Faldon's Five Thoughts

If it's Wednesday, I'm blogging ... per Matt's orders!

Five Things

1. So Texas manages to squeak into the BCS Mythical* National Championship game thanks to a video review of an incomplete pass.

While the call of putting 1 second on the clock was correct, it seemed like a strange thing to be reviewed. After all, if the exact same play had happened with 14:06 remaining in the fourth quarter there wouldn't have been a review to see if the clock should be at 14:01 or 14:00. If you won't review it in the first minute of the fourth quarter, should you be reviewing it in the last minute?

Sadly, the melange of computer rankings, power polls, human voters (except for the SportsJournalists.com poll) and whatnot in the BCS formula didn't penalize Texas for a sub-par Big 12 title game. Sure, Texas vs. Bama will be more entertaining than Bama vs. one of the undefeated mid-majors. But as an advocate of BCS anarchy, that's what I wanted to see.

Speaking of bowl anarchy, how about Rep. Joe Barton down in Texas? The wacky A&M alum is pushing Congress to meddle in the BCS. Yesterday, he got a House subcommittee to approve legislation that would ban the promotion of a "national championship game" unless it came via a playoff system.

You go, Joe. You go.

* - Mythical because there is no playoff system.

2. You really think your favorite team is excited about playing in the Beef O'Brady Bowl or spending New Year's Eve under lock-and-key in a hotel room or Christmas in Shreveport? No, of course not.

But they do love the freebies. From PS3s to iPods to HDTVs to more Nike gear than Elin Woods has shredded in the past two weeks, players make out like bandits when they go to a bowl game.

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/64318

3. A few years ago, I had a Heisman vote. About the time I began blasting Houston Nutt with both barrels, I lost that honor. The state representative who doles out the ballots said it was because "I never see you in the press box at Arkansas games." He then promptly gave my old ballot to the Voice of the UCA Bears. At the time, UCA was a Division II athletic program. But I guess the radio guy was seeing tons more Heisman-worthy athletes in Estes Stadium than I was via CBS, ABC, ESPN and whatever other channels DirecTV brings into my house.

No, I'm not bitter. Why do you think that?

Anyway ...

Ndamukong (which means "House of Spears") Suh, the Nebraska DL, should win this year's Heisman. But he won't. In part, because Nebraska did a poor job promoting his candidacy. He's also hurt by few appearances on national TV. Also, as a defensive player, his on-field worth is difficult to quantify. It's easy for a voter to look at the stats produced by a QB, RB or even WR and see how that impacted the game. For a defensive player to win the Heisman, we'll need a Moneyball-esque revolution in college football. A stathead needs to develop formulas like baseball's PECOTA, VORP and DIPS for football.

Toby Gerhart, the Stanford RB, is also hurt by lack of exposure. Stanford played several night games, meaning 10 p.m. kickoffs on the East Coast. Despite piling up 26 TDs and 1,786 yards, Stanford is 8-4. That's another strike against him.

Mark Ingram, the Alabama RB, is the current leader at http://www.StiffArmTrophy.com, a site which tracks announced votes (like the Otis Kirk vote for Ryan Mallett ). He benefits from several nationally televised games and the SEC aura. He's get votes simply because so many have the mindset (rightfully so) that the SEC is the best football conference in the nation.

Honestly, I'm not sure who'll win. If I'd not been robbed of my ballot by cronyism among the IRPC, I'd vote Suh, Gerhart, Ingram.

4. Recurring Items

The SportsJournalists.com Top 25 is here.

Awful Announcing: Your Full 2009-2010 College Football Bowl Announcing Schedule

5. M8B Prediction

Will Navy (-14) cover against Army?



(Views expressed by the Magic 8 Ball do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog, the blog owner nor this post's author. Advice from the M8B is for entertainment purposes only and not for actual wagering ... even though the Magic 8 Ball is 10-6 this season.)

Heisman Pundit handicaps race between McFadden and Booty

This is a great blog for tracking the Heisman race.

McFadden's Uphill Climb to the Heisman

Looking at McFadden he is, to most all of us, a Heisman winner.

We all have our own methods of predicting our favorite football teams upcoming regular season record. 7-5? 9-3? 12-0? Personally I predict 9-3 for the Arkansas Razorbacks with losses to Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU.

