The fourth Heismanpundit.com Straw Poll of the 2007 college football season has been tallied and the voting panel–consisting of 2000 Heisman winner Chris Weinke, plus nine members of the Heisman electorate–has junior Arkansas running back Darren McFadden hanging on to his lead over sophomore Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.
McFadden, who ran for 173 yards in his team’s second-straight loss this past Saturday, totaled 46 points while garnering six of 10 first place votes. The hard-charging Tebow, who debuted at second in last week’s poll, captured three first place votes and 34 total points.
Three quarterbacks rounded out the top five: West Virginia’s Pat White (a distant third with 14 points), USC’s John David Booty (12 points) and Kentucky’s Andre Woodson (11 points, 1 first place vote).
McFadden and Tebow were the only players to appear on all 10 ballots.
While McFadden has led every HP Straw Poll so far this season, it appears that his team’s losses are starting to take a toll on his Heisman hopes.
“Darren McFadden may end up rushing for 2,000 yards, but if Arkansas loses more than three games he has no shot at winning the Heisman,” said one voter. “He may well be the best player in the nation, but so was Larry Fitzgerald in 2003 when Oklahoma’s Jason White won the award.”
Meanwhile, Tebow’s sophomore status doesn’t appear to be a huge concern (no freshman or sophomore has ever won the award).
“Class has been a big issue in the past, but this could be the year when an underclassman finally breaks through,” said the voter. “I voted for Adrian Peterson as a freshman, so class doesn’t influence me. Voters are set in their ways, but if Tim Tebow leads Florida back to the national title game you have to vote for him. He’s a one-man offensive machine.”
Heismanpundit.com is conducting a Heisman straw poll each week during the college football season. The idea is to get a good sense of voter sentiment as the season progresses. There are 10 Heisman voters canvassed from across the various Heisman voting regions and they vote for five players each week. The tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, three points for a third-place vote and so on.
In a unique feature to the poll, a Heisman Trophy winner’s vote will be added to the total each week. This week’s poll (Sept. 26) includes the vote of 2000 winner Chris Weinke of Florida State.
This week’s poll results, with total points and first-place votes in parentheses:
1. Darren McFadden, Arkansas, 46 (6)
2. Tim Tebow, Florida, 34 (3)
3. Pat White, West Virginia, 14
4. John David Booty, USC, 12
5. Andre Woodson, Kentucky, 11, (1)
6. Mike Hart, Michigan, 10
7. Steve Slaton, West Virginia, 6
8. Dennis Dixon, Oregon, 4
Colt Brennan, Hawaii, 4
10. Colt McCoy, Texas, 3
Others receiving votes: Ray Rice, Rutgers; Matt Ryan, Boston College; Glenn Dorsey, LSU; Percy Harvin, Florida.
The Heismanpundit.com Straw Poll Heisman voters
Tom Dienhart (The Sporting News)
Austin Murphy (Sports Illustrated)
Stewart Mandel (Sports Illustrated)
B.J. Schecter (Sports Illustrated)
Olin Buchanan ( Rivals.com)
Neal McCready (Mobile Register Guard)
Ted Lewis (New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Dick Weiss (New York Daily News)
J.B. Morris, ESPN.com
Sept. 26 Heisman Voter: Chris Weinke, 2000 winner, Florida State
Sept. 6 Heisman Voter: Matt Leinart, 2004 winner, USC
Aug. 31 Heisman Voter: Eddie George, 1995 winner, Ohio State
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