Reggie Bush earned Matt Leinart’s Heisman Trophy vote in August, weeks before the season began.
“He’s the hardest to game-plan for and he makes the most plays,” Leinart reasoned.
Bush earned my Heisman vote on Oct. 15, the day he slashed through the ankle-high grass at Notre Dame Stadium to run for touchdowns of 36, 45 and 9 yards.
Each was incredible, the type that made you point to the field, turn to your neighbor and say: “Did you just see that?”
Think about that Notre Dame-USC game. Beyond the fact both schools are private and both programs overflow with history, the teams were almost identical: savvy quarterbacks, NFL-bred head coaches, dominant offensive lines, porous secondaries.
But only one team had Bush, and he’s the No. 1 reason the Trojans will vie for their 35th consecutive victory at the Jan. 4 Rose Bowl against Texas.
Bush didn’t win the Heisman last year because his stats didn’t dazzle in a diverse offense. They do this year.
Consider this: Bush ran 187 times for 1,658 yards, good for 8.9 per carry. That’s the highest average for any back with more than 120 carries in NCAA history. The record had been held by Nebraska’s Mike Rozier, who swallowed 7.8 yards per run in 1983.
So putting Bush at the top of my Heisman ballot was like picking ice cream over alfalfa sprouts.
Selecting Texas’ Vince Young second was just as easy. He won me over when he capped a game-winning drive at Ohio State with a perfect 24-yard touchdown pass to Limas Sweed.
You still can question Young’s throwing mechanics–and I’m sure the NFL scouts will–but he ranks first in the nation in passing efficiency and he’s the country’s most dangerous scrambler.
After Bush and Young earned my gold and silver, I reached the hard part. The Heisman ballot only leaves room for three names, and I easily came up with four worthy candidates, all quarterbacks: Leinart, Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn, Northwestern’s Brett Basanez and Penn State’s Michael Robinson.
Which one to choose?
Seems hard to believe now, but late in the 2003 season Basanez posted these passing numbers against Illinois: 3 of 9 for 24 yards, 0 TDs, one interception and nine carries for minus-19 yards.
Northwestern still won 37-20, but no one was calling Basanez a great “manager” of the game. The kid was terrible, and NU’s coaches had so little confidence in him they called one pass play in the second half–and 41 runs.
But Basanez kept improving. He ran for seven touchdowns this season and threw for 3,597 yards, including a hellacious 506 at Purdue. He helped squeeze seven victories out of a team with the nation’s worst total defense. And he’s bright and engaging, which earns extra points with me.
Leinart threw for more yards (3,450 vs. 3,322) than he did a year ago, but he struggled somewhat in big games (17 of 32 vs. Notre Dame, 21 of 40 vs. UCLA). And speaking of UCLA, Drew Olson topped Leinart in passing efficiency.
It’s tough to make a case against Quinn, so I won’t even try. He’s the only quarterback who ranks in the top five in both total offense and efficiency. But he’s a junior, and if he returns to South Bend, he’ll be the favorite to win the Heisman in ’06.
Robinson earned my third-place vote, and it’s not because a grumpy Joe Paterno wanted it that way. (The coach banned players from Penn State’s Orange Bowl media day Wednesday in part because his efforts to vault Robinson into the Heisman race fell short. “All I know is Michael Robinson is not one of the finalists,” he said.)
Robinson’s impact could not be measured by stats, although breaking the single-season school record for total yards (2,822) was impressive.
If you looked at Robinson’s numbers in the season finale at Michigan State (10 of 20 for 105 yards), you would think the guy was lucky to be the starting quarterback. If you were there, you would know Penn State’s young receivers dropped four easy balls for at least 65-70 yards. And you would have seen Robinson rush for 90 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown.
But what you wouldn’t have seen was when Robinson, sensing trepidation in some younger Nittany Lions before the game, walked around the locker room and peered into their eyes.
“Are you ready?” Robinson asked.
If the player failed to look back in his eyes, Robinson gave a command: “Get your head into it.”
It’s one small example of Robinson’s leadership, and one major reason a team that went 3-13 in the Big Ten from 2003-04 is now 10-1 overall with a Jan. 3 date in the Orange Bowl.
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The envelope, please
What: 71st Heisman Trophy presentation.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN.
Special feature: On 1946 Heisman winner Glenn Davis of Army.
3 finalists/key stat:
Reggie Bush, RB, USC. Produced an astounding 513 all-purpose yards in 50-42 victory over Fresno State. Season’s average carry went for 8.9 yards.
Matt Leinart, QB, USC. Posted a slightly higher passer rating (158.3) than last year, when he won the award. Threw for 3,450 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Vince Young, QB, Texas. Ran for 267 yards and passed for 239 in 47-28 victory over Oklahoma State. Finished with 2,769 passing yards and 26 TD passes.
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