One can't help but wonder what Arkansas' regular season record and ranking at the time of the Heisman vote will do to Darren's chances of taking home the most coveted individual trophy in all of college sports. Let's take a look at how others have fared over the years with respect to record.

Below you will find the last 20 Heisman trophy winners dating back to 1987.

Heisman Winners and Poll Ranking at the time of the Heisman Vote (in parentheses):

2006 Troy Smith Ohio State QB (1) Lost BCSCG
2005 Reggie Bush Southern California RB (1) Lost BCSCG
2004 Matt Leinart Southern California QB (1) Lost in NC game
2003 Jason White Oklahoma QB (1) Lost in NC game
2002 Carson Palmer Southern California QB (3) Won Orange Bowl
2001 Eric Crouch Nebraska QB (1) Lost in NC game
2000 Chris Weinke Florida State QB (1) Won Nat'l Championship
1999 Ron Dayne Wisconsin RB (5) 9-2 record at vote, B10 runner-up, Won Orange Bowl
1998 Ricky Williams Texas RB (16) 8-3 record at vote, B12S runner-up, Won Cotton Bowl - 1997 Charles Woodson Michigan DB/WR (5) 9-2 record at vote, B10 runner-up, Won Rose Bowl
1996 Danny Wuerffel Florida QB (1) Won Nat'l Championship
1995 Eddie George Ohio State RB (4) 10-1 record at vote, Big10 runner-up, Lost Citrus Bowl
1994 Rashaan Salaam Colorado RB (4) 9-1-1 record at vote, Big12 runner-up, Won Fiesta Bowl
1993 Charlie Ward Florida State QB (1) Won Nat'l Championship
1992 Gino Torretta Miami QB (2) Lost Sugar Bowl (to NC Alabama)
1991 Desmond Howard Michigan WR (1) 10-1-0 record at vote, Lost Rose Bowl (to NC Washington)
1990 Ty Detmer Brigham Young QB (10) 10-2-0 record at vote, Lost Holiday Bowl
1989 Andre Ware Houston QB (Top 15) 8-2 record at vote, offense scored 589 points...5 games over 60 pts (95 v SMU)
1988 Barry Sanders Oklahoma State RB (14) 9-2 record at vote, Won Holiday Bowl - Rushed for 2,628, 37 TD's on 344 attempts
1987 Tim Brown Notre Dame WR (Top 20) 8-3 record at vote, Lost Cotton Bowl

• Of the last 11 Heisman winners, 7 have played in the National Championship game.
• 1998 is the most recent year a Heisman winner's team finished outside of the top 5 (Williams)

For the 5 winners of the 20 listed who played for teams outside of the Top 5 in National Polls, the achievements for their respective winning years should be noted. Each is very impressive and likely a NCAA record setting year in either rushing or passing.

Lower ranked Heisman winner notes:

Williams notes: Ricky Williams gained 2,124 yards with 27 touchdowns on 361 carries (5.9 avg) on his way to securing the Heisman trophy in 1998. Williams set NCAA records with two 300-yard rushing performances - 668 rushing yards & 11 touchdowns during the two-game span. Williams became the NCAA career rushing leader in 1998 with 6,279 yards. He also broke the NCAA Division 1A career rushing touchdowns and career scoring records in 1998 with 73 TD's and 452 points respectively. Both records have since fallen (Dayne/Prentice)

Detmer notes: Ty Detmer won the Heisman trophy in his Jr. season. Detmer passed for 5,188 yards and 41 touchdowns in 12 regular season games, and finished the year with 42 NCAA records. His final career statistics were 1,530 pass attempts; 958 completions, 15,031 passing yards, 121 touchdown passes and 14,665 yards of total offense.

Ware notes: Andre Ware won the Heisman trophy in his Jr. season. Ware threw for 4,699 yards, 46 touchdowns and set 26 NCAA records during his Heisman season. Ware led the Houston Cougars as they scored 95 points against SMU. Lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Sanders notes: In 1988, Sanders rushed for 2,628 and 37 TD's on 344 attempts. Barry set 34 NCAA records during his Heisman campaign.

Brown notes: During his Heisman season, Brown caught 34 passes for 846 yards, returned 34 punts for 401 yards, rushed for 144 yards, and gained 456 yards on 23 kickoff returns. Tim scored 8 touchdowns.

So ... will 8 - 4 or even 9 - 3 be enough for Darren McFadden to win the Heisman this season?

It doesn't look promising.