Trophy's credibility on the line this season more than ever before

Razorback Road

By: Matt Jones

Posted: 12/3/07

If Darren McFadden doesn't return home from New York with the Heisman Trophy, the award has lost all merit.

The trophy clearly reads, "Most Outstanding Player in College Football." No other six-set of words could describe McFadden, who shred LSU's defense to bits last Friday with 206 rushing yards, 34 more passing yards and four combined touchdowns as the Razorbacks won their first game over a top-ranked team in 26 years.

Not since Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson tortured Southeastern Conference foes over a six-year span in the early to mid-'80s has the league had a back as explosive as D-Mac. Those two guys won Heisman trophies - as juniors.

Now Arkansas' junior faces what is sure to be one of the closest votes in the award's history. The chief competitor is another SEC guy - Florida sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow.

Arguments can be made for both players. But McFadden could be the victim of a statement award.

No sophomore has ever won the Heisman, nor has a freshman. Analysts say times are changing and it's time for deserving underclassmen to be recognized as the best if they perform on the field.

We've seen this before. Dateline: 1997 - Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning is a shoe-in to win the Heisman as the nation's best player. But after an impressive performance against rival Ohio State, Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson in essence received ESPN's vote, and it's hard for a player to lose the award when the network in charge of the highlights is backing you.

Woodson became the first defensive player to win the Heisman and it was supposed to be a landmark win for defenders. More defensive players were going to be invited to New York and more would walk away with the trophy. Remember?

But 10 years later, no defender has been invited back to the Heisman presentation and none will be back this year.

I'm not opposed to a sophomore winning the award, if deserving, and as a disclaimer I never felt McFadden should win the award a year ago. But Tebow's backers cite only two numbers: 20-20. Tebow became the first player in college football history to pass for 20 touchdowns and rush for 20 touchdowns in a season. His 22 rushing touchdowns are tied for the all-time record by a quarterback.

But Heisman voters must be careful awarding the award by virtue of statistics. If numbers were all it took to win the award, systematic quarterbacks from Texas Tech and Hawaii would be on-hand to receive the hardware every season.

And remember this: while McFadden was tearing up SEC defenses in November, when the performances have seemed to matter the most in recent years, Tebow played two non-conference games against an average-at-best Florida State team and Florida Atlantic, who has been playing in the Football Bowl Subdivision for all of two years.

Tebow has padded his stats in those two games, with 10 of his season-total 51 touchdowns.

McFadden didn't pad his stats against non-conference opponents, despite the general perception of those in the national media.

ESPN's Mark May, who somehow seems to be the network's know-all when it comes to the Heisman, cites McFadden's three games when he didn't go over 100 yards. Only one of those games should even be mentioned.

McFadden struggled mightily, perhaps more than ever before, with 42 rushing yards in a loss to Auburn in October. That performance, coupled with Arkansas's 0-3 start in league play, threw McFadden under the Heisman bus and he flew below the national radar until an SEC record-tying 321-yard outing against South Carolina. That South Carolina game was one of five wins in Arkansas's last six games, and the Razorbacks ended the conference season with a .500 mark in conference play.

The other two non-100-yard performances came against Florida International (61 yards rushing, 4 touchdowns) when McFadden wasn't needed after halftime - though he did add an extra touchdown in the third quarter - and against Mississippi State in Little Rock. McFadden had 88 rushing yards against the Bulldogs to go along with a 57-yard touchdown reception and a 24-yard touchdown pass.

And perhaps May forgot McFadden's 195-yard performance shortened by a concussion at Alabama or his 173-yard game against Kentucky, despite playing with a virus. Only losses seemed to detract those performances on May's own network.

But if we are going to award the 2007 Heisman based on statistics, take these in mind, Mark:

-1,725 rushing yards, the highest total by an SEC back in 25 years.

-885 yards accounted for and 8 touchdowns accounted for in the month of November.

McFadden has also refurbished a 70-year-old formation in the Single-Wing and made it his own. When a team lines up an athlete at quarterback any time in the next 20 years, announcers will cite McFadden's days in the WildHog.

And while Tebow has rushed for 22 touchdowns, he isn't the first quarterback to run for scores. But when was the last time a running back was a threat to pass for touchdowns at any time?

Tebow is a great player and still has another year left in college football. His time will come, but he should not be the Heisman winner this time around. Most would agree he's not even the best player in his conference.

McFadden will likely be the first player taken in the NFL Draft in April. The Heisman winner hasn't been taken first in the draft since Barry Sanders in 1989, and the draft takes pride in acknowledging the most outstanding player in college football first every year.

One can only hope the award bearing the same distinction finally does the same.

Matt Jones is the sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler.