McCoy wins Heisman poll

<p>The electorate has spoken.</p><p>Albeit, softly and somewhat indecisively.</p><p>As a precursor to what might be among the closest voting ever to determine the winner of college football’s most prestigious national award, 10 panelists with Heisman Trophy votes — two voters from each region of the country — labored to select Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as their 2008 winner.</p><p>In the final Scripps Howard Heisman poll, McCoy received 42 points, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford received 41, and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman winner, received 34.</p><p>Until the official Heisman votes are tabulated — the voting deadline is Wednesday afternoon, with the winner to be announced Saturday night in New York — no one can be certain whether McCoy will become Texas’ third Heisman winner, joining running backs Earl Campbell (1977) and Ricky Williams (1998).</p><p>But the Scripps poll — compiled by the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and the longest running weekly Heisman watch — has served as a fairly accurate barometer, correctly tabbing Tebow last season and, before that, predicting the winner in 17 of the previous 20 seasons.</p><p>If Bradford wins, he will enter a select circle of Sooners football heroes. Oklahoma previously produced four Heisman winners — running backs Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969) and Billy Sims (1978) along with quarterback Jason White (2003).</p><p>Tebow, the chiseled junior who morphed into a Gator on a mission after Florida’s one-point September home loss against Mississippi, could become the first back-to-back Heisman winner in 33 years. It would be the fourth time a Gator won the award.</p><p>Previous Florida winners were Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996) and Tebow last season.</p><p>The official Heisman balloting might mirror the uncertainty and controversy of this season’s final Bowl Championship Series rankings, which was topped by Oklahoma and Florida and will send those teams to Miami for the BCS title game (Jan. 8).</p><p>McCoy and Texas, which defeated Oklahoma 45-35 in October in Dallas, were relegated to the Fiesta Bowl to play Ohio State. But McCoy being presented the quaint bronze statuette on Saturday night might reclaim, well, something for the Longhorns.</p><p>Unless a solid national lock is identified early in the season, Heisman voting can split along regional/ conference lines. This season, the uncommonly good stable of Big 12 quarterbacks might fragment voting and ultimately benefit Tebow.</p><p>Over the course of the season, the Scripps poll featured five leaders, with Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel the only player not mentioned on the final ballot.</p><p>For voter Mike Griffith, of the Knoxville News-Sentinel, the Big 12’s collection of quarterbacks pales alongside one from the Southeastern Conference — Tebow.</p><p>Said Griffith: “Tim Tebow was the best player in college football last year, and he’s the best player this year. (He) was the difference for the Florida Gators in their SEC championship game win over Alabama Saturday.” </p><p>Tebow’s versatility — “scrambles, power dives, long passes and short bullets” — impressed Griffith, as well as the player’s “toughness and leadership ...</p><p>“Tebow overcame the best defense in his conference; Sam Bradford did not, and no amount of points in the final minutes of blowout victories or the BCS equation will change that.” </p><p>Another Tebow devotee is Dennis Dodd, of CBSSports.com. Dodd was challenged to offer “a quantitative reason” for casting his first-place ballot for the Gator because “his numbers are down across the board from ’07.” </p><p>Still, Dodd appreciated Tebow’s leadership and overall productivity in Florida’s fourth-quarter comeback against Alabama and Tebow’s proclamation in the aftermath of the one-point loss to Ole Miss.</p><p>Tebow, said Dodd, “basically called his shot ... and then delivered! Nine wins in a row. Go back and look at the quotes from that day (Sept. 27). Tebow was Babe Ruth pointing his bat toward the Wrigley Field bleachers.” </p><p>Until the SEC title game, Dodd strongly believed in Bradford, having “hyped him for the Heisman when he was a freshman. I mean, how many players ever have led the country in pass efficiency two years in a row?” </p><p>But Dodd, like many voters, found himself in a quandary, noting, “It’s hard to vote (McCoy) third when he took a team with a mediocre offensive line and led it in passing and rushing. The point is, I can’t slide a piece of paper between the three of them.” </p><p>Count Jimmy Burch, of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among the Bradford pushers: “(He) directs the most explosive offense in college football and he’s the biggest reason why it is that efficient.” </p><p>Voter John Rohde, of The Oklahoman, admits to an uneasiness after having Big 12 players dominating his Rocky votes for almost the entire season.</p><p>“But let’s be serious, that’s where the numbers are,” he said, noting Oklahoma’s controversial ascent to the Big 12 championship game over Texas merely offered Bradford “another chance to prove his worth, which he did.” </p><p>Subscribing to another theory in backing McCoy was Vahe Gregorian, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Among his reasons: “He is going to shatter the major-college record for (passing) accuracy and he leads the team in rushing.</p><p>“If not for a dropped interception and a Texas Tech TD pass with 1 second left, that game would be remembered for his rallying (Texas) to a late TD to win. And finally, he played very well to help Texas beat Oklahoma.</p><p>“But I really can’t argue against anyone who votes for Bradford or Tebow.”</p>