Below is a list of Heisman Hopefuls for the 2009 season.
Each week the CBSSports.com experts will vote on how they would vote if the season ended today. Our four experts are senior writer Dennis Dodd, college producer J. Darin Darst, fantasy writer Michael Hurcomb, Podcast talent Adam Aizer and editor Brian Stubits.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is trying to become the first player since Archie Griffin (Ohio State 1974 and 1975) to win two Heismans, while Texas quarterback Colt McCoy is trying to win his first in his final season.
Lots of newcomers have crashed the list since the beginning of the season, including Houston quarterback Case Keenum, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore and Alabama running back Mark Ingram.
No defensive players are on the watch list right now, although Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and Tennessee's Eric Berry have been featured.
One freshmen is on the list -- Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis -- and three sophomores -- Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, who continues to guide the undefeated Broncos, Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers and Ingram.
School:Stanford Class: Sophomore Ht: 6-1 Wt: 237
Comment: With his performance against USC (181 yards, 3 TDs), Gerhart has to be considered as one fo the favorites to win the Heisman. He has more yards and touchdowns than Ingram and Stanford is sitting at 7-2 within striking distance of playing in a BCS bowl.
School:Alabama Class: Sophomore Ht: 5-10 Wt: 215
Comment: After another strong performance against Mississippi State, Mark Ingram is now the favorite on the experts' ballots. He has the advantage of playing for an undefeated team, but the one knock on Ingram is he has just 10 touchdowns, while Gerhart has 19.
School:Houston Class: Junior Ht: 6-1 Wt: 212
Comment: Keenum's Heisman campaign is probably over now after the loss to UCF no matter how many yards he throws. In the world of the Heisman, Keenum needed to continue to put up numbers and keep Houston winning. It might not be a fair system, but that's the way it is.
School:Pittsburgh Class: Freshman Ht: 5-8 Wt: 190
Comment: Can Lewis becoming the only freshman to win the Heisman? Doubtful, but he is definitely making his case. Lewis torched the Notre Dame defense, running for 152 yards and a score. Lewis now has 1,291 yards and 13 scores, but is in a heavy battle with the rest of the running backs on this list.
School:Texas Class: Senior Ht: 6-3 Wt: 210
Comment: McCoy continues to hang around the Heisman race, but his chances of winning are being passed by a bunch of running backs. McCoy has still had a great season and might still end up in New York as a finalist, but he needs to put up some more numbers to lock up that trip.
School:Boise State Class: Sophomore Ht: 6-0 Wt: 187
Comment: The definite sleeper on this list, Moore is starting to get some serious attention. If Boise State keeps on winning and Moore continues to throw 300 yards and 4-5 touchdowns, it's going to be hard to keep him out of the Top 3.
School:Clemson Class: Senior Ht: 5-11 Wt: 195
Comment: His numbers don't tell the whole story. Not only did he run for 97 yards and a score, he also caught a touchdown pass and threw a 17-yard score. He also has a 33.9-kick return average with four total TDs on the season. Spiller might be the best overall player in the nation.
School:Florida Class: Senior Ht: 6-3 Wt: 245
Comment: His chances of winning another Heisman are quickly slipping away. It's not to see Tebow isn't a great player, but he just isn't putting up the numbers to be considered for the award. Obviously there is still time to make a late push, but time is running out.
After the dismantling handed to us by Nevada yesterday. I am asking all of you where do you see Fresno State going bowling at? Our Superman Ryan Mathews is out with a concussions, do you think he deserves the Doak Wlker award for the BEST RUNNING BACK IN THE NATION STIL? I sure do, when he went out of the game yesterday it showed just how important he was to the team. Without him our running game
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I see how Colt McCoy immediately gets right back into the Heisman race, Mack Brown plays his starting quarterback against UCF (Conference USA) until their last drive. A career game against UCF?? THIS is his heisman defining moment?? What about a clutch game against Oklahoma? Oh he went 21-39 127 yards 1 td and 1 int. Talk about clutch.
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Yes, traditionally the best (offensive) player on the best team will win. But with Tebow and McCoy putting up decidedly average numbers, they can't seem to validate that. So who do they annoint? Mark Ingram whose TDs and yard totals are both not even top 10 in the nation.
Yawn.
Want to see a real Heisman list? How abo
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I do wish someone could tell me why there isn't more love for CJ Spiller. I know he doesn't play for USC or Texas, but...look at the other guys on here from "small schools". Spiller has shown as much, if not more, ability and results than Reggie Bush when he won the Heisman. Oh, that's right....he plays for Clemson. To some, it would seem, that is an automatic disqualifier.
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1. Toby Gerhart - No way a player should be able to do what he's doing and go relatively unnoticed. Gerhart is making great teams look weak, week in and week out. It seems that the better the competition, the better Gerhart's stats. In a fair world, he is the runaway winner. His 19 touchdowns and nearly 1400 yards are just insane.
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.
Everyone should look at Ryan Mathews from Fresno State too because what he is doing is absolutely amazing. He leads the nation in rushing by over 300 hundred yards. I know the argument is that he doesnt play against anyone, but he has played against three teams in the top 25 in Boise state, Cincinatti, and Wisconsin. Who has Houstons QB played against. Boise States QB is up there in the voting to
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experts, but you just regurgitate the same crap as everyone else...
The only two players getting first place votes among this panel are Ingram and Keenum...
Ingram: I could you name you 15 RBs in the nation that would be able to do what he is doing at Alabama. First of all, since when is 1,100 yards rushing and 11 Total TDs Heisman worthy? Since he is th
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Can I have one question answered? How in the world are Mark Ingram and Toby Gerhart considered favorites this year, yet Shonn Greene didn't even get an invite to the party last year? Greene rushed for 1,800 + yards and 20 TDs and he topped the century mark in every single game he played. That's exactly what you want out of a running back – consistency and production. Don't get me
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Freshman or not who cares he deserves credit he is gonna break McCoy's records and he is 395 yards away from breaking Tony Dorsett's freshman rushing record
Tebow has played like rainman this year and these clowns are still trying to give him the heisman. He is passing at a 63% clip, 8 tds/4 ints. He has ran for 466 yards and 6 tds. Not even good stats. Plus these stats have been helped by the calls tha
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I see Noel Devine's name on the to watch list, but the kid has more plays of 70 yds or more than any non-QB in college football. He's explosive, and crazy-fast. Noone hits the hole harder or any quicker than Devine. Claussen's there because he's in South Bend, and Ingram...well lets just say that I haven't heard much about him until the media started to panic about not having a c
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I don't see how Darryl Clarks name isn't even mentioned. He had one bad game against Iowa and that is it. He tore up Michigan last week and has been playing lights out since Iowa. Here are DC's numbers, you tell me.
1884 passing yards 17 TD's 7 Int with 175 yards rushing and 4 TD's
Sounds better than alot of the other guys numbers, I guess that one bad gam
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