It’s time to select the very prestigious Heismanpundit.com All-American team for 2006.

You know, a lot of schools throw around the term ‘All-American’ in a very loose fashion. But, at this time, the NCAA only recognizes five All-American teams as being official. Those teams are the ones selected by the AP, the Football Coaches Assocation, the Football Writers Association, The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Foundation.

That means that if a player from your school makes the CBS Sportsline.com team, that’s all well and good, but he’s not really an All-American. If he makes the Collegefootballnews.com team or the ESPN.com team or the Rivals.com team, good for him–but he’s not really an All-American as recognized by the NCAA.

In order to be a real All-American, he must be from one of the five teams I mentioned earlier.

That said, this simple rule does not prevent some schools from claiming more All-Americans than they should when they hype up their players at the start of each season. It is in this spirit that I offer my All-American team for 2006. Even though it is not an official team, I expect to see several players touted as Heismanpundit.com All-Americans in next year’s media guides. Now, on with the show:

OFFENSE

QB–Troy Smith, Sr., Ohio State: Every season has an indispensable player and Smith was it in 2006. The 72nd Heisman winner and leader of the No. 1 team. 2,507 yards, 30 TDs, 5 picks, 167.9 efficiency rating.

RB–Darren McFadden, So., Arkansas: About to become the first SEC running back since Bo Jackson to finish in the top five in the Heisman vote. 1,485 yards, 14 TDs, 6.1 ypc.

FB–Brian Leonard, Sr., Rutgers: HP always picks an All-American fullback instead of an extra running back and Leonard is now a two-time selection to this team. 378 rushing yards, 35 catches, 4 TDs.

WR–Calvin Johnson, Jr., Georgia Tech: A superior talent stuck in a bad offense, he’ll be the first receiver taken in the next NFL draft. 59 catches, 899 yards, 13 TDs.

WR–Jarett Dillard, So., Rice: Had about as dominant a year as you can have as a wide receiver. 82 catches, 1,176 yards, 20 TDs.

TE–Jonny Harline, Sr., BYU: The Cougars turned into a juggernaut on offense and Harline was a big reason. 49 catches, 754 yards, 11 TDs.

Kicker–Justin Medlock, Sr., UCLA: The latest addition to the proud lineage at ‘Placekicker U.’ 24 of 28 field goals, long of 51.

Offensive Line–Per HP tradition, we will not choose individual All-Americans on the offensive line.

We refuse to do so because, unlike other people who pick All-Americans, we admit that we have no idea who really is the best offensive linemen.

There are no individual stats to go by. Highlights rarely show what they do. We could go off of hearsay, but wouldn’t that be dishonest? What’s more, there are 585 starting offensive linemen in Division One. It’s almost impossible to have seen enough of them to know who is the best. So, while other All-American teams choose linemen almost solely based on reputation, we will not.

However, we will choose the best line unit in the country, since this is a lot easier to quantify. That honor goes to Arkansas. The Razorback front paved the way for its backs to gain 236 rushing yards per game while allowing an NCAA-low eight sacks. This is a remarkable accomplishment considering that true freshman Mitch Mustain–not exactly the most mobile of QBs–was behind center for much of the season. The Hogs’ combination of stellar run blocking and outstanding pass protection enabled them to vault their way to 10-straight wins and the SEC West title.

DEFENSE

DE–LaMarr Woodley, Sr., Michigan: The star of one of the better defensive lines in the country. 33 tackles, 11 sacks, 15.5 TFL, 4 forced fumbles, 4 recovered fumbles.

DE–Anthony Spencer, Sr., Purdue: His stats are mind-boggling and it’s no wonder he was his team’s MVP. 86 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 26.5 TFL, 6 pass breakups, 5 forced fumbles, 1 blocked kick, 1 recovered fumble.

DT–Derek Landri, Sr., Notre Dame: One of the few bright spots for the Irish defense in 2006. 65 tackles, 7 sacks, 15.5 TFL, 4 blocked kicks.

