Doug Flutie's Impossible Dream of a Play

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I will always remember this day in 1984, the day that Doug Flutie threw a desperation prayer into the sky, and it was caught for a game–winning touchdown.

I was working on the Arkansas Gazette sports copy desk. It was the day after Thanksgiving. We didn't have a TV in the newsroom in those days, but one of the staffers brought in a portable TV so we could follow the football games that are always televised during that four–day holiday. One of the games being shown 30 years ago today was between Boston College and Miami (Florida) in the Orange Bowl stadium.

I didn't get to see the dramatic finish. I was busy working on the next morning's paper, but I could hear what the announcers were saying, and I could hear what my colleagues in the newsroom were saying as the teams lined up to run the play. And, when the final play happened, and the unimaginable had occurred, I could tell that something remarkable had happened simply from the sounds I heard from the TV and the folks who had gathered around the TV to watch.

That doesn't mean, of course, that I wouldn't have liked to see it. Fact is, I have seen it — several times. I just didn't see it when it happened.

Now, the game would have been exciting enough even without the last–second heroics. Miami was the defending national champion, having beaten Nebraska in the Orange Bowl the previous January. Miami's quarterback, Bernie Kosar, set a school record for passing yardage. His teammate, Mel Bratton, ran for four touchdowns.

For his part, Flutie finished the day with 472 yards passing and four touchdown passes, making him the first quarterback to pass for 10,000 yards in his collegiate career. Ever.

But all that had gone before was forgotten after the final play of the game.

Boston College trailed, 45–41, with six seconds remaining, and BC had possession of the ball at Miami's 48. It seemed like an impossible task, and it became even more impossible as the final play unfolded. Flutie, who, at 5'9" was short by NFL standards, needed a touchdown. He scrambled to his right, managing to avoid a sack, but he had been driven back about 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Now, this undersized quarterback who had already thrown 45 passes that day had to fling one more pass at least 63 yards into 30 mph winds and hope that someone would catch it.

I suppose, if Flutie had had the luxury of time to stop and contemplate the enormity of the task before him, he would have been sorely tempted to just give up. It was a thoroughly improbable, impossible dream of a play.

The Miami defenders obviously didn't think he could do it because they virtually ignored wide receiver Gerard Phelan, who raced toward the end zone. Flutie's pass to Phelan threaded the needle between two Miami defenders and was complete for the game–winning strike. There was no margin for error. Everything had to go just right.

Shortly thereafter, Flutie won the Heisman Trophy. I don't remember hearing his name mentioned in connection with the Heisman before "The Pass," as Flutie's "Hail Mary" came to be known.

But I heard it a lot after that.

His professional career never really lived up to his collegiate achievement 30 years ago today. He started out in the short–lived USFL, then bounced around from NFL team to NFL team, gravitating to the Canadian Football League for several years before ending his career in the NFL.

He never played in a Super Bowl, but he did win a couple of the CFL's Grey Cups.

In America, I suppose, he will always be remembered for "The Pass."

Brave New World

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When they started calling him "Johnny Football," I figured he was sure to win the Heisman Trophy.

It's one of those nicknames that does more than imply success. It demands it. Like when they started calling Ted Williams Teddy Ballgame. With a nickname like that, I figured Johnny Manziel was bound to win the Heisman — someday, if not this year.

And even though I knew the historical odds were heavily against him, I knew that Manziel has had a phenomenal season — and that, after all, is what the Heisman is supposed to reward. It might have been remote, given the fact that he was sure to be up against upperclassmen who had paid their dues, but I figured he had a pretty good chance.

Even though he is a freshman, and no freshman had ever won the Heisman before.

That was sort of an article of faith when I was a kid. The Heisman only went to seniors — or, sometimes, juniors. Archie Griffin won it twice back in the 1970s. He's the only football player to do that — so far.

I remember when he did it. No one thought it could be done. A Heisman was a one–to–a–customer kind of thing. Griffin aside, it really was believed that a man could only win the Heisman once — and only after he had paid his dues. Juniors rarely won it; sophomores and freshmen never did.

But that has changed in recent years. The sophomore barrier went down a few years ago and, with Manziel's victory, the Heisman is no longer forbidden to freshmen, either.

(I haven't heard it mentioned much — everyone has been so carried away with Manziel becoming the first freshman to win the trophy — but, in the process of his achievement, Manziel kept Notre Dame's Manti Te'o from becoming the first strictly defensive player to win it. That's a barrier that may well last forever.)

