Every September, the sports media jumps the gun a little bit by anointing a player as the Heisman front runner while ignoring that candidate’s obvious shortcomings over the long haul.

Through no fault of his own, the player who wins the “September Heisman” is almost always doomed to fizzle, usually as soon as October rolls around.

In 2002, it was Seneca Wallace. Remember his amazing reverse field run that left breathless commentators racing to put him atop their Heisman lists?

In 2003, it was Chris Perry. He had three big games to start off the season and was the leader in most Heisman watches. His candidacy died at Autzen Stadium in game four.

In 2004, it was Kyle Orton. Purdue blazed to a 5-0 mark, including a smashing of Notre Dame. Taylor Stubblefield was striking Heisman poses on the sideline and Orton’s numbers through four games were amazing (17 TDs, no interceptions). By game six, though, he was kaput.

In 2005, it was Matt Leinart. Because most commentators still don’t understand that there will never be another two-time winner, he was tabbed as the Heisman front runner. By October, he had been superseded as a candidate by his teammate, Reggie Bush.

This year’s winner of the September Heisman is Troy Smith.

Unlike some of the names on this list, there’s no reason to eliminate him from Heisman contention at this point, but one has to wonder if this honor could potentially be the kiss of death.

Is Smith that formidable a candidate to lead wire-to-wire?

I don’t like his odds.

There he is, your September Heisman winner, 2006

Check out this story from The Oklahoman that talks about what Adrian Peterson needs to do to win the Heisman.

It’s all over the place for the most part, but it touches upon some of the things I’ve written in regards to Peterson’s chances.

Like many Heisman stories, it views Peterson’s candidacy in a vacuum. In reality, the race will come down to how he and the other three remaining candidates perform in key games and how they will measure up in relation to each other at season’s end.

Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star does make one salient observation:

“I’ve got to think if Adrian goes over 2,000 yards, OU could lose two or three games and he’d be right in the thick of things.”

That’s exactly right.

I thought the SC-Auburn game last night was entertaining, though I would not go so far as to call it one of the best-coached games in college football’s 138-year history. Sheesh.

More observations:

Not that Auburn’s close call didn’t reveal some issues. If not for a sure touchdown dropped by Jared Cook, that game goes to overtime and then who knows what would’ve happened? South Carolina outgained Auburn and had more first downs and–get this–more time of possession despite not taking a snap in the third quarter. And South Carolina had three more chances down at the Auburn goal line and did not get any points.

I think, in the end, it shows that–so far–there just aren’t any great teams in college football this year. There are some good teams that have a chance to be great by season’s end, but until that transformation occurs, any of these national title-contending teams can be beat.

Like most of the top teams, Kenny Irons and Auburn just aren’t there yet

A day after reports that nothing of the sort was forthcoming, Northern Illinois has released a website promoting running back Garrett Wolfe.

It’s a well-conceived and nicely-designed site that will be very useful in tracking Wolfe’s achievements this year.

The money quote from the front page is right here:

“I’m not in the business of trying to win a Heisman. I’m in the business of trying to win football games. The only personal satisfaction I get is being a winner. I want people to associate me with winning football games.” — Garrett Wolfe.

I like it.

Kudos to Northern Illinois for stepping up to the plate.

I’m coming off an 11-6 week against the spread. For the season, I am 35-24-1, which means I am picking games at a 59 per cent clip (56 per cent will make you money in Vegas).

Here are my picks for selected games for this week:

Auburn (-13) at South Carolina– Kenny Irons is back and I suspect he will play well in his return to South Carolina. The Gamecocks are one of five really bad teams in the SEC and I think they get pummeled here. It will be fun to watch Spurrier grimace. Auburn 27, South Carolina 7 .

Wyoming (+4.5) at Syracuse– College Football Pundit likes to bet Syracuse every week, which means we then have to watch them every week on TV. So this Saturday, I might as well take the ‘Cuse so I can enjoy the viewing experience, too. That said, I’m sure the game will not be on TV now that I have picked the Orangemen. Syracuse 21, Wyoming 14 .

Illinois (+26.5) at Michigan State– The Zooker is the only thing that can heal the Spartans after a tough loss to Notre Dame last week. I look for Drew Stanton to have a big day. Michigan State 45, Illinois 14 .

Purdue (+14) at Notre Dame– Okay, I was off on Purdue last week. But I am prepared to dig myself deeper into that hole, if necessary, and I pick Notre Dame to romp here. Quinn goes off and bolsters his Heisman hopes in the process. Notre Dame 42, Purdue 21 .

