If you’re a big fan of the guessing game, college football is the sport to watch. Most people would probably be better off answering questions on Double Jeopardy! right now rather than trying to tackle the enigmatic task of predicting how the remaining four weeks of the season will unfold.
Who is the BCS going to pick for the Fiesta Bowl? You might as well draw two teams out of a hat. Which seemingly flawless team will implode Saturday? Try simulating a game on PlayStation. Who’s going to finish the year atop the conference? Go ahead and ask your sister.
There are just simply no guarantees in this sport. Zero. One week a team is making holiday reservations to a promising bowl and the next its players are adjusting to a new system under an entirely new coach.
One minute a quarterback is looking ahead to a promising NFL career and the next he is sitting on the sidelines by the towel boy looking like Kordell Stewart.
Perhaps the biggest unsolved mystery 10 weeks into the season, though, is the campaign for the Heisman Trophy.
Predicting the winner of this award right now is like trying to guess which player of the opposing secondary is going to haul in Daunte Culpepper’s next pass attempt.
The fact of the matter is that with just four weeks remaining before the bowl committee starts writing out invitations, there still isn’t a clear cut favorite waiting to be honored at the Downtown Athletic Club come early December.
The award right now is completely up for grabs.
Mel Kiper’s pre-season list of candidates is nearly unrecognizable at this point, and the complexion of front-runners throughout the year has changed more frequently than Dennis Rodman’s hair color.
But I guess that’s what happens when you’re competing for an award where one bad game drops you from contender to pretender. The race for the Heisman right now pivots on the play of maybe eight players, but one can only guess.
Ken Dorsey, who has been solid but not great this season, is probably in the drivers’ seat. He has not lost a game in his last 30 starts and has only one loss in his entire career. He’s thrown for over 2,000 yards thus far and has notched 20 touchdowns. If the ‘Canes win out this season and Dorsey looks merely respectable against Tennessee and Virginia Tech, there isn’t a pollster in the nation whom shouldn’t vote for him. He is a winner.
Byron Leftwich is running a close second right now, averaging over 300 yards per game and tossing 19 touchdowns. What he has working against him is two bad losses in the face of an extremely weak schedule and the fact that he plays in the Mid-American Conference, which is sinful in the eyes of the Heisman voters.
Washington State’s Jason Gesser and USC’s Carson Palmer are hanging around waiting for somebody to screw up, while Miami’s Willis McGahee and Colorado’s Chris Brown are looking to break the streak of quarterbacks who’ve taken home the award the past two seasons.
While on the topic of breaking the trend, Iowa’s Brad Banks is lobbying to become the first player to win the Heisman Trophy in just his first year as a full-time starter. In addition to leading Iowa to a 9-1 mark on the season, Banks has thrown for over 2,000 yards and has tossed 20 touchdowns to just four interceptions. If Iowa wins its final two conference games, which they should, Banks should get some serious consideration in collecting college football’s most prestigious award.
Dropped from the rankings as the year progresses has been the plethora of quarterbacks expected to dominate the college football scene. Rex Grossman has struggled to adjust to the new system in Florida, while Chris Simms curls up into a shell every time he plays a top-10 team.
Eli Manning and Casey Clausen have sunk with their teams’ winning percentage, and Seneca Wallace’s atrocious performance against Oklahoma dropped him from penthouse to the cellar quicker than Chris Rix’s career at Florida State.
Maurice Clarett’s nagging shoulder has hindered his quest to become the first freshman to win the award, and Charles Rogers’ bid followed Jeff Smoker and his departure from the team.
But isn’t this award just some over-hyped accomplishment created by the media? Does it really honor the best player in the country? Eric Crouch wasn’t last year and Chris Weinke probably wasn’t the year before that.
It’s recognizes more the face of a winning team than the most gifted player on the field. In the last 10 years there has not been a Heisman Trophy winner whose team hasn’t been in the top 10.
Also, it’s really just more of a jinx on the winner’s future in the NFL. Crouch: retired before making the team. Weinke: eternal backup. Dayne: third-down back, minimally effective. Danny Wuerffel: good luck Spurrier. Rashaan Salaam: what Anthony Thomas will be in two years. Charlie Ward: NBA. Gino Torretta: seventh-round pick. Desmond Howard: flash in the pan. And the list goes on.
Suffice to say, the award doesn’t really say that much. But it sure is fun to follow its campaign. It’s just like playing the guessing game.