It's one more thing that I have lived to see that I never thought I would live to see.

The times, they truly are a–changing.

But I'm not sure that I'll see a repeat next season. Manziel's coaches insist there will be no decline in production in 2013, but, as Sam Gardner observes for Fox Sports, Manziel will "carry a weight much more substantial than his 25–pound Heisman Trophy for a team that won't sneak up on anyone."

The Aggies were helped by the low expectations that accompanied their move to the Southeastern Conference, and Manziel had no spotlight on him when 2012 began.

All that will change next year.

History's Spotlight

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Perhaps it is fitting that this year's Heisman Trophy race is expected, by many observers, to be one of the closest ever.

Whoever the winner turns out to be, it's likely to be fodder for one of those "what–if" debates.

I suppose that is the most intriguing thing about the study of history — the wide variety of the "what if" questions.

You can find them taking many shapes in every human endeavor — politics, religion, sports, the arts, everything.

Most of the time, they are along the lines of the road not taken — sort of like the Burt Lancaster character in "Field of Dreams." But sometimes there are the tragic tales of those who did not live long enough to realize their full potential.

Today is the 50th anniversary of such a milestone in one such life story.

On this day in 1961, Ernie Davis was the first black man to be awarded the Heisman.

That isn't a "what–if" — unless you're thinking of the guys who were on the ballot with Davis.

It was the second–closest vote in Heisman history, with Davis beating the runnerup, Ohio State fullback Bob Ferguson, by only 53 votes.

Texas' Jimmy Saxton, Minnesota's Sandy Stephens and Alabama's Pat Trammell rounded out the top five.

It capped what must have been one of the greatest football careers of all time. In 1959, as a sophomore, Davis led Syracuse to a national championship and was named MVP of the Cotton Bowl. In 1961, as a senior, he was MVP of the Liberty Bowl, and everyone thought his career would continue into the NFL.

Davis seemed to be a great natural talent for whom the NFL was the next logical step. If the Super Bowl had existed at the time, speculation probably would have centered on when, not if, he would play in it — and how many times he would return.

In 1962, he was drafted by the Washington Redskins, who quickly dealt him to the Cleveland Browns. The Redskins were owned by George Preston Marshall, who was known to be racist.

The Redskins were the last NFL franchise to resist signing black players, which Marshall defended as being based on sound business strategy. He said he wanted to maintain good relations with the Southern market.

In Cleveland, Davis was expected to be paired with Jim Brown to form what may well have been the most potent running game in NFL history.

But no one will ever know how great that backfield could have been. In the summer of 1962, Davis was diagnosed with leukemia, and he died the following year at the age of 23. He never played a down in the NFL.

Brown was Syracuse's star halfback before Davis came along; in fact, Brown helped recruit Davis, who went on to break all of Brown's school records.

And Cleveland was reasonably successful even without Davis in the early to mid–1960s — until Brown retired. More than 40 years later, Brown was recognized as the greatest pro football player of all time by The Sporting News.

But other teams, most notably the Packers, climbed the mountain ahead of the Browns.

Davis played at a time when freshmen were not allowed to play varsity ball. In the three years that he could play varsity ball, he was named first–team All–America twice.

How much greater could the Browns have been with Davis in the backfield?

It may not be one of history's greatest "what–if" questions, but it's got to be near the top of the list for sports.

Closing the Deal

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"They can quit playing now. They have played the perfect game."

Dave Kindred
Louisville Courier–Journal

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It's different with every Heisman Trophy winner.

Sometimes, guys go into seasons as the clear favorites to win it — and they don't get hurt and they don't have more than one or two really bad games and, when they receive the Heisman in December, it seems to have been preordained.

Other times, Heismans are won primarily on the basis of one or two explosive performances — whether those performances came in the Heisman–winning season or not, whether they were representative of the player's skills or not.

Sometimes you're not so sure.

Nebraska's Johnny Rodgers, it always seemed to me, may have secured the next season's Heisman on this day 40 years ago.

The 1971 Heisman was given to Auburn senior Pat Sullivan, an Academic All–American who graduated with a degree in business administration — in addition to setting all kinds of records at the quarterback position.

