From a Voter

By on December 1, 2009 in General CFB

“I’ve been going back and forth all season trying to sort out who is the most outstanding player.  I look at it this way:  If you take that player away from his team, how would that team do?  To me, Florida has more athletes and more weapons than Texas, so if you take McCoy out of that mix, there’s no way Texas comes close to playing for the title.  You can say something similiar with Tebow, but I think the Gators still probably could get it done since John Brantley appears to be such a capable backup.  To me, this all signifies someone who is truly outstanding.  So, right now, it’s McCoy by the slimmest hair over Tebow on my ballot.  But I’m going to remember what Gerhart did against Notre Dame, too.  I’m going to weigh that against Tebow and McCoy’s games on Saturday.” — a Heisman voter

About Heismanpundit

Chris Huston, A.K.A. ‘The Heisman Pundit‘, is a Heisman voter and the creator and publisher of Heismanpundit.com, a site dedicated to analysis of the Heisman Trophy and college football. Dubbed “the foremost authority on the Heisman” by Sports Illustrated, HP is regularly quoted or cited during football season in newspapers across the country. He is also a regular contributor on sports talk radio and television.
View all posts by Heismanpundit →

23 Responses to From a Voter

  1. Anonymous December 1, 2009 at 12:50 pm #

    Which region is this voter from?

    Reply
  2. Anonymous December 1, 2009 at 12:55 pm #

    By that argument, if you take Toby away from Stanford, they win 4 games instead of 8. Texas might lose one or two games without McCoy, Florida maybe one without Tebow (then again they should’ve lost a couple already, too bad refs can’t win Heismans!).

    Reply
  3. Floridan December 1, 2009 at 1:05 pm #

    This person does not deserve a ballot.

    Reply
  4. Ed December 1, 2009 at 1:15 pm #

    Ndamukong Suh has single handedly taken over games for Nebraska. He is the heart and soul of a defense that has carried the team.

    In addition, he’s the BEST FOOTBALL PLAYER IN THE NATION.

    Reply
  5. sandymex December 1, 2009 at 2:30 pm #

    Very glad to see a candidate with enough common sense to wait for the biggest games of the year. In games where the margin is less than 10:
    Tebow: 5-0
    Ingram: 4-0
    McCoy: 3-0
    Gerhart: 3-4

    Gerhart is the only one who hasn’t proven himself to be much of a difference-maker in the bottom line. McCoy still needs to prove he can win the big game since he’s failed in 3 previous years to win a conference or national championship. It would also help McCoy to have at least one decent game against a top 25 defense.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous December 1, 2009 at 3:04 pm #

    What an idiotic stat. All it shows is that Stanford has lost 4 games while the other teams haven’t. It says nothing about those individuals contributions to the wins or losses. If Toby had the defense of Texas, Alabama, or Florida, this would not be a competition.

    Also, something tells me if those other programs played as tough a schedule as Stanford they wouldn’t all be undefeated. Per Sagarin, Stanford’s SOS is #16, compared to 49 (Texas), 39 (Florida), and 27 (Alabama).

    tobyforheisman.blogspot.com

    Reply
  7. slippy December 1, 2009 at 4:19 pm #

    I thought the Heisman was for most outstanding player? This voter’s thoughts seem like he’s voting for most valuable. Many times they are one in the same, but not always.

    Reply
  8. Anonymous December 1, 2009 at 5:38 pm #

    Without Colt, Texas loses 5-6 games (/cough Oklahoma /cough).

    Reply
  9. Anonymous December 1, 2009 at 5:38 pm #

    I meant to put Bradford there instead of Oklahoma, oh well.

    Reply
  10. Roby December 1, 2009 at 5:53 pm #

    I get the logic of the “how much do they mean to their team” argument. But I think it is a bit silly to penalize Tebow for having an excellent backup. Even with Brantley there, it is tough to argue that any player is more valuable than Tebow. Gerhart has been really great, but I can’t see voters overlooking Stanford’s 4 losses. (Save the “Tebow won with 4 losses argument.” It is fallacious. He had 3 losses at the time of the vote, and his 20/20 TD numbers were historic.)

    And why does this voter not deserve a ballot? He has a set rationale for his voting method. It is not like there is an actual rubric to follow when grading Heisman prospects (unless you wanna count the Heismandments). At least he has some semblance of logic to his vote rather than just blindly voting the QB of the #1 team.

    The vote is between Tebow and McCoy, and I have no problem with that. There were a few deserving candidates, and regardless of what haters want to say, these two gentlemen are among them. Most wins in D-1 as a starting QB (including 12 this year). That is impressive. Most TDs in SEC history (and 22 straight wins). Impressive as well. I’m glad I don’t have a vote because you could construct an valid argument for either candidate.

    Reply
  11. Adam December 1, 2009 at 6:21 pm #

    Toby is cute but seriously the PAC 10 D is not good. He is a slow white running back and these sad d’s are making him look good. Give the man a trip to NY but leave the hardware for the big boys…

    Reply
  12. Anonymous December 1, 2009 at 6:38 pm #

    Anonymous Toby Fan -

    If a candidate can’t help his team win close games it diminishes his achievements. A bad defense is a two-edged argument. It might cost you a win or two, but it gives you more opportunities to accumulate offensive stats. Thanks to Stanford’s poor defense, Gerhart has played far into every 4th quarter this year except San Jose St. The result? 90 more rushes than Ingram for 307 more yards (that’s 3.4 yards/carry).

    Last week, HP insisted that only Ingram and McCoy could possibly win and that everyone else should be counted out. Less than a week later, HP has contradicted himself by saying only McCoy and Gerhart could possibly win. I think all four could win, but Gerhart has no more opportunities to prove himself while the others are on undefeated teams, and still have to play championship games against their toughest opponent of the year.

