The final HeismanPundit.com Heisman Poll of the season is in and Alabama running back Mark Ingram is the leader following his 113-yard rushing performance against No. 1 Florida in the SEC title game.
Ingram grabbed four first-place votes and totaled 46 points to retake the top spot back from Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.
“I moved Ingram to the top of my ballot around mid-season, and nothing has made me change my mind,” said one voter. “What he did Saturday against a quality Florida defense was my final validation.”
The vote by the weekly panel of 13 Heisman voters was hardly a slam dunk for the sophomore running back, however, and the race appears to be very muddled going into Saturday’s Heisman ceremony. Stanford’s Toby Gerhart (43 points, 2 first-place votes), Texas’ McCoy (36 points, 1 first-place vote) and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh (36 points, 4 first-place votes) all garnered significant support. A total of six different players received first-place votes, tying the poll’s season high.
Voter commentary reflected the split:
“It’s long past time Heisman voters abandon their traditional, restrictive criteria and award the “most outstanding player,” regardless of position. Suh was hands down the most dominant player in the country on either side of the ball, and his performance in the Big 12 title game firmly solidified his stature. ”
“C.J. Spiller may be more exciting and Toby Gerhart more punishing, but no running back has been more effective against a tougher schedule than Ingram.”
“Golden Tate is as outstanding as he is underrated. Why he isn’t getting more Heisman love is beyond me. He should not be penalized because his team stunk.”
“Toby Gerhart was consistently excellent this season. He never had a bad game. Stanford’s four losses or his lack of playing on the final weekend should not be held against him.”
Since ultimately you can’t take a cash advance to buy more votes, some sort of history is sure to be made on Saturday. Ingram could become Alabama’s first Heisman winner or runner up, while McCoy could become the first Heisman runner up to come back and win the award since Herschel Walker did it in 1982. Meanwhile, Gerhart would be the first non-USC winner from the Pac-10 since 1970 and Suh would be the first pure defensive player to win.
About the Poll
The HeismanPundit.com Heisman Poll is made up of 13 Heisman voters from across the country. They vote for five players each week. Tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points awarded for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote and so on. Last year’s final Heismanpundit poll was the most accurate in the country, picking five of the top six finishers in the Heisman vote, including the winner.
Members of the panel include: Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, Teddy Greenstein and Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune, Olin Buchanan and Tom Dienhart of Rivals.com, Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman, Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com, J.B. Morris of ESPN the Magazine, Austin Murphy, B.J. Schecter and Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, plus Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News.
Chris Huston of HeismanPundit.com coordinates and also votes in the poll.
The Final HeismanPundit.com Heisman Poll, 12/7/09
Total points, with first place votes in parantheses
1. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama–46 (4)
2. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford–43 (2)
3. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas–36 (1)
Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska–36 (4)
5. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State–11 (1)
6. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida–7
C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson–7
8. Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame–5 (1)
9. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon–2
10. Case Keenum, QB, Houston–1
Jeremiah Masoli, QB, Oregon–1
Your voters are west coast biased idiots..spiller is easily best RB in country and will be number one all purpose yards leader in history of NCAA after his last game with over 7600 yards.. Suck on that retards
Nice and a little surprising to see Suh getting serious love. Looks like he’ll fall a little short, shame he didn’t have another week or so to build the hype.
Hey AJ,
How did Spiller do against South Carolina again?
How did Ingram do against that same defense?
Both are great backs, but Gerhart was the best this season. Nobody stopped him all year. Say “west coast bias” all you want; did you ever see him play?
From your vote HP; it looks like this is going to be one really tight race.
Mark Ingram had over 200 yards against South Carolina, AJ. What is your point? Yeah I saw Gerhart play a lot of games this year, and I think he’s great. However, he is on a team that was never competing for any kind of a title.
