We have our Heisman favorite. It's taken a while, but there he is Tuscaloosa. Just in time for the CBSSports.com halfway awards.
The season started with 2008's Three Amigos (Tebow, Bradford, McCoy) favored to repeat as finalists. And the polls were just about closed before Labor Day. Then Sam Bradford sprained his shoulder, Tim Tebow suffered a concussion and Colt McCoy ... what exactly has happened to college football's Peter Pan? He just came off arguably the second-worst game of his career.
Thank you, then, Mark Ingram. You are a savior for a public sick of being over-served helpings of do-good quarterbacks. Great guys. Old stories. Time to move on. That's why it's refreshing to see Ingram bull his way to the top of the list at the season's halfway point.
It's kind of his style. Alabama's sophomore tailback set a Bryant-Denny Stadium record with 246 yards Saturday against South Carolina. That pushed him up to third in the country (905 yards), No. 1 in the SEC and on pace for an 1,800-yard season if you assume a conference title game and a BCS bowl.
And why wouldn't you? Alabama is No. 1 in AP, No. 2 in the BCS and playing better than anyone. This player, this team has the look of a Bear Bryant classic. There are few superstars. They do everything well. That makes sense. What doesn't is that 'Bama has all those national championships but no Heismans. It is the only major award the program hasn't won.
"I would take a win for our team and a chance to compete for a championship over all that," Ingram said in a quote that could have been lifted from 'Bama in '70s. "That's what I came here for."
Look out in the second half. More than half of his yards, 558, have come in the last three games. Ingram has gained more than half of his yards after first contact. He leads the nation with 30 rushes of at least 10 yards. In an age when coaches are spreading out defenses to hit the holes, Ingram is hitting holes and spreading out defenses in his wake.
That's your national player of the year halfway through the season. Here are your other halfway awards:
Coach of the year: Robb Akey, Idaho. Ever been to Moscow? Yeah, yeah, snow and vodka. That's nice if you're in the capital of Russia. That's awful if you're in the county seat of Latah County at the intersection of US 95 and Highway 8.
That would be Moscow, Idaho. Like good vodka, the U.S. version of Moscow is an acquired taste. Start with stark and desolate and move down the list of attractions. The largest nearby town is Pullman, 8 miles away and over the border in the state of Washington. The football program has been so poor in the past that it had to play "home" games in Pullman in Washington State's bigger stadium.
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| Robb Akey's Vandals are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the WAC. (US Presswire) |
That, and a troubling off-field element that existed before Akey arrived.
"I thought I knew [how bad it was] being 8 miles away," Akey said, "but I was 8 miles at the same time."
The program was a fish left on a dock, floundering when Akey arrived. He is the program's fourth coach in five years. The likes of Dennis Erickson (to Arizona State) and Nick Holt (to USC) used the job as a steppingstone to bigger, better positions.
"There were a few players who said, 'Coach this all sounds great and it's awesome, but that's what the last guy said. How are you going to be any different?'" Akey said. "We had to build trust in those kids."
The team's nickname fit perfectly. One of Akey's first steps was to kick 17 players off the team for various character issues.
"You can look up some of them in the Idaho state penal system," one school spokesman said.
That led to scholarship cuts from the NCAA due to a dip in the graduation rate. Those who stuck around are being rewarded. CBSSports.com halfway All-American safety Shiloh Keo was the team's 2007 MVP preceding a season-ending injury in 2008. H-back Daniel Hardy, a walk-on from Alaska, is tied for the team lead in touchdown catches.
The Vandals' only loss was at Washington. No shame there. They won at Northern Illinois, a team that beat Purdue, and beat the Mountain West's Colorado State. This week's game at Nevada has become a showdown for the WAC lead. Top 10 power Boise State is in third place in the WAC, having played only one conference game.
Idaho would be satisfied if the Nov. 14 showdown at Boise means something. Its last victory over the Broncos came in 1998. The once-lawless Vandals would love to invade Boise a second time in December. The Humanitarian Bowl is third in the WAC bowl pecking order.
