Below is the ballots of five experts -- senior writer Dennis Dodd, college producer J. Darin Darst, fantasy writer Michael Hurcomb, Podcast talent Adam Aizer and editor Brian Stubits.
The finalists were annouced Monday: Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford; Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama; Colt McCoy, QB, Texas; Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska and Tim Tebow, QB, Florida. The award will be announced Saturday, Dec. 12.
Tebow is trying to become the first player since Archie Griffin (Ohio State 1974 and 1975) to win two Heismans, while McCoy is trying to win his first in his final season.
One defensive players is featured -- Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, who is up for numerous defensive awards, including the Lombardi and Nagurski Awards.
One freshmen made the list -- Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis. Three sophomores are featured: Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers and Ingram.
School:Stanford Class: Senior Ht: 6-1 Wt: 237
Comment: Gerhart definitely has a chance to win the Heisman after his 205-yard performance against Notre Dame. Gerhart has 26 total touchdowns on the season to go along with 1,736 yards rushing and is in everybody's Top 3 right now. The one thing that could hurt is Mark Ingram got to play in a conference championship game.
School:Alabama Class: Sophomore Ht: 5-10 Wt: 215
Comment: Ingram definitely rebounded from his poor performance against Auburn, helping Alabama beat Florida with 113 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Will it be enough to win the award? It's gonna be close, but Ingram might be helped by playing more recently than Gerhart.
School:Houston Class: Junior Ht: 6-1 Wt: 212
Comment: Keenum had another big game, this time throwing 75 attempts! He also had 527 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. His season totals are insane -- 5,449 yards and 43 touchdowns, but with Houston out of the Top 25, don't look for Keenum to have any chance to win the award.
School:Texas Class: Senior Ht: 6-3 Wt: 210
Comment: McCoy had a chance to win the award against Nebraska, but after throwing for 184 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions, he probably has no chance to win it now. He will still get a ton of votes and might finish in the Top 3, but his overall numbers are not good enough.
School:Boise State Class: Sophomore Ht: 6-0 Wt: 187
Comment: Moore didn't do much against New Mexico State and has no real chance to win the Heisman, but he had a very impressive season. He's ranked first in the nation in passing efficiency and has 39 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He definitely deserves an invite to New York.
School:Clemson Class: Senior Ht: 5-11 Wt: 195
Comment: Spiller made one last impression on the voters with a 233-yard rushing performance with four touchdowns in the loss to Georgia Tech. Overall, Spiller has 20 touchdowns, including four on kickoff returns. To go along with 1,145 yards rushing, he averages 33.7 yards per kickoff and 26.3 yards per punt return.
School:Nebraska Class: Senior Ht: 6-4 Wt: 300
Comment: Suh almost single-handedly defeated Texas with 12 tackles, including seven for a loss. He will win numerous defensive awards, but Suh should be considered as a Heisman candidate. Not only does he lead Nebraska with 82 tackles, but is 9th in the nation in sacks per game and 14th in tackles for loss. He also has 24 quarterback hurries.
School:Florida Class: Senior Ht: 6-3 Wt: 245
Comment: Tebow might go down as one of the best players to ever play in college, but he shouldn't have any chance to win the Heisman this year. After another average performance against Alabama in the SEC title game, Tebow just doesn't have the overall numbers this year.
Am I alone, or are other college football fans having difficulty mustering up any enthusiasm for the Heisman award this year?
I don't normally schedule my life around this, but I could care less about the award this season. Indeed, I could say pretty much the same about the bowl schedule and season to this point.
As a PSU grad, the LSU matchup is a given good time- a
Stop paying attention to this award, it means nothing and it's a shame it has John Heisman;s name on it...This award has become just another way to earn a million bucks. They dont want the best player from "any average Univ" They want the big names from the biggest programs. It is a total a sham
The Heisman has lost its prestige, and the glory that follows, as far as I am concerned. It is really nothing more than a MVP trophy only it excludes most of those that should qualify. And equally as strange, how does a guy win one or two national awards, for being the best of the best, and not win the Heisman? If the Heisman wants to return itself to the glory days, and p
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lf we went by best player in college football, I would go with Ndamukong Suh. He was truely the best player every time he stepped onto the field. I had McCoy before the Big 12 Championship game, but with McCoy's poor performance and Suh's insane performance I had it done. Yes my number two was Toby Gerhart followed by Mark Ingram, despite people voting Tebow. Why Tebow? He hasn't been
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First of all Mark Ingram of Alabama won the Heisman award from the Glorious Hypocrites who call them selfs journalists these fine folks seem to think their opinions actually mean something.
Start with another running back who played on the West coast while the voters slept and other deserving athletes who just do not get east coast press time Gerhart from Stanford University. We know
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It is sad. So, so sad. Here is a guy who has repeatedly put on show after show of how much of a game changer he is. He outruns you. He outmaneuvers you. He plays all year on turf toe with a so-so offensive line. He breaks the NCAA kick TD record. He averages ridiculous all purpose numbers. He's rushed for 1145 with 11 TD's. He's caught 445 for
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So these are the so called experts and 3 of the 5 dont have the arguably the most dominant player in college football this year even in the top 5. Suh is probably going to sweep all the major defensive awards yet is someone not good enough to make the lists of these experts. Am I missing something.
Defense wins championships not the Offense. Every year there are always some amazing defensive players that carry their teams and everyone skips them. Eric Norwood (OLB) from South Carolina does a good job with that. The defensive players win the big thing not offense.
I actually agree with these guys for once, but I don't think the voters agree. Toby Gerhart, Mark Ingram and Kellen Moore should be the three finalists with Suh, Spiller and McCoy not far behind. I had thought McCoy had it sewn up until Saturday night, he played himself out of the Heisman race and very close to out of the National Title game. Suh almost played himself into it and
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How is Toby Gerhart not the frontrunner. I unerstant Stanford has four losses, but if Toby Gerhart played for Notre Dame or USC, or Alabama and they had four losses, then he would definitely win. This shows how underrated the Pac 10 confrence is. It is just as good as the SEC is this year. USC is still a good team and they are 4th in the conference.
Toby Gerhat should win the Heisman.... the Heisman should be about the whole season not just one good game or just one bad.,,,
but his worst two games are better then Ingrams worst three games comnided.... Tobys best four games are also better then Ingrams best four.... so wtf****!/
Tebow and McCoy are the best two players on two of the best teams in the nation. Yet as many of you have pointed out they have each put up rather pedestrian numbers (by their standards). BUT
Texas WILL be in the National Championship Game - They dont get there with out McCoy
Florida has to beat Alabama (not even sure that will happen) but they arent in the conversation
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I'm glad Ndamukong Suh made the others to watch list. Sadly he is overshadowed by the media's love for QBs and RBs every year. It's a shame you never see defensive players in the top 5 for the Heisman race. Their are some defensive players who can basically set the tempo of the game by how well they play. Of course the media loves QBs and RBs. Not saying that any of top ones mentioned don't deserv
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With as much Heisman talk that I see about Golden Tate (which is not a lot but even so) how is Jordan Shipley not a part of this list. His receiving stats are somewhat better than Tate's and he has the return game stats to boot. Just a little worrisome as it seems the best receiver hopeful isn't even listed although we all know a QB/RB will most likely get the award anyhow.