Don’t even compare Clemson o line to clemsons..spiller got a
kick return
for a td
that
game..spiller got snubbed from NYC..spiller is easily one of the
5 best players in the country..spiller is only player in 5 years to get over 100 rushing against TCU..not even Adrian Peterson could do it
Ingram should definitely win this thing. Gerhart looked strong against much weaker defenses. It’s fact that the SEC, week in and week out, has much more stiff run defenses than any other conference. Ask CJ Spiller how he did against South Carolina. Ingram went for 250 yards and willed Bama to a victory in that game almost by himself. Gerhart is a good RB, no one is disputing that…he’s the best in the Pac 10. But he didn’t play nearly the defenses Ingram did. I don’t care where Arizona St or whoever is ranked in run defense…those stats don’t mean much. If you play a bunch of passing offenses, your “run defense” is obviously going to look better. Besides, if Gerhart never had a bad game, then good grief, they STILL lost 4 games???? I’m sorry…players on 4 loss teams don’t deserve the Heisman. I’m not saying a team has to go undefeated, but come on. As for McCoy…after what he did on Saturday, he should be about 4th at best. He’s stunk it up against the two good defenses he faced all season. Case closed. I don’t care what kind of stats he put up against weak sister defenses. Bama could have let Ingram get 2,000 yards rushing this season if they didn’t rotate him and take him out of the games against weaker teams. Ingram did it in the “big” games and he deserves the award.
1. Ingram
2. Gerhart
3. Suh
4. Tebow
5. McCoy
So Ingram does absolutely nothing against Auburn, but because he performed well the next week he is all of a sudden leading?
The Heisman is a joke.
Seriously there should be 2 candidates for this…Gerhart and Ingram….Personally I think if Ingram had the extra 52 Carries he would be just as close to Gerharts stats, however he would have done it against much stronger schools. Also Ingrams playtime is split with Trent Richardson, another thing to consider. Suh is a great player but I mean come on folks the highest ranked team he played and won against was Oklahoma at #20. They lost to Vtech and the only other ranked game they played was against Missouri, if he had a stronger schedule to play against with the same stats i would give it to him but that schedule is horrible.
Ingram FTW!!!!
5. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State–11 (1) hmm how come his name was on there..there isn’t a quarterback that can touch his stats..and certianly not tim tebow..he is a loser
““I moved Ingram to the top of my ballot around mid-season, and nothing has made me change my mind,” said one voter. “What he did Saturday against a quality Florida defense was my final validation.””
Nice to see when he did nothing against Auburn the voters didn’t care, talk about a joke.
Suh is a great player but I mean come on folks the highest ranked team he played and won against was Oklahoma at #20.
Nick, you should do your homework before you start spouting off stats or rankings. NU played and won against three ranked opponents. I am not saying that NU is a powerhouse, however, Suh should be in New York. The Heisman is for the best athlete in the country, and Suh is one of the top five in the entire country. You talk about schedule strength to back up you opinion, what was Stanfords strength of schedule? I bet it is lower than 47. Suh played in a much tougher conference and deserves all the recognition he is getting. Gerhart will probably finish third in the voting and Ingram will probably win it, and any one of the five that were invited, deserve to be there.
If this award is given to a QB again this year it has become a joke.
SERIOUSLY!!!!!! THIS AWARD IS FOR THE BEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR…..WHO CARES ABOUT THEIR CAREER……..THE MOST DOMINATE PERFORMER OF THE YEAR IS SUH HE SINGLEHANDEDLY CHANGED THE OUTCOME OF GAMES….COLT MCCOY WAS ONLY SACKED 4 TIMES ALL YEAR BEFORE THAT GAME HE DOMINATED EVERY GAME HE WAS DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAMED AT TIMES AND STILL GOT SACKS AND TFL’S….I AM SICK OF QBS WINNING THE AWARD THAT IS WHY THERE IS AWARDS FOR EACH POSITION ALL PEOPLE WHO VOTE FOR THE HEISMAN WINNER NEED TO LOOK AT BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL…..SUH DOMINATES TEAMS BY HIMSELF SO PLEASE ALL VOTERS DO THE RIGHT THING AND PICK THE NATIONS BEST FOOTBALL PLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Ingram had ONE sub-par game against auburn. Considering the guy ran a gauntlet of defenses that would make Gerhart and McCoy piss in their pants, I think he more than made up for that on Saturday against the nation’s #1 defense. The posters that keep bringing up the auburn game for Ingram are probably auburn fans scared to death that he might win the award.