There is language in Akey's contract for a modest $5,000 bonus if he is WAC coach of the year. Anything in there about national coach of the year?
| Idaho link |
| Awards links |
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CBSSports.com: Midseason All-America team Heisman Hopefuls: Ingram, Tebow, Clausen |
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"I like the way you're thinking," he said.
Defensive player of the year: Ndamukong Suh. You read all about Nebraska's defensive tackle last week. America's best defensive player is trying to become the Huskers' first All-American defensive lineman in 12 years.
Biggest surprises: Miami, for going 3-1 in that brutal four-game opening stretch and challenging for the ACC title, and Iowa (7-0) for winning more ways than Joan Rivers has wigs.
Biggest disappointments: Ole Miss, Colorado and Florida State. The Rebels haven't been able to stand the spotlight against Alabama and South Carolina. Colorado lost at home to Colorado State, then was road kill at Toledo, West Virginia and Texas. Florida State ... what else are you going to say? The final legacy of a fallen Saint Bobby has yet to be written.
In need of the biggest hug: Stan Parrish, who inherited a 12-2 Ball State team from Brady Hoke. The Cardinals started 0-7 under Parrish. That's merely unfortunate until you consider that Parrish went winless in his last 27 games as head coach at Kansas State in the 1980s. He has a personal winless streak of 34 games stretching back 23 years.
The consolation is that in between, Parrish was part of a national championship at Michigan and a Super Bowl winner at Tampa Bay as an assistant.
Best team in Ohio: Check out Cincinnati's WLW taunting, er, analysis of Ohio State these days. No. 5 Cincinnati's flagship is all over No. 18 Ohio State with this set of radio ads.
Worst team in Texas: Sure Rice is 0-7 and North Texas is 1-5, but you almost expect that. Texas A&M is going down a sinkhole. Put it this way for a program that was built on defense: The once-proud Aggies have given up more points in their last three games (145) than they did in all of 1993 when they won the Southwest Conference. The Wrecked Crew is 7-11 in two seasons under Mike Sherman.
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Worst trend: Blaming the coordinator. Oklahoma OC Kevin Wilson and Georgia DC Willie Martinez are the latest targets of the local villagers with their torches and pitchforks. Most fans don't have the depth of knowledge to figure out a sudden downturn by their teams. The easiest thing to do is to blame the guy in charge of the most underachieving unit.
Wilson produced a Heisman Trophy winner last year. Martinez has coached nine future NFL defensive backs and produced a top 10 defense (2005). Back off, villagers. Ever have a bad year?
Best trend: More offense. This continues to be the decade where several records on that side of the ball have been set. Get ready for more. Halfway through the season we're on pace for the highest percentage of completed passes (59.4 percent) and highest average yards per play (5.54). The average yards per rush (4.19) would be the second-highest ever.
Biggest conundrum: The Big Ten. Its only undefeated team (Iowa) had to survive Northern Iowa and Arkansas State -- at home. Its preseason favorite (Ohio State) just lost to Purdue on the same field where Northern Illinois destroyed the Boilermakers. Michigan State went from being booed at halftime at home against Northwestern to playing for the Big Ten lead this week against -- what goes around comes around -- Iowa.
Biggest conundrum II: Is it possible to be on the hot seat and win the ACC at the same time? Virginia's Al Groh has the league's only unblemished conference record, 2-0.
Intruder of the year: In the past it has been Utah (2004, 2008), Boise State (2006) and Hawaii (2007) getting the non-BCS bowl bid. This year it's down to Boise, TCU and BYU. One of those will be eliminated Saturday when TCU travels to BYU. Here's hoping for a new face in the crowd.
Bowden of the year: At least one of college football's first family is doing well. Terry Bowden is 8-0 in his first season as head coach at Division II North Alabama. The Lions are No. 1 for the first time in 13 years, giving the state two No. 1 ranked teams.
BCS bowls: Projecting the big boys seven weeks away from pick-'em day:
• BCS title game (in the Rose Bowl): Texas* vs. Alabama*
• Rose Bowl: Iowa* vs. USC*
• Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Boise State
• Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Miami
• Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech* vs. Cincinnati*
*-automatic qualifiers
