I mean, the guy shuffles his feet under pressure!
As to running back, Ricky Williams has been incredible. That has not led to many wins in Texas, though. The only Heisman winner on a worse team was Paul Hornung, 1956, quarterback of a Notre Dame squad that went 2-8. Tavian Banks and Ron Dayne are equally good, and on better teams. Oddly enough, I think Dayne's chances were hurt by the fact that the Badgers beat a good Iowa team last week without him. That probably makes Banks and Green the most likely candidates of the bunch, with Green in a good position to rack up some stats, with two regular season and one championship game ahead of him.
To wide receiver, were I threw in Troy Edwards to make a point. Randy Moss has great numbers, but so does Troy Edwards. Louisiana Tech and Marshall have identical records. What about competition, you say? The only team from a major conference that the Thundering Herd have played is West Virginia (if you call the Big East a major conference!). Otherwise, Marshall has played some decent in-conference games (Miami of Ohio, Bowling Green) and the terrible Army Cadets. Louisiana Tech, on the other hand, faced Auburn, Arkansas, and Alabama from the SEC, and California from the Pac-10. And, they beat two teams from Marshall's conference: Bowling Green and Central Michigan. In other words, shame on you those who voted for Moss ahead of Edwards.