That decision had already been made by this time in 1971 — even though Rodgers, with an electrifying performance, had not yet sparked the #1 Cornhuskers to a victory of legendary proportions over #2 Oklahoma and Sullivan's Tigers had not yet lost to Alabama by the convincing score of 31–7 after the announcement had been made.

Sullivan's senior status — and academic credentials — were just enough to edge out Cornell's Ed Marinaro, the Ivy League's first legitimate Heisman contender in years.

And if anyone even mentioned giving Rodgers the trophy in 1971, he was probably talked out of it rather quickly — perhaps because Sullivan would have no other opportunities to win the Heisman and Rodgers would, perhaps because Rodgers was a convicted felon (and no convicted felon had won the Heisman before).

It wasn't because no one knew who Rodgers was.

He had been making contributions to the team's success all season — but Nebraska's Heisman contender in 1971 was quarterback Jerry Tagge (and he finished seventh). There were also a couple of OU players who had support in the Heisman balloting — halfback Greg Pruitt, who finished a distant third, and quarterback Jack Mildren, who finished sixth.

Anyway, what happened 40 years ago today had no influence on the Heisman balloting. In a procedure that differs dramatically from the one with which modern football fans are familiar, the winner was announced the day before Nebraska and Oklahoma played each other, and the trophy was presented to Sullivan nine days later.

And history tells us that Rodgers' Cornhuskers beat the second–ranked Sooners that day in a game that, 40 years later, folks who are old enough to remember it — and even folks who hadn't been born yet when the game was played — speak of it in hushed tones.

But Rodgers' early punt return was widely seen as the decisive play on that Thanksgiving afternoon, and it is hard for me to believe that Rodgers did not think, when he left the field that day, that he had just closed the deal on the next season's Heisman Trophy.

A First for Alabama

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As I mentioned yesterday, the University of Alabama football program has received just about every honor that is available in college football.

As a team, it has won seven consensus national championships — and, if Alabama beats Texas next month, the Crimson Tide will match all–time leader Notre Dame.

On an individual level, both players and coaches have been honored over the years. Bear Bryant, who coached the Crimson Tide from 1958 to 1982, won the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association's coach of the year award three times — and, since the award was renamed in his honor, one of his successors, Gene Stallings, was the recipient the year he led Alabama to its first — and, so far, only — national title in the post–Bryant era.

Bryant actually did coach a Heisman Trophy winner during his career — Texas A&M halfback John David Crow, who received the award in 1957. But, in spite of the fact that the Crimson Tide won national championships and had numerous All–Americans on its rosters during Bryant's tenure, no Crimson Tide player ever won the Heisman Trophy.

Until last night.

Sophomore Mark Ingram won the closest vote in the history of the Heisman Trophy, narrowly topping Stanford's Toby Gerhart — who led the nation in rushing but played for a football team that lost four games this season.

Ironically, if Gerhart had prevailed, it would have been only the second Heisman awarded to a player from Stanford. Quarterback Jim Plunkett won the Heisman back in 1970.

But it wasn't. The Heisman now takes its place in Alabama's trophy case — perhaps to be joined by another national championship trophy and another Bear Bryant coach of the year award. But even if other Alabama athletes win the Heisman in the years ahead, Ingram was the first.

Who Will Win the Heisman?

This year, for the first time in recent memory, there is some suspense about the outcome of the Heisman Trophy voting.

In many quarters, the favorite is probably Alabama's Mark Ingram, And, after his performance in Alabama's rout of defending national champion Florida in last Saturday's SEC championship game, it's hard to argue the point.

Alabama has won just about everything else over the years. Of course, I suppose that any school that had Bear Bryant as its coach for a quarter of a century was bound to receive just about every honor in college football at one time or another.

But, strangely enough, no 'Bama player has ever won a Heisman Trophy.

Nebraska, on the other hand, has had Heisman winners — three of them, in fact.

And SI.com's Gene Menez thinks Nebraska defensive end Ndamukong Suh is going to walk away with the statue — which would be remarkable on many levels, not the least of which would be the fact that (with the exceptions of sometime–cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997 and sometime–linebacker Ernie Davis in 1961) defensive players are almost never Heisman recipients.

That alone probably makes Suh a sentimental favorite. And his performance against Texas in the Big 12 championship game no doubt endeared many fans to him. Whatever the reason for his ascendance, Drew Sharp writes, for the Detroit Free Press, that Suh adds excitement to the Heisman race. Indeed he does.

