North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers is good enough to have won the Heisman Trophy.
Bobby Bowden says so. Norm Chow says so.
But he didn’t have a chance.
Rivers, second in NCAA history in career passing yardage and second in the nation in passing efficiency this season behind Heisman winner Jason White of Oklahoma, couldn’t even get invited to New York for the ceremony.
That’s because N.C. State lost five games, and losing more than three–maybe two for a quarterback–might as well be an official disqualification for the Heisman.
Never mind that one of N.C. State’s losses was in triple overtime to Ohio State and another was in double overtime to Florida State. The others were to Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and on a last-minute field goal to Maryland.
If the Wolfpack had made a couple of plays to upset Ohio State and Florida State, Rivers, who passed for 4,016 yards and 29 touchdowns, probably would have been part of the show.
Instead he finished seventh, even though Florida State coach Bowden said Rivers would have gotten his vote and USC offensive coordinator Chow considers him on a par with the two Heisman winners and other contenders he has coached.
“No question,” said Chow, who guided 2002 winner Carson Palmer at USC and 1990 winner Ty Detmer at Brigham Young and coached Rivers for one season at N.C. State. “I love the guy. He’s as good as any of them. Mentally strong, a winner. He completed 71 percent of his passes. Phenomenal.
“That’s the craziest award. How do you determine the best player? Is it the best player on the best team? The best quarterback? The best tackle? I think that award has gotten a little out of hand. Obviously, your team has to do well.”
But Rivers, who takes his team into the Tangerine Bowl against Kansas on Monday in Orlando, is the last to complain.
“To me, team success is most important, and with that come awards and individual accolades,” said Rivers, who has passed for 13,009 yards in his career. “When you look at this year, Jason White had great numbers, his team lost only one game and they’re playing for the national championship.
“Certainly, it would have been memorable and exciting to go to New York for the ceremony. I’ve never been there. But it turned out late in the race to be a race for the fifth spot, so you wouldn’t have had a chance to win.”
The next question for Rivers is how the NFL will view him. Mel Kiper Jr. recently ranked him the 19th-best prospect, third among quarterbacks, behind Eli Manning of Mississippi and J.P. Losman of Tulane.
“I would predict a huge career if someone takes a shot,” said Chow.