DT–Quinn Pitcock, Sr., Ohio State: Lombardi Award finalist and the key cog for OSU in the middle. 33 tackles, 10 TFL, 8 sacks.

LB–Patrick Willis, Sr., Ole Miss: The likely Butkus winner was once again all over the field for Ole Miss. 137 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery.

OLB–Keith Rivers, Jr., USC: Rivers is a super-athletic outside backer who led the Trojan defense in tackles. 71 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 3 forced fumbles.

OLB–Rufus Alexander, Sr., Oklahoma: Led an outstanding Sooner defensive unit that was the nation’s best by season’s end. 95 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 3 pass break ups, 1 fumble recovery, 3 forced fumbles.

CB–Daymeion Hughes, Sr., California: Had an incredible year and should be the front runner for the Thorpe Award. 62 tackles, 8 interceptions (2 for TDs), 19 pass break ups.

CB–Brandon Flowers, So., Virginia Tech: Burst onto the scene to lead a Hokie defense that was the nation’s stingiest. 48 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 21 pass break ups, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble.

SS–Eric Weddle, Sr., Utah: This guy is so talented, he even played some running back for the Utes. 58 tackles, 2 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 6 interceptions (2 for TDs), 2 pass break ups, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble.

FS–Reggie Nelson, Jr., Florida: Provided clutch play for Florida all season long. 48 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 interceptions, 5 pass break ups.

Punter–Danny Sepulveda, Sr., Baylor: The only bright spot in an otherwise dismal year for Baylor. 46.48 average.

Kick Returner–Marcus Thigpen, So., Indiana: 30.13 yards per return, 3 touchdowns.

Punt Returner–DeSean Jackson, So., California: As explosive a player as there is in college football. 18.96 per punt return, 4 TDs.

Coach of the Year–Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: Stoops began the year with a team that was in disarray. Then, he lost Adrian Peterson mid-season. No one thought OU would amount to much, but he righted the ship and now the Sooners are 10-2 and in the Big 12 title game. Imagine where they would be had officials not muffed the final minutes of the Oregon game!

The HP Heisman Straw Poll will be delayed today as I wait for a couple more votes to trickle in.

One thing I am noticing is a recent surge of support for Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.

It appears he will move ahead of Brady Quinn in the latest HP poll, which would correspond with what is happening in the Scripps Howard Poll as well.

While it is clear that McFadden is popular among the vanguard of Heisman voters–those who cover the sport on a regular basis, as represented in my poll and that conducted by the SHNS–the real question is whether his name recognition will extend to the larger body of voters out there who, as of now, aren’t familiar with his exploits.

Certainly, a huge game against Florida couldn’t hurt, but I would say that, at this point, Quinn is still the likely choice to take second.

One thing that is working itself out is the order of the top five. It seems that Troy Smith, Quinn, McFadden, Steve Slaton and Michael Hart are the names that keep popping up consistently in the top five of most of the straw polls.

I expect the final vote to follow that order.

Last weekend saw no real change in the HP Heisman Watch. Troy Smith has wrapped up the trophy, which means that the only real suspense left in the race is who will finish behind him.

Brady Quinn will likely finish second after his game against USC. Quinn threw for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Irish loss to bring his season total to 3,278 yards, 35 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Very impressive numbers, but his team lost in the two biggest games it played and that ended up being the difference between him and Smith.

The big question now is who will take third place? I believe the player most likely to end up there is Arkansas sophomore Darren McFadden. Even though the Razorbacks lost to LSU, he still had 181 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus he went 2 for 2 passing for 35 yards. On the season, he has 1,485 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. He can solidify his claim to the No. 3 spot–and a possible trip to New York–with a good game against Florida on Saturday.

That would also make McFadden the front runner for next year, though names like Slaton, Hart, Brennan and Booty won’t be far behind.