    Most would agree that any candidate that loses this week will not win the Heisman. If being 12-1 would be the end for McCoy, Tebow or Ingram, shouldn’t being 8-4 and not even playing this week hurt Gerhart’s chances?

    Sagarin top 50 wins or games remaining:
    Alabama….#1, 8, 10, 15, 24, 26, 29, 34, 44
    Florida….#2, 10, 15, 26, 28, 34, 37, 41, 44
    Stanford…#5, 11, 42, 48, 50
    Texas…..#23, 25, 30, 31, 46

    Reply
  13. wbond December 1, 2009 at 7:16 pm #

    Everyone should look at the tobyforheisman.blogspot.com blog referenced above.

    It is: cogent, clearly reasoned, and self-evidently correct.

    Reply
  14. Anonymous December 2, 2009 at 1:06 am #

    If you break down the rush defenses of the pac 10 and the SEC, it is evident that the rush defenses are much better in the pac 10. How can it be a conference of bad D?

    Reply
  15. Geoff December 2, 2009 at 1:17 am #

    Haha, I love the Colt-bashing…I guess the 45 school records, 4 NCAA records, and 12 National Awards are all just bogus…lol, some of you are pathetic!!

    Make your case for your favorite candidate, but to say any of these players are anything less than great is just naive.

    Sandymex’s comment – “McCoy still needs to prove he can win the big game since he’s failed in 3 previous years to win a conference or national championship.” – ummm yeaaa, its kind of hard to win national or conference championships when you’ve never been to one! Instead, McCoy has won every post-season match-up he’s played in.

    Reply
  16. Anonymous December 2, 2009 at 4:45 am #

    well, I would like to see more stats that include passing defense too. See, if pac-10 teams score fast on poor defenses, It forces the other team to pass and not run.ie USC of the past….therefore at the end of the game (in this example) USC winds up with a stout run defense; Wow, we gave up 80 yds rushing…looks great on paper, but the other team could not afford to run…..these stats really don’t take each game scenario into account.

    Reply
  17. Anonymous December 2, 2009 at 5:31 am #

    I hardly think you can blame Toby for the losses… In the Wake game, a phanton clipping call cost Toby a 35 yard run that iced the game in the 4th quarter. Instead, Stanford had to punt (it would have been first and goal) and Wake marched down and scored to win the game. Toby would have gone over 100 in that game too. Against Oregon State, Stanford was playing from behind in most of the game – down 31-7 at halftime, meaning Toby didn’t get many carries. Against Arizona, on 4th and 1 inside the 10, Harbaugh threw the ball instead of giving to Toby, for reasons NO ONE understands. And again against Cal, on 1 and 10 at the 13, with 1:45 to go, he again put the game on his Frosh QB instead of giving it to Toby to win the game… Honestly 3 of 4 losses could have been avoided, and 2 surely would have been avoided if Toby had been more involved, but a young coach who thinks with his heart not his head got in his way.

    Toby’s numbers speak volumes, he has put up huge numbers against some solid defenses. Stanford is outmatched athletically in most games, but with Toby’s will/heart/drive, a team with a Frosh QB, a young O-Line, and a suspect Defense, has gone from 1-11 to 8-4 in just 3 seasons. The reason is simple: Toby Gerhart, the Nation’s Most Outstanding Football Player in 2009.

    Reply
  18. sandymex December 2, 2009 at 8:14 am #

    Geoff said -
    “…its kind of hard to win national or conference championships when you’ve never been to one!”

    I don’t think this is a selling point for McCoy. Here are games that would have won the division for Texas:
    In 2006 Texas was poised to win the division and McCoy threw three INTs against Texas A&M in the last game. The worst was at the A&M 1 yard line in the 12-7 loss.
    In 2007 Oklahoma scored to make it 28-21 and McCoy responded by throwing an interception at the Oklahoma 28 and Texas never came close to scoring again.
    In 2008 McCoy threw a pick 6 against Texas Tech that was the difference in the game.
    In 2009? McCoy could be Texas toast if he fails against Nebraska or plays poorly in a win.

    Reply
  19. Al December 2, 2009 at 11:50 am #

    If you took Gerhart out of Stanford they would be lucky to win half of their games. It will be a shame if he does not win it all.

    Reply
  20. Dustin December 2, 2009 at 2:51 pm #

    So Tebow is penalized because he has a good backup? This has got to be one of the dumbest methods of deciding who to vote for. No wonder Bradford won last year. The voters do not have brains.

    Reply
  21. Anonymous December 3, 2009 at 1:34 pm #

    This is an extremely flawed way of looking at things.. great players make the players around them look great.. why doesn’t McCoy? Do you think Scottie Pippen would have looked as good as he did without Jordan around? Tebow draws so much defensive pressure from opposing defenses it makes all the players around him much more explosive. Also, imagine if Tebow was playing on Texas. Tebow would put up numbers against those BIG12 defenses that no one in history would ever come close to matching.

    Reply
  22. Anonymous December 3, 2009 at 1:36 pm #

    SEC voters need to remember how the BIG12 voters left Tebow off their ballots last season. They should do the same to Colt too.. the story in college football the last few years has been the SEC.. not the BIG12.. the same is true this year.

    Reply
  23. DannyAdelante December 12, 2009 at 8:33 am #

    How many games do Stanford win without Gerhart? How many would Nebraska win without Suh? Clemson without Spiller?
    Heck, even Washington without Jake Locker?
    If you’re going to go that route, include every team, not just the yeams with last year’s heisman finalists.

    I don’t think Gilbert is that bad. He’s the 2008 High School player of the year and he’s been decent when he’s actually had a chance to play. No different than McCoy in my opinion.

    Reply

Leave a Reply