Big 12 aint tougher than the Pac Ten. The broad field of Morons populating America and this site is endless. I’d lay money against TEXAS beating any of the top 5 teams in the Pac TEN. You facking dumb arse southerners have been inbreeding for way too long.
Colleagues -
I’ve watched Ingram and Gerhardt. What does Ingram do that makes him special? When Saban was asked if he deserved the Heisman all Saban could say is “he is one of the best players on our team.” What!?!? Your coach won’t even back you? Truth is that Richardson is a better RB, easily. He was getting most of the carries against Auburn before Ingram had a “hip pointer”, what does that tell you?
And the 113 against Florida without their best defensive player? Big deal. What plays for Ingram stand out in your mind? Yes, he can run through holes, but what does he bring that other backs can’t?
And as far as running against good defenses, tell me which ones in the SEC have (or had) Top 20 run defenses.
Have you heard ANY NFL scouts talking about Ingram? Yes, the Heisman is about college, but normally the NFLers will say something either positive (Gerhardt) or negative (Tebow). Ingram is like a non-entity. Too bad he does not have another year in school.
If ESPN were on the West Coast Gerhart would win hands down. Sadly it isnt and he won’t. Another season of brainwashing by ESPN/ABC has taught us to worship Tebow and McCoy and SEC “defenses”. And, yes, again we are looking at another prearranged Championship Game with schools like TCU and Boise Sent off to the beautifully decorated Kids Table. What a crappy joke this all is. Driven entirely by money. The Nissan Heisman and the Doc Johnson National Championship Game…….A playoff would be nice.
ingram is the best player in the nation on the best team in the nation….and is going to be the first heisman winner at bama. Colt McCoy and Texas had better be ready. Nebraska’s defense isn’t even comparable to what bama has. Our D has ballers at every position. Bama by 20 and roll tide roll!!!!!!!
eugene,
Regarding Ingram not having another year left in school, I respectfully submit the following:
http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/ingram_mark00.html
As you will see, Ingram is a Sophomore, meaning he has one year minimum left.
Suh is by far the best player in college football. 4.5 sacks against a team playing for the national championship is just the tip of the iceberg. A defensive player hasn’t been up since 1997 when Michigan split the title with non other than NE. The award is for the best and most impactful player – SUH. I am so tired of people thinking that offense is the only way to go. Suh for Heisman!
stiffarm has Gerhart and Ingram as 1-2 based on Heisman voter exit polling.
Here’s a what if for you – Bama vs. Texas last Saturday… Any thoughts on who would have ended up on the BBQ with they line-up.
Have to think the best BCS game would have been TCU/Bama.
Come on. Colt is the winning-est QB in CFB. He’s a Sr, plays for Texas, and beat OU this year. Of course he deserves the Heisman!
Why is Tebow there? To give the invocation?
Sorry, Timmy. Jesus doesn’t have a vote.
I watched Gerhart personally control the cadence and outcome of the UCLA-Stanford game earlier this season when I visited Stanford. As a USC fan, I have no allegiance to Stanford, and I’ve kept a close eye on other other Heisman candidates all season, but Gerhart is unequivocally the best player in the nation this season and should be rewarded accordingly.
Not a believer? Consider his 2009 stats:
311 attempts, 1,736 yards, 26 TDs
Find me another player in the nation who can boast a year even half as impressive as this one.
Gerhart for Heisman 2009.
