HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
CFN.com
1. He lost the battle, but ... Part 1
By Pete Fiutak
Hook up each and every Heisman voter to a lie detector and ask who’s “the most outstanding college football player in the United States for 2009,” and see how that syncs up with how the voting finally comes out.
I’ve always viewed the Heisman, the greatest individual award in all of sports, as an honor that belongs to the signature player in a given college football season. That doesn’t necessarily mean it should go to the best player or the most talented player; that’s what the NFL Draft is for. It should go to the one player who defines a season to such a degree that we will all look back on that year and say that he was the guy (or at least as much as the voters possibly can before the bowl games). In lieu of one player who might be the one who makes the year, then yeah, the Heisman Trophy really should go to the guy who really was the best of the bunch.
The most outstanding college football player in the United States for 2009 is Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle, Nebraska.
Alabama RB Mark Ingram will win it, although I’m not quite sure why, outside of the voters thinking they're supposed to vote for him. It’s debatable whether or not he’s the best player on his own team, and while his numbers are great, they aren’t better than Stanford’s Toby Gerhart (my No. 2 choice on the ballot), and he didn’t have to carry his team like Gerhart did.
Ingram was strong against Florida in the SEC Championship, but as that game proved, it’s not like the Tide running game was going to whither up and die without him. Ingram averaged four yards per carry on the way to a great 113-yard, three-touchdown, 76-receiving-yard day, but Trent Richardson (7.3 yards per carry) and Roy Upchurch (8.1 yards per carry) were every bit as effective. But I don’t want to make this an anti-Ingram debate in any way; I voted him third on my ballot considering he was so amazing in the biggest games of the year … except for the close-call against Auburn. Gerhart was consistently better, while Suh was consistently unbelievable.
In case you didn’t get the memo, the Nebraska offense stinks. The great Longhorn D had a lot to do with that, but the Huskers really are that sad offensively, and yet they came within a microsecond and a 46-yard bomb of a field goal from winning the Big 12 title and going to the Fiesta Bowl, because of Suh and the defensive front.
America got turned on to Suh’s greatness on Saturday night as he ragdolled the Texas offensive front with 12 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks in what has to go down as one of the greatest individual defensive performances of all-time. But while he was spectacular when the team needed him the most, it wasn’t like this was a shock, making him and his season all the more incredible.
Despite being doubled and triple teamed on every play all season long, Suh managed to lead the team with 82 tackles with 12 sacks, and 19.5 tackles for loss. He also broke up ten passes (and is the only down lineman in America ranking among the top 100 nationally), came up with 21 quarterback hurries, and blocked three kicks, with two coming against Iowa State to keep Nebraska’s dead offense alive. To put this in perspective, Florida LB Brandon Spikes made 62 tackles on the year, and TCU pass rushing extraordinaire, Jerry Hughes, made 11.5 sacks.
It’s time for a pure defensive player to win the Heisman. While Suh plays a little fullback in short-yardage situations, this isn’t a Charles Woodson situation. The former Michigan star should’ve won the 1997 Heisman just because of his defensive play, but he beat Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf, Ricky Williams, and Randy Moss because he was a strong receiver and a punt returner, too. Now it’ll be interesting to see how many of those who wrote the “Suh should be a finalist” articles actually voted him as the most outstanding player this year, and if they didn’t, they need to make a case why not. If they didn't, they'll regret it.
1. He lost the battle, but ... Part 1
By Pete Fiutak
Hook up each and every Heisman voter to a lie detector and ask who’s “the most outstanding college football player in the United States for 2009,” and see how that syncs up with how the voting finally comes out.
I’ve always viewed the Heisman, the greatest individual award in all of sports, as an honor that belongs to the signature player in a given college football season. That doesn’t necessarily mean it should go to the best player or the most talented player; that’s what the NFL Draft is for. It should go to the one player who defines a season to such a degree that we will all look back on that year and say that he was the guy (or at least as much as the voters possibly can before the bowl games). In lieu of one player who might be the one who makes the year, then yeah, the Heisman Trophy really should go to the guy who really was the best of the bunch.
The most outstanding college football player in the United States for 2009 is Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle, Nebraska.
Alabama RB Mark Ingram will win it, although I’m not quite sure why, outside of the voters thinking they're supposed to vote for him. It’s debatable whether or not he’s the best player on his own team, and while his numbers are great, they aren’t better than Stanford’s Toby Gerhart (my No. 2 choice on the ballot), and he didn’t have to carry his team like Gerhart did.
Ingram was strong against Florida in the SEC Championship, but as that game proved, it’s not like the Tide running game was going to whither up and die without him. Ingram averaged four yards per carry on the way to a great 113-yard, three-touchdown, 76-receiving-yard day, but Trent Richardson (7.3 yards per carry) and Roy Upchurch (8.1 yards per carry) were every bit as effective. But I don’t want to make this an anti-Ingram debate in any way; I voted him third on my ballot considering he was so amazing in the biggest games of the year … except for the close-call against Auburn. Gerhart was consistently better, while Suh was consistently unbelievable.
In case you didn’t get the memo, the Nebraska offense stinks. The great Longhorn D had a lot to do with that, but the Huskers really are that sad offensively, and yet they came within a microsecond and a 46-yard bomb of a field goal from winning the Big 12 title and going to the Fiesta Bowl, because of Suh and the defensive front.
America got turned on to Suh’s greatness on Saturday night as he ragdolled the Texas offensive front with 12 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks in what has to go down as one of the greatest individual defensive performances of all-time. But while he was spectacular when the team needed him the most, it wasn’t like this was a shock, making him and his season all the more incredible.
Despite being doubled and triple teamed on every play all season long, Suh managed to lead the team with 82 tackles with 12 sacks, and 19.5 tackles for loss. He also broke up ten passes (and is the only down lineman in America ranking among the top 100 nationally), came up with 21 quarterback hurries, and blocked three kicks, with two coming against Iowa State to keep Nebraska’s dead offense alive. To put this in perspective, Florida LB Brandon Spikes made 62 tackles on the year, and TCU pass rushing extraordinaire, Jerry Hughes, made 11.5 sacks.
It’s time for a pure defensive player to win the Heisman. While Suh plays a little fullback in short-yardage situations, this isn’t a Charles Woodson situation. The former Michigan star should’ve won the 1997 Heisman just because of his defensive play, but he beat Peyton Manning, Ryan Leaf, Ricky Williams, and Randy Moss because he was a strong receiver and a punt returner, too. Now it’ll be interesting to see how many of those who wrote the “Suh should be a finalist” articles actually voted him as the most outstanding player this year, and if they didn’t, they need to make a case why not. If they didn't, they'll regret it.
