OT | Heisman

[MikeIsGood]

Presentation is tonight.

StiffArmTrophy projects that it will be Mark Ingram, and they're been right seven years in arow so it's a pretty good bet that he'll take home the award. So yet again, the 'best player on the best team' would take home the award instead of the best player period. This also brings Alabama their first Heisman trophy, so quite obviously this reeks of politics.

What's interesting here is that Ndamukong Suh is projected to be the leader in first-place votes but finish third. What this suggests to me (and my preference will obviously show here) is that a lot of people know what the right decision was, but ultimately the bias against defense players shined through. If he's first in first place votes but finishing third, there obviously were a contingent of people who didn't even vote for him at all, which is absolutely absurd.

I'm far from surprised that things would work this way. Colt McCoy took home a slew of yearly awards this year pretty much just because he had a great career and not because he actually had a great year.

Okay, I'm done ranting about awards and recognitions. I hope that StiffArmTrophy is wrong for the first time.

[MadCityBucky]

I think Colt McCoy will win despite that poor performance in the Big 12 championship game.

[ReasonablySober]

My ballot would be

1 - Suh
2 - Gerhart
3 - Ingram

[MikeIsGood]

DB - yup. I'd bet money on that being the top three, but unfortunately it will probably be the reverse order.

[automatic44]

Yea, I think it would be a complete injustice if Suh doesn't win or if McCoy finishes ahead of him. Of all the heisman candidates, he's the only one who didn't have a bad game this year, and he pretty much stomped on McCoy and his offensive line in that Big 12 championship game.

[MickeyDavis]

Only 6% of the ballots were returned before last weekends game so Suh has a shot. But I think it will be Ingram.

[automatic44]

Ingram was my favorite for most of the season, and I love everything about his game. But at this point I would put him 3rd behind Suh and Gerhart. However, I think it will end up being Ingram too

[MikeIsGood]

I expected Ingram to win but it's a joke McCoy got more votes than Suh. Barf.

[Ryan5UW]

Just don't see how Ingram deserves it over Gerhart.

[MikeIsGood]

But he plays for Alabama, and they didn't have a Heisman winner!

I like Ingram a lot, but I agree. He didn't deserve it over Gerhart or Suh.

[Balls2TheWalls]

I still think that if it is supposed to go to the best college football player that it should have gone to Suh.

[Bernman]

Mike and I knew that Ingram was the s**t, back when he was still a recruit. We had him as one of the top 3 most underrated prospects Wisconsin was pursuing in that class. However, the Badgers unfortunately finished 2nd in that race, as they did with Evan Turner in basketball (who, incidentally, I think we also both really loved as a recruit relative to their ratings). BTW, LMAO @ Jonas Gray being ranked ahead of Ingram coming out of the same area in high school. Gray had excellent top speed but seriously lacked quickness, shiftiness, and leverage.

[Ryan5UW]

Mike and I knew that Ingram was the s**t, back when he was still a recruit. We had him as one of the top 3 most underrated prospects Wisconsin was pursuing in that class. However, the Badgers unfortunately finished 2nd in that race, as they did with Evan Turner in basketball (who, incidentally, I think we also both really loved as a recruit relative to their ratings). BTW, LMAO @ Jonas Gray being ranked ahead of Ingram coming out of the same area in high school. Gray had excellent top speed but seriously lacked quickness, shiftiness, and leverage.

Who were the other 2?

[Bernman]

Mike and I knew that Ingram was the s**t, back when he was still a recruit. We had him as one of the top 3 most underrated prospects Wisconsin was pursuing in that class. However, the Badgers unfortunately finished 2nd in that race, as they did with Evan Turner in basketball (who, incidentally, I think we also both really loved as a recruit relative to their ratings). BTW, LMAO @ Jonas Gray being ranked ahead of Ingram coming out of the same area in high school. Gray had excellent top speed but seriously lacked quickness, shiftiness, and leverage.

Who were the other 2?

Mine was Ingram, Mike Taylor (yay), and Curt Phillips. His was Ingram, Phillips, and Leonard Hubbard. FWIW, I thought Hubbard looked good in spring.

Visa vie the Phillips selections; this was prior senior season when he was just a Badger commit with a modest offer list and star rating. He generated most of the hype subsequently. As far as his current outlook with the team, I'm unsure. Tolzien barely beat him out this fall (and Phillips was leading late into camp), but I could see him being moved to h-back since they're bare after Kendricks, and Budmayr or Brennan could be viable options at that point also. I think he's good enough to play quarterback here as he matures, but nobody will be complaining if he becomes Owen Daniels II.

[RiotPunch]

I am going to Suh the Heisman committee for voting Ingram the winner. At least it wasn't Tim "The Schoolgirl" Tebow.

[MikeIsGood]

I forgot about all of that. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Bern.