But there are other candidates who have been invited to the ceremony in New York tonight. Lenn Robbins of the New York Post says Stanford's Toby Gerhart, the nation's leading rusher, gets his vote.

A strong case can be made for Texas' Colt McCoy, who became the winningest quarterback in college football history this season. I think the case for another quarterback, Tim Tebow, is not as solid, primarily because the numbers he compiled this season did not match the numbers he put up two years ago when he won the Heisman as a sophomore.

Well, whoever wins the trophy, Monte Burke makes a good point when he writes about the Heisman's "curse" in Forbes.

"In the last 20 years, only three Heisman winners have gone on to become true NFL stars," he observes. "The overwhelming majority of winners merely got a quick cup of coffee in the big leagues, then moved on to a new career. Some never even made it that far."

It hasn't always worked out that way. Roger Staubach, for example, won the Heisman in 1963, then put his NFL career on hold while he fulfilled his military obligations. But he led the Dallas Cowboys to their first two Super Bowl victories, as well as two Super Bowl appearances against the juggernaut of the 1970s, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And O.J. Simpson became the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

But Burke is right when he says most recent Heisman winners haven't made much of a ripple in the NFL pond. For all intents and purposes, a Heisman winner's football career has ended when he was handed the trophy.

Yet, when one looks at this year's field and realizes that all five finalists were invited to tonight's ceremony — an indicator, perhaps, that Stewart Mandel of SI.com may have been on to something when he wrote that this year's vote could be the closest ever — one will see a great deal of talent.

It's hard to imagine that most will not thrive in the pros.

Of course, that doesn't mean that the one who gets the statue tonight will be one of those who thrives.

Sour Grapes

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"I do think it shows that either they love us or they hate us — Gator Nation."

Tim Tebow

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Please.

The Tampa Tribune is serving as a convenient soapbox for Tim Tebow to use to spout his conspiracy theories concerning why he was denied a second Heisman Trophy.

Seems to me it might have had something to do with the fact that Sam Bradford's numbers glittered more than Tebow's did in 2008. Last year, Tebow had the impressive season. This year, Bradford did.

Of course, I've been saying for a long time that the Heisman is awarded too darn early. Bradford and Tebow will meet in the national championship game nearly four weeks from now. Two other quarterbacks, both just as deserving of recognition — Colt McCoy of Texas and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech — have bowl games to play in January as well.

And Harrell, who wasn't even invited to the Heisman ceremony although he had more passing yardage than any of the athletes who were summoned to New York, will face the only team that has beaten Tebow's Gators this season — Ole Miss.

Seems to me the prudent thing to do would be to wait until after the postseason games have been played. At least, with the Heisman winner still undetermined, players like McCoy and Harrell would have something to play for besides "school pride."

If the Yale Club would wait until mid-January to vote on the Heisman, the results of the bowl games could be considered — and the voters could be spared the scenario that has been repeated so often in recent years — in which a runnerup in the Heisman vote embarrasses the winner in a nationally televised postseason showdown.

Like when Oklahoma and Josh Heupel beat Florida State and Chris Weinke for the national crown in 2000.

Or when Miami's Ken Dorsey beat Nebraska's Eric Crouch for the 2001 national championship.

Or when Texas' Vince Young scored the national championship-winning TD against Reggie Bush's USC team in January 2006.

Maybe losing the Heisman serves as motivation for the runnerup.

And sometimes, I guess, the runnerup finds other sources for inspiration.

When asked why this alleged bias against Florida exists, he replied, "I think it probably started with (Steve) Spurrier's swagger, to tell you the truth. How he handled situations. He either drew people in or made people not like the Gators and The Swamp."

Well, Spurrier is a convenient scapegoat. He left Florida in 2001. He is back in the SEC — but as the coach of South Carolina.

Tebow's response reminds me of the Aesop's fable, "The Fox and the Grapes." Been awhile since you read Aesop? Well, basically, what it comes down to is, this fox is strolling along and he sees some grapes hanging from a tree. The fox is hungry so he tries to get the grapes, but they're hanging too high.

After repeated failures to get the grapes, the fox gives up and says, "The grapes are probably sour, anyway."

The moral of the story is, "It is easy to despise what you cannot get."

The Heisman Snub

Maybe I missed something.

But why wasn't Texas Tech's Graham Harrell invited to attend the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York this weekend?