USC (-16.5) at Washington State– Every time someone questions USC, the Trojans seem to respond. I think they’ll get the running game going big time and that the Cougars won’t be able to get much going on offense. USC 35, WSU 10 .

California (-9) at Oregon State– This may be my lock of the week. The Bears are firing on all cylinders and I think they have too much talent for the Beavers. Cal goes over 40 AGAIN. Cal 45, Oregon State 17 .

Stanford (+23) at UCLA– The Cardinal are one of the worst teams in Division I and I don’t see how they stay close in this one. UCLA will come out throwing and should win in a rout. The Bruins get one step closer to their goal of losing just four times this season. UCLA 49, Stanford 14 .

San Diego State (-2.5) at San Jose State–Chuck Long coaches the Aztecs, so I like SJSU’s chances. SJSU has a good quarterback (82% thrower) and SDSU has a horrible offense (remember, Long is the coach). SJSU 28, SDSU 17.

Mississippi State (+33) at LSU–As bad as MSU is, it has a good enough defense to keep this score down PROVIDED there aren’t too many turnovers on offense. I’m going with Croom’s befuddled sideline demeanor to keep things close enough to cover. I also like the UNDER (40.5) in this game. LSU 24, MSU 0 .

Alabama (UNDER–38.5) at Florida–I love the UNDER in this game (38.5) and will take that. I am not sure if Florida will cover the points (-14.5), but I will predict Leak will get booed to the tune of Florida 27, Bama 10.

Temple (+34) at Vandy–A golden opportunity for the Commodores to run it up at home and they will take it. There is just too much talent top to bottom in the SEC for Temple to compete. Vandy 45, Temple 7 .

Michigan (-10) at Minnesota–This is not the same explosive Gopher attack of year’s past. The Wolverines are on a roll and Minnesota will prove no match. Michigan 38, Minnesota 13.

Washington (+3) at Arizona–The temptation is that UW will have a letdown after beating UCLA, but I think the Huskies are going to strike while the iron is hot. UW beats an inept Arizona squad and moves to 4-1 as Willingham nearly cracks a smile. Washington 23, Arizona 16.

Tennesse (-13) at Memphis–I don’t think much of Memphis this year, especially after losses to Ole Miss and East Carolina. Tennessee wins handily and Fulmer enjoys a hearty meal after. Vols 31, Tigers 10.

Oregon (+1.5) at ASU–The Sun Devils are in bad shape and Oregon is a confident team right now. As long as the Ducks don’t look ahead to the next game with Cal, they’ll be fine. Oregon 35, ASU 24.

Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution writes today that Chris Leak is the best pro prospect in the SEC.

Now, I assume he means that Leak is the best pro prospect at his position.

Still, I would have to disagree with that conclusion. Leak is a very good college quarterback, but it’s rare for a guy of his stature–5-11 1/2, 200 pounds–to do well in the NFL at quarterback.

I think the best SEC quarterback prospect eligible for this draft would have to be JaMarcus Russell of LSU. Granted, he’s a bit inconsistent, but he’s got tremendous upside and physically he looks like another Daunte Culpepper.

Barnhart tabs Georgia’s Matt Stafford as the best prospect three years from now, but I think Tim Tebow of Florida will be that guy.

This time from the Chicago Sun Times.

In it, the decision not to promote Garrett Wolfe for the Heisman is questioned, while Beano Cook notes that the NIU back has as much chance of winning the trophy as the governor of Montana has of becoming a presidential nominee.

Former NIU running back Michael Turner on the school’s decision:

“They were all over it with me three years ago,” said Turner, who finished 18th in 2003 Heisman balloting. “With Garrett, it seems like — nothing. I don’t understand that because every time they promote him, they’re promoting the school. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Said Beano:

“To win a Heisman these days, you’ve got to get ESPN’s ‘GameDay’ to do a long feature on you and then play well in one of the showcase games. A long cover profile in the sports section of USA Today doesn’t hurt, either. Cable TV has changed everything — although a lot of voters automatically still give long looks to anyone who starts out as quarterback at Notre Dame or a running back at USC.

“If Notre Dame finishes 11-1 and Brady Quinn has a big game at USC, he’ll still win it.”

Can’t argue with that. But I guarantee you that the media will get on board with those features once it starts to figure out that Wolfe is on pace to break Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season rushing record.

Maybe someone should let them know at some point.