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."
Horrible defenses of the Big 12? Give me a break. Now offense I will understand the Big 12 offenses this year have reaked, but not the defenses. Now the defenses of the WAC 10 is a different story..
I hear ya.. ya never know how folks will vote tho..
Those front lines of both teams have pretty good sized beef to 'em,, damn they get big... should be a good game.
Colorado sucked and are an embarrassment but the bowl season will show either how bad we were or if in fact we can say like the SEC we beat ourselves up.
Correction: offenses. Yes, they wreak.
Here's the rankings of the passing offenses Texas has faced:
#110 Louisiana Laughayette
#68 Ohio St.
#117 Rice
#65 Missouri
#97 Oklahoma
#43 Colorado (twice)
#1 Texas Tech
#98 Oklahoma St.
#75 Baylor
#93 Kansas St.
#76 Texas A&M
And here's the rankings of the passing offenses USC has faced:
#2 Hawaii
#107 Arkansas
#7 Oregon
#3 ASU
#47 Arizona
#4 Notre Dame
#55 Washington
#21 Washington St.
#52 Stanford
#90 Cal
#24 Fresno St.
#18 UCLA
Average ranking of passing offenses USC faced: 35.8
USC has faced only two passing offenses ranked in the bottom half of the passing statistics while Texas faced nine.
You might beat your selves up in the SEC but the SEC schools don`t know what a tough nonconference schedule looks like. Next year, for example, LSU battles LA. Lafayette, real toughy one there
That has nothing to do with what my post you are replying too is about. I said DEFENSES not OFFENSES.
Who is the odds on favorite here?
I am enjoying the awards show immensely.
Thanks for posting the thread, Norm.
Reggie Bush..
Read the headline on this thread. Thought we're about to get another round of blaming Bush for something.
Reggie --- and he should best OJ's vote which was a landslide.
That`s not fair. Facts have no place here.
No problem,
these are some headlines on yahoo sports re: recent awards
• Leinart wins Unitas Award
• Texas QB Young wins Maxwell Award
• Young wins O'Brien Award as top passer
• Bush runs off with Doak Walker Award
• Bush takes Walter Camp Award
Does anybody doubt that Bush will win the Heisman?
Facts have all the place here, just the right ones. His facts have nothing to do with my post.Yet another PAC 10 fan stereotype you guys keep propagating.
We wouldn't want to "stereotype" a Tiny 12 as having no offense.
There you go, keep the stereotype alive.
I am in Vince's corner but Bush is just plain Nasty. He breaks ankles on a weekly basis.
http://www.ncaafootball.com/
:-\
Who will win the Heisman Trophy?
Reggie Bush, USC 37%
Matt Leinart, USC 4%
Vince Young, Texas 50%
Other 9%
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