I wanted to see Freddie Barnes (Bowling Green State University) finalist for the Fred Beleitnikof get a vote for the Heisman award. I personally attended 4 games and saw him actually be the difference in changing the fate of several games. Including touchdown catches in the last seconds of a few games. well lets see how it turns out , will they pick the best player or the most popular player. Thanks, Paul Miles-Hall of Fame BGSU-class of 74, 3rd player in NCAA history to get 3-1000 consecutive seasons when freshman weren’t eligible.
Toby Gerhart should win this award. Ingram is not even close to the power and determination that Gerhart displays.
tebow hands down, has had his best games this year against FIU, Charleston Southern, Troy, Florida St. etc. Tim Tebow is the best play in the whole wide world this year…. God bless
(for real though, it should be Gerhart)
I really think Colt wins it. With a list that is up for so much debate, I think it goes to the senior who is a proven winner, and runner up last year…plus, playing in the National Championship game is a plus.
That is not a knock on the other guys, so no flaming. I am not a Texas fan, (Oregon), but if I had a vote, it would go to Colt. Fine young man who should have won it last year.
You Texas people are idiots! McCoy shouldn’t have even been invited to New York. Neither should have Tebow. They are both terrible. McCoy throws 3 yard passes. It’s easy to be accurate if you’re basically handing the ball off. I think Suh is the most deserving, but if Ingram or Gerhart win I have no problem with that. All had great years. Tebow and McCoy did not. And about McCoy deserving it last year??? Bradford had one of the best seasons ever for a QB! McCoy is average at best.
What is interesting is that so many people think that Stanford doesn’t play the equal in competition that Texas, Alabama, or Florida do.
What do we call Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Cal(my school), Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington State, Washington,etc.?
Toby Gerhart, week in and week out, displayed skills, leadership, and statistics this year above all the other contenders.
you people with your facts and stats are as dumb as people who compare mutual opponents. half of them are wrong and the fact of the matter is that EVERY one of these candidates has AT LEAST ONE stat that is better than another candidate. so if you’re gonna post, at least make it intelligent. and yes, i’m a BAMA fan and yes, INGRAM WILL WIN IT even though I dont want him to. ALABAMA is/was/will always be a TEAM! And the NUMBER ONE TEAM at that!
Example of Team: Auburn puts 15 defenders on our Heisman candidate EVERY PLAY so we simply put in the backup and he runs all over them.
Example #2: Check the all conference first team and you will find SEVEN (7) yes, SEVEN first teamers. THAT is the stat I’M proud of as a Bama fan.
Those are stats that matter.
ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!
P.S. from the Land of Defense
SUH, YOU’RE A FUGGIN MONSTER!
Y’ALL SHOULDA WON THAT ONE!
I’m Out
I dont know why you guys dont like McCoy. He followed, and topped, the best athlete to ever play college football in Vince Young. Winningest QB in NCAA history not to mention the screwing he took last year. MC COy should have a Heisman and a National Championship at days end.
Well, Brandon, Toby Gerhart is better on every stat than Mark Ingram, including the quality of the education he is receiving.
If you want to see what puts Ingram ahead of other running backs check out his yards after contact. The number is between 650 and 700 yards. He is a very special back and deserves the Heisman. He runs the ball with pure heart. I can think of 2 players for Alabama that deserve the trophy more than 2 of the canidates listed.
hey idiot um i mean bruce go check ur stats buddy you are simply flat out wrong and thats all i’m sayin to ur D*** A**. The kids good but not better than Ingram and like I said I dont even want him to win it. Oh and by the way looks like ol’ TIGER got a great education . . . dip sh*t
Brandon, I think YOU should check your stats regarding yards and TDs.
Well folks, they’re all good players. I would love to see Ingram win it, but who ever does, deserves it. Sure is a lot of ill-mannered, child-like words coming from those keyboards. What ever happened to sportsmanship and courtesy? As a Tide fan I think Tebow has done more for his Gators than anyone has for their team. All of these players merit our respect. Roll Tide.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN’T R’TARDS:
Ingram averages 6.2 yds each time he touches the ball compared to Gerhart’s 5.6.