How the Vote Would Go Today

1. Troy Smith
2. Brady Quinn
3. Darren McFadden
4. Steve Slaton
5. Michael Hart
6. Colt Brennan
7. J.D. Booty
8. Calvin Johnson
9. Ian Johnson
10. Ray Rice

One more week to go and, for once, there is a little bit of clarity in college football this season. Please remember these are power rankings, based on how good I think the team is right now:

1. Ohio State (12-0)–The number of days between the Michigan game (Nov. 18) and the BCS title game (Jan. is…50!! That’s a long layoff.

2. USC (10-1)–Since being down 33-10 against Oregon State, the Trojans have outscored their foes 165-43. Get past UCLA this week and they’ll play Ohio State in Glendale.

3. Michigan (11-1)–Wolverines are twiddling their thumbs, waiting to find out their Rose Bowl opponent.

4. Oklahoma (10-2)–The Sooners are one of the hottest teams around right now and their defense is probably the best in the country. Take away that horribly unfair Oregon loss and this is an 11-1 squad trying to squeeze into the title game. Next up is Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship.

5. Florida (11-1)–Many scoffed when I picked FSU to beat the Gators, but Florida just doesn’t seem capable of blowing out even the average teams on its schedule. They’ll get Arkansas in the SEC title game.

6. Louisville (10-1)–Beat Pitt, 48-24, and now the Cards are waiting for the outcome of the Rutgers-WVU game. If WVU wins, the Cards are Big East champs.

7. LSU (10-2)–The Tigers are a poorly-coached, but talented squad that can beat almost any team out there; but they also can lose to almost any team, too. They beat Arkansas, 31-26, and now have a shot at a BCS bid.

8. Boise State (12-0)–The Broncos have had a dream season and, as a result, they’ll get their just reward–a BCS bid. If Boise wins its bowl, they’d have to be included in the final top five.

9. Arkansas (10-2)–Despite the loss to LSU, this is still a good, sound team. They have a chance to win their first-ever SEC title on Saturday.

10. Wake Forest (10-2)–The Demon Deacons have their first 10-win season following their win over Maryland. Who would have thought they’d have a shot at the ACC title?

On The Cusp: Wisconsin, Brigham Young, Rutgers, Va. Tech, Hawaii

We are down to the wire in the HP Fantasy Challenge.

For those of you not familiar with the game, the HP Fantasy Challenge is a fantasy contest I started this season. Each player who entered was given 12 pre-set Heisman candidates and was allowed to choose one wild card from any team he wanted, for a total of 13 players per team.

Each player on a team could only be ‘played’ once in the entire season. Injuries were a part of the game (no replacement players) and no trades were allowed. Scoring was based on ESPN’s fantasy league.

The prize? Two tickets to the 2007 Rose Bowl.

Anyway, after 13 weeks, we have a new leader.

Jim Rob has accumulated 284 points and is now eight points ahead of Drew Tater Tots, who has 276 points.

However, Jim Rob has used his entire team. Drew Tater Tots, who led most of the year, has Kyle Wright, but the Miami quarterback is out for the year. So one thing we know for sure is that neither of these two teams can score any more points.

Coming up in third place is Go Bears, who has 274 points, but has also finished up his scoring.

DT Sports has 263 points, but his remaining player is Adrian Peterson, who is unlikely to play in the Big 12 title game. So his scoring is likely done.

But the contest is not yet decided.

That’s because Hoosier Daddy, who has 260 points, has one player left to play–Cal’s Marshawn Lynch.

If Lynch can score 25 fantasy points against Stanford, then Hoosier Daddy will walk away with the two Rose Bowl tickets. Should there be a tie, we will revert to tie breakers entered at the start of the contest.

See the right sidebar for the top 10.

Great job to all who entered. It looks like it will be an exciting finish. Look for more fantasy action here at HP next season.

Well, November is almost over and what a month it was. As December rolls in, the college football landscape is almost completely different than it was just 30 days ago.

It was a good Friday of games–sort of an appetizer for Saturday’s slate. Some observations: