Goal Line Stand: Rules for Heisman voters

Now that Arkansas running back Darren McFadden has “reentered” the Heisman debate by rolling over South Carolina for 321 yards, it’s time to take a look at the criteria for the award, 2007 style, and rebuff some of the popularly-held ideas about Mr. Stiff Arm’s purpose.

Over the past several years, the discussion about top candidates has focused on whether or not their teams are still in contention for the national title. For instance, last week’s loss by Boston College doomed Matt Ryan’s Heisman hopes in some people’s eyes, for reasons unknown. Yes, he threw three interceptions, and his completion percentage was below 50 percent — in the rain. But is he now a horrible player? Not quite — and no more than Florida’s Tim Tebow or McFadden were when their teams lost games. All of a sudden, any hint of imperfection spoils a candidacy. That’s not right. The Heisman goes to the best player, period. And sometimes, great players have bad outings, thanks to good defenses, the elements or bad biorhythms.

The first thing to remember, and this is the most important, is that it is not given to the best player on the best team. In the olden days (like way back in the 1960s and ‘70s), the Heisman Trophy was presented to players like Terry Baker of Oregon State, Gary Beban of UCLA and Pat Sullivan of Auburn. All played on good teams, but none was ranked number one. They were, simply, deemed the top players in the sport for that year. It makes sense that their teams would be good, since they were so good, and in college football, a top skill position player can lead his team to a lot of wins. It seems impossible for some to consider a great player on a marginally-successful team as the best college football player around.

Take, for instance, Rutgers running back Ray Rice. He has gained 1,257 yards and scored 14 times in nine games for the Scarlet Knights. But because RU is 5-4 and has lost four of six, his name is pretty much out of mix, even though he averages a scant, 6.3 fewer yards per game than McFadden and has scored two more TDs, in the same amount of contests. And don’t even talk about Tulane’s Mark Forte, who has rushed for 300-plus yards more than McFadden and Rice. He’s in C-USA and has no shot.

The next thing to consider is that this is not like the chase for the BCS “championship” game, in which teams fall off late in the year as they lose games, and one-loss clubs rally after early disappointments. In other words, a player who has a bad game in late November is no worse than the man who struggles in September. We’re not measuring who is better later in the year, in order to choose a pair of teams to play for “number one.” Instead, we’re trying to pick the best player in college football, and sometimes, defenses can load up to stop just him, often at the expense of a win.

So, when Ryan, who has been excellent all year, struggles against Florida State, he shouldn’t fall behind Kentucky’s Andre Woodson, who was overmatched in the Wildcats’ loss to South Carolina.

Finally, be sure to include the whole universe of great players when trying to choose a Heisman winner. In other words, just because it didn’t occur to you at all that Sam Bradford, Oklahoma’s excellent QB, would be second in the nation in passing efficiency and would have two games with five touchdown passes, he shouldn’t be out of the discussion.

And what of Glenn Dorsey, the incredibly gifted defensive lineman from LSU, who could well be the first player picked in the NFL draft and is clearly the most disruptive force in college football today? He need not apply. Or should he? In a year in which finding a clear-cut Heisman winner is extremely hard, it may be time to look on the other side of the line and pick a pure defender. After all, the award does go to the best player in the country, not the best offensive player in the country.

Okay, one step at a time. It would be enough to get voters to consider the other arguments, without taxing their brains with a Dorsey candidacy.

GAME OF THE WEEK: Air Force at Notre Dame
Since this week doesn’t boast a clear-cut, knockout battle that has BCS implications, let’s look to South Bend, where the Zoomies can hand the Irish their ninth loss of the season, establishing a new record for futility at the school. Last week, Notre Dame lost to Navy for the first time since 1943, and since it is so interested in making history, ND might as well blow this one and become losingest team ever to don the blue-and-gold. But will it happen? Air Force is good, but it is a little shaky on defense. And don’t discount how angry the Irish might be after all the publicity Navy received after its historic win. It would be great to see Charlie Weis continue down the tubes, but it won’t happen.
Notre Dame 27, Air Force 23

BUMPS AND RUNS:
Who would have thought the Connecticut-Cincinnati game would attract so much attention? The 8-1 Huskies are one point away from perfection, and even though their level of competition hasn’t been all that great, UConn did slay South Florida. Alas, the happiness will end this week. Still, nine wins in a supposed rebuilding year is pretty good.

Michigan is one win away from tangling with a top-ranked Ohio State team for the Big Ten title in Ann Arbor next Saturday. Imagine that, the Wolverines were considered road kill on Sept. 8, and if they can stop Wisconsin this weekend, they’ll be perfect in the Big Ten and looking for a trip to Pasadena. Holy turnaround!

Don’t look now, but North Carolina State has won three in a row and is two wins away from bowl eligibility. Credit coach Tom O’Brien with a defensive overhaul that keyed the renaissance.

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