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Dennis Dodd

Heisman to Harvin? Take Big 12 QBs and go all in

By | CBSSports.com Senior Writer

Freeman: Heisman should be Harvin's

This is cheating, but not really.

Usually, these things are set up so that we argue player vs. player. I'm taking Big 12 quarterbacks against the field. Sue me. I like to go with favorites.

Colt McCoy leads Texas in passing and rushing. That screams 'Heisman!' (Getty Images)  
Colt McCoy leads Texas in passing and rushing. That screams 'Heisman!' (Getty Images)  
Not all the conference's quarterbacks, just Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, Texas' Colt McCoy and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford. You can have Florida's Percy Harvin -- and the rest of the country, Mike Freeman. I'll take my hat trick of heroes.

The Heisman race is down to three players and two states. Well, three states if you include the place where the actual hardware will be handed out. Just to fill out the roster, the Heisman Trust folks will offer plane tickets to New York for Tim Tebow and/or some running back.

Mannequins at Bloomingdale's will get more attention that weekend.

I'll take the three best quarterbacks, who all just happen to play in the same division. Kind of makes the big, bad SEC Least look weak, but that's another argument.

Bradford and Harrell will play in the Big 12's fifth game between two top 10 teams: Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma. These games are getting so routine that GameDay is considering setting up a satellite office in Dallas. That's where the Big 12 calls home.

All that offense isn't coming from outer space. All those footballs dropping into receivers' hands have to come from somewhere. Bradford leads the country in touchdown passes (38), Harrell is No. 1 in passing yards (4,077) and McCoy leads in completion percentage (77.2).

The race is so narrowed at this point, conventional thinking suggests that Saturday's winner in Norman, Okla., will walk away with the hardware -- except there are a few more statements to make:

McCoy vs. Texas A&M on Thanksgiving. Bradford against Oklahoma State on Nov. 29. Harrell against Baylor on the same day. Oh, and don't forget about the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 6. Heisman ballots aren't due until the next week.

That raises another issue. You want competitive? In their wisdom, the Big 12 coaches will select their all-conference team before the conference title game.

That means the coaches' second-team all-Big 12 quarterback could win the Heisman.

Mike, my man, the closest Percy Harvin is getting to the Heisman is posing next to Tebow's 2007 statue at the quarterback's next mixer. One thing wrong with that: Tebow's next mixer would be his first.

Poll

Who should win the Heisman?

18%Tim Tebow
 
15%Colt McCoy
 
8%Percy Harvin
 
9%Sam Bradford
 
37%Graham Harrell
 
13%Michael Crabtree
 

Total Votes: 34312

 

Don't you have to, like, touch the ball to be a Heisman candidate? Florida has snapped the ball 609 times this season. Harvin has had the ball in his hands on exactly 85 of those plays, 9½ touches per game.

If you think Harvin is doing everything, let's compare stats to just one of my guys. Harvin, essentially a receiver, is leading the Gators in rushing. Amazing. McCoy is leading Texas in passing and rushing. More amazing.

Kind of resembles the 2007 version of Tebow, don't you think?

Florida's offense has become Irish coffee -- diluted with the strong stuff. What used to be Timmy Heisman left, right and center is now spread out to the Florida's other lethal weapons.

Nothing wrong with that, but Percy needs to become the best player on his team, first. If Harvin wants to go there, Brandon Spikes, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps would like to have a word.

The balance of power in the Heisman race and college football has tipped toward the Southwest. I'm not stopping there. There has to be Vegas a sports book that will let me get down on the hat trick vs. the field.

 
 
 
 
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