Also, of Mark Ingram’s 1,542 yds rushing this season, 1,002 came after contact, 64.98%.
RMFT
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN’T R’TARDS:
Ingram averages 6.2 yds each time he touches the ball compared to Gerhart’s 5.6.
Also, of Mark Ingram’s 1,542 yds rushing this season, 1,002 came after contact, 64.98%.
RMFT
I feel your RMFT Mike, and screamed it often during the SEC Championship Game. Like Tommy Lewis said all those years ago, “I’m so just full of Alabama.” McElroy sounded like that after the game. I love Ingram and would be crazy not to want him to win, but our whole season was about getting back to Atlanta and beating Tebow. We did. I still want Mark to win, but I have a lot of respect for Tebow, and I’m glad he’s gone!!! Roll Tide.
Gerhart had many more yards and many more TDs than Ingram. He threw for one TD. Gerhart is a more versatile player than Ingram. Gerhart is the catalyst of Stanford’s team. He was the leader of the Stanford team. Stanford’s schedule was more difficult than Alabama’s schedule.
249 carries for 1542 yds VS 311 1736 yds.
OK, here’s a math lesson.
311-249=62
YPC=6.2
62*6.2=384.4
—–>1542+384.4=1926.4
*didn’t happen, but it is interesting.
BRUCE WOULD BE ONE OF THE R’TARDS I WAS REFERRING TO EARLIER….”STANFORD’S SCHEDULE WAS MORE DIFFICULT THAN ALABAMA’S SCHEDULE???”
THAT MUST EXPLAIN WHY THEY LOST TO 5-7 WAKE FOREST, 8-4 OREGON STATE, 8-4 ARIZONA, AND 8-4 CAL.
suck it b**ch, i mean bruce…
If ever there was a little man, it was you little Mikie.
Gerhart had the better numbers, Ingram did not. Projections and hypothesizing are not reality. The reality is Gerhart was better this year than Ingram.
If Alabama had to play Oregon or Oregon State, etc.,
rather than Chattanooga or FIU or Mississippi, etc., we would see them with a few losses. The BCS game this year is a joke. Both teams are subpar compared to teams in previous years. Come play in the PAC-10, which is a real conference.
Not only is Ingram not the best player in the country, he’s not even the best running back nor is he the best player on his own team every week. Ingram winning will prove that nothing has changed about the Heisman voting and it all depends on hype and publicity and not performance on the field. The award should go to Suh, Gerhart or Spiller.
HAHAHAHA…
REALLY? YEAH, JUST THROW OUT THE QB OUT IN THE STREET WITH THE MOST WINS EVER IN THE SPORT? MCCOY FOR HEISMAN. FUCK THE HATERS
All u bama fans are idiots. Stats is what its all about. Your boy ingram had 5 games under 100yds and 9 where he scored only 0-1 td. And not to mention 3 games where he wasn’t even the leading rusher on his team. And about those second defenses only one ingram faced was ranked better than 40th. Avg. Was 78 compared to gerharts avg 58. And tht doesn’t include chatt since there are D2. Mark ingram isn’t a hesiman. If he wins he will have the least amount of yards for any heisman rb
Yes, Anonymous (is that Alcoholics Anonymous?)I am an idiot. I made the mistake of saying that all of the players are deserving and good. To a person using abolutes like “all Alabama fans”, you not interested in what someone is saying, only in what you are thinking. You are the type that makes adults remember grade school.
Gunny, I was mainly taliking about brandon. Sorry if I included u in tht comment but I live in alabama and have to put up with ignorant fans everyday. Most bama fans are just tht bama fans not football fans if they have a descent season then god almighty they are the greatest. The bear bryant days are over.