Three quarterbacks were invited — Florida's Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman last year; Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, who seems likely to win it this year, and Texas' Colt McCoy.

Statistically, it shouldn't even be an issue. Harrell had more passing yardage than any of the other three quarterbacks who will be in New York Saturday night.

He was second in the nation in passing yardage, as a matter of fact — behind Houston's quarterback (who plays in the defensively challenged Conference USA — to give you an idea of just how challenged it is, UH's QB passed for five TDs and nearly 500 yards in the season finale against Rice, and the Cougars still lost the game by two touchdowns).

For that matter, in the Big 12, Missouri's Chase Daniel and Kansas' Todd Reesing threw for more yardage than McCoy. And Tebow didn't even finish in the Top 20 nationally in that category.

Harrell threw more TD passes than Tebow or McCoy. And he only threw seven interceptions in 568 pass attempts (by comparison, Bradford was intercepted six times in 442 attempts and McCoy was picked off seven times in 375 attempts). To be fair, Tebow was only picked off twice (in fact, he's only been intercepted nine times in more than 650 career pass attempts).

Those three quarterbacks who will attend the Heisman ceremony did rate higher than Harrell in passing efficiency — but they all (including Harrell) finished in the top 10 nationally in that category.

I see no justification for omitting Harrell — and I can understand why Tech's partisans are feeling dissed.

The Raider Buzz blog says it is one more example of how Tech is "overlooked by the rest of the nation" and sees a pattern: "Tech is in a BCS conference and has one loss. It lost to the team that will play for a national title. So why is Tech ranked lower than one-loss USC, which lost to Oregon State … a team that lost four games? So why is Tech ranked lower (in the AP and USA Today polls) than one-loss Penn State … which lost to Iowa … another team that lost four games?"

I understand that Harrell isn't going to win the Heisman. I knew that when Tech got buried late in the season by Oklahoma.

But, for the season he's had, he deserves a trip to New York.

Being denied that national recognition is nothing more or less than a snub.

Florida Will Be Worthy Foe For Oklahoma

The BCS selections won’t be announced for more than four hours, although I’m inclined to agree with Stewart Mandel when he says, in Sports lllustrated, that "there will be little suspense" — and most of that will be over whether Oklahoma or Florida should be ranked #1.

In spite of the three-way tie for the Big 12 South title and the rule that put the tiebreaker in the hands of the BCS, it’s hard to argue against Oklahoma’s inclusion in the national championship game after the Sooners exceeded 60 points for the fifth consecutive game Saturday night.

If the Sooners had scored another field goal against Kansas State, they would have broken 60 in six straight.

It’s the most productive offense in memory — the first in the modern era, observes Jake Trotter in The Oklahoman, to score more than 700 points in a season.

Even in their only loss of the year, the Sooners scored five touchdowns.

Now, Oklahoma will have to face what is arguably the best defense it has faced all season. "Finally, perhaps, the Sooner offense may meet its match," writes Trotter.

Actually, Texas fans might argue that the Sooner offense already met its match.

Quarterback Tim Tebow — who won last year’s Heisman but will, I believe, finish second to Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford this year — and the Gator offense get all the attention, but the defense has been quietly doing its job all season.

Granted, TCU — which held the Sooners to 35 points in their September meeting — ranks higher in every team defense category than Florida or any of the teams Oklahoma played this season.

In all fairness, TCU does play in the Mountain West conference. And, while that conference has some respectable programs — like Utah and Brigham Young — it isn’t exactly as deep as the Southeastern Conference.

That’s why Florida will be a worthy adversary in Oklahoma’s final hurdle to the national title. The Gators face high-quality programs every week.

The Gators haven’t scored as prodigiously as the Sooners, and it’s the very absence of the kind of glittering numbers he compiled last year that appears to stand in Tebow’s way this year.

But perhaps the Heisman voters will remember that his success as a sophomore made Tebow the target of everyone he played as a junior — much like the 1973 Miami Dolphins team that had to defend not only its Super Bowl title but its undefeated season every time it took the field.

It’s hard to meet expectations when you’ve got a target on your chest in every game.

Even so, Tebow and the Gators haven’t done poorly. The offense hasn't put up Oklahoma-like numbers, but the defense is highly ranked in most categories and held the top-ranked team in the nation, Alabama, to 20 points in yesterday’s SEC title game.

