2009 Heisman Breakdown

I figured it was about time to breakdown the Heisman finalists. Those morons at the Mickey Mouse Sports Network are claiming that there are 5 finalists: Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Mark Ingram, Ndamukong Suh, and Toby Gerhart. Well, the truth is that these are all finalists for the runner-up trophy. You see, it's simply a given that Purdue's top player (this year, Joey Elliott) is guaranteed the Heisman.

So, just to waste some time because I really don't want to start writing 6 essays for History152, I'm going to break down these 5 anyway, make claims as to why they should and shouldn't receive the honor (runner-up honor, anyway), and finally list them in order of how they should finish in the voting.
Disclaimer: This is will be the longest post I ever put on here, I swear. Don't give up on me yet.

Toby Gerhart, Running Back, Stanford

Stats: 1736 Rushing Yards, 26 Touchdowns, 5.6 Yards Per Carry

What to say about this guy? Dare I say that he is eerily similar to Mike Alstott? Though he will likely end up being a fullback in the NFL and never be heard of again, have you seen a guy just run people over like this dude in recent history? I can't. After all, he did lead the nation in rushing yards. It seems to take a minimum of three defenders to drag him down. The man is a truck. He can even throw the ball (as Charlie Weis found out). He was the player of the game with 178 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 55-21 drubbing of USC (which I thoroughly enjoyed). Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that with his 311 carries he had 0 fumbles? That's right, that's 5 fewer than Purdue had in the last 3 minutes of the 1st half vs Northwestern.

Why he should win the Heisman: No explanation necessary

Why he shouldn't win the Heisman: Too similar to Mike Alstott and there can only be one.

Colt McCoy, Quarterback, Texas

Stats: 3514 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, 70.5% completions, 12 Interceptions

I'm sorry but I just have to speak my mind on this. I respect Colt, I'm sure he's a great kid, and I have nothing against Texas (I hate Oklahoma), but he doesn't belong in this finalist list. Yes, he has the numbers. Yes, he's been a finalist the last two years. But have you watched any Big XII football in the last three years? Can anyone play defense (other than Nebraska this year)? It seems that most games every week end somewhere around 52-35. Think about what Todd Reesing, Chase Daniel, and Graham Harrell did last year and the years before. And on top of this lack of defense, the BigXII was down this year. Kansas in-conference record 2008: 4-4, 2009: 1-7. Missouri 2008: 5-3, 2009: 4-4. Oklahoma 2008: 7-1, 2009: 5-3. Texas Tech 2008: 7-1, 2009: 5-3. This conference may have been competitive if Sam Bradford hadn't been injured early in the year, and yes Nebraska and Oklahoma State are better, but the facts are facts. Texas ran away with this and McCoy padded his stats playing defenses that make Michigan State's defense look respectable. I personally believe he is only here because he didn't win it the last two years.

Why he should win the Heisman: Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Why he shouldn't win the Heisman: That BigXII Championship didn't go too well, did it? Imagine if time had run out on that last meaningless play before the field goal. Wow.

Ndamukong Suh, Defensive Tackle, Nebraska

Stats: 47 Solo tackles, 35 tackles assisted, 12 sacks, 1 interception, 3 blocked kicks

He had quite a wonderful game against Texas, but are his stats that great? Well, since this blog is biased, let's take a look at Purdue's top defensive player, Ryan Kerrigan. Kerrigan had 41 solo tackles, 25 assisted tackles, and 13 sacks. Those numbers aren't too far off. Let's expand to the entire Big Ten. 15 players had more solo tackles this season. That's right 15. Only one player had more sacks in the Big Ten (Kerrigan), but 2 other players had sack totals of 10.5 and 10.0. So while Suh may have the best raw talent of the players going into the pros this year, his stats simply aren't off the charts, which is what it should take for a defensive player to have a legitimate chance at the greatest individual performance award in sports.

Why he should win the Heisman: He's an absolute beast and certainly made McCoy look silly this past Saturday night.

Why he shouldn't win the Heisman: How in the hell did a guy from Oregon end up at Nebraska?
(Oh yeah, here's an old joke: What does the N on Nebraska's helmets stand for? "Nowledge")

Tim Tebow, Quarterback, Florida

Stats: 2413 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 65.2% completions, 5 INTs, 859 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns

So you say his stats were down this year, huh? It certainly did seem that way, especially after his concussion against Kentucky, but by how much. Well, his passing statistics did go down. He had 334 fewer yards, 12 fewer touchdowns, and was sacked 10 more times. What could explain this? It probably doesn't help that two of his favorite targets last year (Harvin, Murphy) are playing on Sunday, leaving him with Cooper and Hernandez as his only true options. His running backs, though fast as hell, can't seem to be able to catch a cold when it really matters. On the other hand though, his rushing stats improved. He ran for 186 more yards than last year and had one more touchdown, despite not really running through people post-concussion.
Disclaimer: I am a Gators fan and I like Tim Tebow, so I am biased. But I am trying to make a case for him as objectively as I can, and no, I do not think he deserves the Heisman this year.

Why he should win the Heisman: Only he could make the end of a 37-10 drubbing of Florida State look like the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl.

Why he shouldn't win the Heisman: Not his best year and as was said in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "I told him we already got one".

Mark Ingram

Stats: 1542 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns, 6.2 yards per carry

This guy is the man. I've been on his bandwagon since his name first came up as a potential Heisman candidate. He runs with such athleticism and finesse. He has tremendous balance and if he needs to run through you, he can. His stats don't truly show how good he is as Trent Richardson gets a good number of carries which takes away from Mark's productivity. What sold him for me? The fact he put up as many touchdowns against Florida's defense in one game as were scored against them in all games beforehand. And he's only a sophomore. Why do I like him so much? Because 25 years ago, he probably would have been wearing blue and maize.

Why he should win the Heisman: Best player on the best team in the country and if I said anything bad, he'd probably kick my ass.

Why he shouldn't win the Heisman: He's from Flint, Michigan, which is way too close to Michigan/Michigan State/Notre Dame territory and should be sold off to Canada.


Conclusion: The finishing order for the Heisman Trophy should look like this (in my opinion obviously):

1. Joey Elliott (that's a given, as was stated earlier)
2. Mark Ingram
3. Toby Gerhart
4. Tim Tebow
5. Colt McCoy
6. Ndamukong Suh