Documented Handicappers Heisman Hopefuls

We just witnessed a great college football regular season. There won’t be any argument on a National Champion or who deserves to go to the National Championship. While Utah and Boise State finished the regular season undefeated, no major BCS team had an unblemished record. There are some featured match up bowl games from Oklahoma/Florida, USC/Penn State to Texas/Ohio State. But before the bowl games we must first determine the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner. The Documented Handicappers have turned in their final ballot and 3 QB’s that will be leading the aforementioned teams have made the cut.

Since late August early September the Documented Handicappers staff have been following potential Heisman candidates. Our list was whittled down to 5 hopefuls heading into the last few weeks of the regular season, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Shonn Greene, Sam Bradford and Graham Harrell. Each player deserved to be mentioned as a Heisman hopeful and each put up a good fight and proved their worth. In the end, we had to make two cuts to put the final 3 hopefuls in position to be named 2008 Heisman Trophy winner.

While Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell had a remarkable season passing for over 4,700 yards, 47 TD’s and led Texas Tech to an 11 win season, the big loss to Oklahoma did not help his case. The big knock on Harrell is that he is a “system quarterback”; however, Harrell should be able to contribute to an NFL team in the future. While this may be true, Graham Harrell was excluded from our final 3. If he would have been able to lead Texas Tech to a win over Oklahoma, his case would be much greater.

Shonn Greene had a very surprising season considering he moved from running back to defensive back in 2006, did not play in 2007 and did not even participate in the Hawkeye’s 2008 spring practices. He makes a very good case for most surprising performance this season. Shonn Greene rushed for over 1,700 yards, scoring 13 times and rushed for over 100 yards in each game this season. Most may not have heard about Greene because he was basically in Michigan State RB Javon Ringer’s shadow even though he rushed for more yards on 92 fewer carries. We congratulate you on a tremendous season Shonn Greene; however, it just wasn’t enough to help push you over the hump.

We were left with 3 top contenders and we make their case below:

Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, QB, Sophomore
Season Stats: 302-of-442 passing, 4,464 yards, 48 TDs, 6 INTs; 40 rushes, 65 yards, 5 TDs.

Make Your Case: Sam Bradford statistically had a season that will go down as one of the best in college football history. Bradford was a major contributor in college football’s most powerful offense. Bradford led the Sooners which in five straight games scored over 60 points. Although Oklahoma lost to Texas on a neutral field, Bradford still played well. Oklahoma will play Florida in the BCS Championship game on January 8th.

Colt McCoy, Texas, QB, Junior
Season Stats: 291-of-375 passing, 3,445 yards, 32 TDs, 7 INTs; 128 rushes, 576 yards, 10 TDs; 2 punts, 69 yards.

Make Your Case: Colt McCoy was simply the best passing a running threat in college football this year. He played well throughout the season and minus the last minute loss to Texas Tech, Colt McCoy would probably be your runaway winner. McCoy led the nation in completion percentage at 77.6% which is truly remarkable. Colt McCoy will lead the Longhorns into the Fiesta Bowl where they play Ohio State. Look for McCoy to have a big game and lead his team to the victory.

Tim Tebow, Florida, QB, Junior
Season Stats: 174-of-268 passing, 2,515 yards, 28 TDs, 2 INTs; 154 rushes, 564 yards, 12 TDs.

Make Your Case: Tim Tebow has led his Gators back to the BCS Championship game once again with a win over Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Tebow willed his team to a win considering the Gators were without their number 1 weapon Percy Harvin. Tebow still has a chance to win his second Heisman, a feat only Archie Griffin has managed to accomplish. While Tebow had a top notch season he possibly set the bar too high last year with his record setting sophomore season. We don’t expect Tebow to win on Saturday because he wasn’t consistent the entire season, however, he deserves to make the trip to NYC and be recognized for his accomplishments.

Outcome: This could possibly be one of the closest Heisman races in recent history. As Saturday night comes to a close we expect Sam Bradford to walk away the winner. His numbers are far too great and he has led his Oklahoma Sooners to the National Championship.

Like to social bookmark? Add Below:

Tags: College Football, Colt McCoy, Florida, Heisman Trophy, Oklahoma, Sam Bradford, Texas, Tim Tebow

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 at 2:20 pm and is filed under College Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Documented Handicappers Heisman Hopefuls

Leave a Reply