For the record, the ’73 Dolphins didn’t do too badly, either. In spite of the pressure of being the squad that had to defend the legendary 17-0 season, Miami only lost two games the next year, won the Super Bowl and finished with an overall record of 15-2.

Will Tebow Jump to the NFL?

In Florida Today, David Jones reports that Florida's junior quarterback — and defending Heisman Trophy winner — Tim Tebow is considering "fil[ing] the paperwork with the NFL to see about his possible draft status, should he elect to leave school early for the NFL."

That's not really a surprise in this day and age. It often seems to be less common for an athlete to stay at a school for four years than it is to jump after one's junior year.

Merely filing the paperwork doesn't mean Tebow will leave school early — but it does mean he's weighing that option.

Seen in that context, then, it's prudent to regard Saturday's SEC championship game against top-ranked Alabama as Tebow's final conference game of his collegiate career. If it isn't, it still should be an entertaining game to watch.

Jones also reports that the CBS announcers who will handle the duties in the broadcast booth — Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson — believe that Tebow could win his second Heisman if he has a big game against Alabama.

And Jones reports that the only man — so far — to win two Heisman Trophies, Archie Griffin, also thinks Tebow has a strong shot.

Former Heisman winners are permitted to vote in the Heisman balloting, but Griffin said he wants to watch Tebow's performance against Alabama before deciding how he'll vote.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford is considered the front-runner for this year's Heisman.

Stormin' Norman

Norman, Okla., will be in the college football spotlight Saturday night when the Oklahoma Sooners host the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Clearly, the still unbeaten Red Raiders will be in the driver's seat in the Big 12 South if they win the game. The Sooners will have a chance to claim a share of the divisional title if they win — but only if they can beat Oklahoma State next week.

However, the battle for the Heisman Trophy may well be decided on the field in Norman. Texas Tech is led by quarterback Graham Harrell, ranked #1 in passing yardage per game. Oklahoma is led by quarterback Sam Bradford, ranked #3 in passing yardage per game.

Gil LeBreton writes, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that the key is Oklahoma's defense.

Not too long ago, he writes, "[w]ith its big-play defense and its Heisman candidate quarterback, Oklahoma looked like a national championship contender," but LeBreton contends that OU's defense changed when linebacker Ryan Reynolds suffered a season-ending injury against Texas.

On the eve of the Oklahoma-Texas Tech showdown, Oklahoma ranks 93rd in passing defense. Texas Tech ranks 98th in passing defense.

And LeBreton wonders, perhaps not facetiously, "[h]as there ever been a Big 12 [football] game in which both teams scored in the 80s?"

Last year's Heisman winner, Florida junior Tim Tebow, is often mentioned as a prospect to win this year's award, but I don't think he'll pull an Archie Griffin and win the award for the second straight year. He has the misfortune of being compared against what he accomplished in 2007 — and his numbers aren't close to what he put up last year.

The only way I see Tebow really getting into serious Heisman conversation at this stage is if something unexpected happens tomorrow night (i.e., OU and Tech fight through an atypically low-scoring, defensive football battle with a final score along the lines of 6-3) — and if Tebow has performances of legendary proportions against non-conference rival Florida State on Nov. 29 and then against top-ranked Alabama in the SEC championship game on Dec. 6.

The other name that is often mentioned — although not as much recently &mdash is Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. But he has gradually fallen off the Heisman radar since Texas lost to Texas Tech, and the only way he'll return to prominence is if Harrell, Bradford and Tebow all falter.

Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times counsels his readers not to hate the Heisman "because ... Tebow is probably going to lose it" or "because ... Bradford is probably going to win it" (in anticipation of a "change" brought about in Saturday's game).

"Do not hate the Heisman because it is overhyped or because it is statistic-driven or because it is strangely more popular than the Nobel Peace Prize," Shelton writes. "Do not hate it because it is reserved mainly for quarterbacks or running backs from the major conferences. Do not hate it because it rarely achieves its goal of deciding the best player in America. Do not hate it because, somehow, Andre Ware won it."

Here is the reason, Shelton says, to hate the Heisman: "Every year, the voters are forced to decide the winner too darned early."

Shelton thinks the Heisman should be awarded after all the games have been played in January.

And there is a certain logic to his argument that "[t]he movie is still going on, and already, these guys want to toss Academy Awards at the screen."

But, in 2008 at least, I think the curtain is about to come down. And the final scene will be staged in Norman, Oklahoma.