Posted on 12/10/2005 3:19:08 PM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK - From John Cappelletti to Mike Rozier, running backs once walked off with 11 consecutive Heisman Trophies. Recently, though, quarterbacks have been too tough to pass up. The last five Heisman winners have been QBs.
Reggie Bush is a good bet to snap that streak Saturday night and become the 41st ball carrier to tuck away college football's most prestigious individual award since Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger won the first in 1935.
USC's untouchable tailback is the favorite after capping a brilliant junior season with two breathtaking performances and an outrageous average of 8.9 yards a carry.
"That's crazy. That's ludicrous," said Tony Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman winner from Pittsburgh. "It is just unheard of. Reggie's a game-breaker, a big-game player. That's all you need to say."
Guess where Dorsett's vote is going?
Bush will be joined by Texas quarterback Vince Young and USC quarterback Matt Leinart in midtown Manhattan when the Heisman is handed out for the 71st time.
The three finalists have been the favorites even before the season started.
Leinart, last year's Heisman winner, became a contender to repeat as soon as he decided to bypass the chance for NFL millions and return for his senior season. The left-hander has thrown for 3,450 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, improving to 37-1 as a starter for the top-ranked Trojans.
If Leinart wins the Heisman, he'll join Archie Griffin as the only players to win the award twice. The Ohio State running back did it in 1974 and '75.
As a past winner, Leinart gets to cast a ballot.
"Reggie's got my vote," Leinart said after Bush ran for 260 yards and two touchdowns in the Trojans' 66-19 victory over UCLA that wrapped up a perfect regular season.
If Bush wins the award, he and Leinart will become the third set of teammates to win the award in consecutive years.
The last were Army's famous Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, in 1945-46.
And the two USC stars could become the first Heisman winners to play together in a college game when USC (12-0) meets No. 2 Texas (12-0) in the Rose Bowl for the national title on Jan. 4.
Or if Young wins, the national title game will be a matchup of Heisman winners for the second straight year — and the second time ever.
Last season after Leinart won the award, USC played Oklahoma and 2004 Heisman winner Jason White in the Orange Bowl, marking the first Heisman showdown in college football.
Young has always been one of the most dangerous runners in the country — he showed that in last year's Rose Bowl, scoring four touchdowns on the ground against Michigan — but this season he's developed into a topflight passer. The junior leads the nation is passing efficiency at 168.6 with 26 touchdown passes.
He would be Texas' third Heisman winner. The first two were running backs. Ricky Williams won it in 1998 and Earl Campbell ('77) was part of that long run of Heisman running backs, starting in 1973 with Penn State fullback Cappelletti and ending with Nebraska I-back Rozier.
In between, USC cemented its reputation as tailback U. with Charles White ('79) and Marcus Allen ('81) joining O.J. Simpson ('68) and Mike Garrett ('65) as Heisman winners.
USC has gotten back in the Heisman-winning business in recent years with quarterbacks. Carson Palmer took the award in 2002, then Leinart last season.
With six Heisman winners, the Trojans trail only Notre Dame, which has seven.
Bush and Young seemed neck and neck in the Heisman race for most of the season, then Bush put a season's worth of highlights together in one game against Fresno State on Nov. 19. He gained 513 all-purpose yards, helping USC escape with a 50-42 victory.
As with Leinart, Bush is being touted as a possible No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, even with a year of college eligibility left.
Bush has said he'll decide whether to go pro after the Rose Bowl.
"Right now, college football is fun," Bush said. "It's everything I ever dreamed up. You only go to college once."
How could you not have a smile on your face? He is going to be the new Michael Jordan. Just pure class
Yeah! Record number of votes!
Umm no. It is widely recognized that the PAC 10 has the dumbest and rudest fans in sports. You didnt even know the team you support has had 9 National Champions.
Absolutely. Humble, quiet, great guy.
Bush landslide. I like that.
Reggie is a very nice kid and a very deserving recipient of the award.
Gee, I've never heard that one before. Whatever you say. Thanks for the extra three championships. And how many does Texas have? I'm sorry, I'm so stupid, I can't count to one.
Leinart looked as happy as Bush did. Didn't Matt cast his vote for Reggie?
Seems like several people are trying to prove that true.
Yup. Great acceptance speech.
Well its been awhile for them but its been since the late 60's. Like I said I am not a Texas fan. ANd what does National Titles have to do with it? If we get into that sort of pissing match then the PAC 10 will definately fail that grade.
That is an untrue cheap shot.
Unfortunately. SportingNews and many other places that discuss sports are just sick of the PAC 10 fans. Texas fans can be bad, but I havent seen them nearly as bad as PAC 10 fans.
err, you said defenses, but guess who defenses play against? Offenses, and Texas played a much weaker set of offenses, that's a fact. It inflates their defensive ranking.
Untrue cheapshot? No sorry, its very true just read this entire thread. THen goto other sites that openly discuss sports and you would understand.
However, from this thread, it seems some PAC-10 fans are doing their best to earn the title of the worst fans in college football.
just because a couple people have gotten under your skin on this thread is no reason to sink to that kind of cheap generalization.
Umm no you tried to pass of a misreading into something else. The PAC 10 has terrible defenses, and guess who the offenses play against, according to your way of turning things around? As such it inflates your Offensive stats. Unless its somehow different for the Pac 10?
Well, all I know (with the limited intelligence that I have as "a Pac-10 fan"), is that USC has won two championships in a row and has won 34 games in a row against many different kinds of competition. They're known to win when the going gets tough. And what is the "stereotypical" image of Texas? They NEVER win the big games. Is that clear enough for you, fella?
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