Good call on Taylor. I don't think I ever saw him play in high school, but I saw the clips and all of that and was glad he'd be a Badger, I just didn't expect this, at least not this early. I remember you raving about him, though. You called it.

Not getting Ingram was tough because I was extremely confident that he'd be a great player. He sure has been for Alabama. Sounds like some of their fans are getting a little spoiled, though. Many seem to want the guy that just won the Heisman trophy to get less carries in favor of Trent Richardson. No that he isn't good, too, but they should appreciate Ingram while they have him. I'm sure most do, though.

Interesting point on Philips. It was a topic of discussion when he first committed that if he didn't work out at QB he could get moved, but I hadn't thought about it lately. If Budmayr is as legit of a pure passer as many have made him out to be, it's a possibility. Not sure if it would be a tough sell or not. OD making pro bowls in the NFL would help the cause, one would think.

Hubbard hasn't seen a whole lot of time yet but I still have hope. I thought he looked decent when I saw him, also, and of course the guy hits like a truck.

[Bernman]

That's pretty idiotic of any Bama fans who are clamoring for anyone to supplant a player who was awarded a Heisman as a sophomore. Ingram's averaged 6+ yards per carry, and it was of the extremely consistent variety, not a big gainer and a stuff in the backfield to eventually derail a drive. Alabama was virtually unstoppable on offense because of the dynamic he provided. Plus, he is also a safety net receiver for his ordinary quarterback, and you want to replace him? The next guy in without seeing it disproven first hand always has Superman talent. Don't let anyone do that John Clay at Wisconsin.

Speaking of John Clay, just think how close he was to getting invited to the Downtown Athletic Club. He doesn't fumble down the stretch against Nerdwestern and doesn't get injured against Iowa; we probably sport a 11-1 record and Clay ends up with a 1600 yard projection on 5.5-6 ypc and 19 TD's. Ingram won the award with a 1661 projection (in 1 more game) on 6.2 ypc and 16 TD's, to go along w/ the 347 yards receiving projection. Ingram's #'s wouldn't have been that far superior to Clay's. I still would have given the nod to Ingram, but Clay only needed to be top 5. That while carrying a spare tire. How bad ass would JC be if he actually reached an ideal weight?

Between Clay, Toon, Carimi, Kendricks, Watt, Taylor, and Borland (notice all grew up Badgers' fans) the team should have even more standouts next year. But you're only as good as your worst player. The defensive end recruiting has been phenomonal recently netting potentials like Nzegwu, Muldoon, Gilbert, etc.; but I don't know how they'll be as stout as with Schofield there. And even with Schofield, we sucked against the pass. That should still be a question mark as is the interior D-Line.

[ReasonablySober]

The Heisman, along with the Baseball HOF, are two examples where the writers have to be held accountable.

I can accept that some voters have biases and beliefs that conflict with their ability to make the right choice. You can't strip someone of their voting privilege for making a subjective decision. But it's when they openly admit to basing their vote on something other than the criteria that something has to be done. When BBWAA admit to not voting for Cal Ripken or Rickey Henderson because Babe Ruth didn't get 100%, these clowns need to have their voting privileges removed.

As for the Heisman, here's an example of someone who shouldn't be allowed to vote anymore. Christine Brennan, folks:

I thought very strongly about putting Suh in my top 3. By no means should anyone interpret that my 1-2-3 vote excluding him means that I don’t think he’s great, because I do think he’s great.

My choice was not so much against him, but for the others. McCoy is the winningest quarterback in NCAA history. And while he had that terrible play at the end of the game last week and while Suh had a great game against him, this is not a decision based on one game. It’s a decision based on a season. And as we all know, there are other factors as well, including a player’s body of work over his career.

I thought a lot about McCoy because he was the runner-up last year for the Heisman and because he has led his team to the so-called national championship game. That’s important.

As for Gerhart, his numbers are incredible, and I love the idea of voting for someone from a school like Stanford every now and then. As a Northwestern grad, I like to see the word ‘student’ still have a place in the term student-athlete.

I put Ingram third because he had a terrific season on a team that’s also in the BCS title game. I almost wish I could have voted for the entire Alabama offense because with them, it’s more than just one guy. That’s why I put him third, not first.

So it’s not anything against Suh. It’s more about being for those other guys. I do love what Suh did and let’s hope he has a great pro career.

What a complete joke.

The award is supposed to go to the best college player. Not the player with the best overall career. Not the best player on the best team.

She's got to go.

[MikeIsGood]

The first reason she mentions is why McCoy got any awards this year, let alone finishing third for the Heisman. People were recognizing his career and not his year.

Reading that just made me angry.

That while carrying a spare tire. How bad ass would JC be if he actually reached an ideal weight?

I'm hoping the guys that evaluate him for the draft tell him to get his weight down into the Jonathan Stewart-range in preparation for the NFL. That might be the only thing that motivates him enough to drop the pounds.