With the first Heisman Trophy showdown behind us, the race for college football’s most prestigious award is starting to take shape. Top-ranked Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey separated himself from the pack as his Hurricanes thoroughly stomped No. 12 Florida and fellow hopeful Rex Grossman. Don’t expect too many more head-to-head showdowns the rest of the way.
Front-runners:
Ken Dorsey
senior quarterback, Miami
With a 41-16 win against then-No. 6 Florida, Dorsey rides the ’Canes’ success straight to the front of the line. Yes, his numbers (16-of-32 for 202 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions) weren’t unbelievably impressive. But the voters love winners, and he proved once again, against a tough Gator defense, that he knows how to win. Dorsey is now 24-of-45 for 312 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions on the season.
Byron Leftwich
senior quarterback, Marshall
Thursday night’s performance against No. 11 Virginia Tech was a little too late for print, but his performance is the determining factor of whether he trails Dorsey or claims the top spot for himself. Against Appalachian State, he debuted with 469 passing yards and four touchdowns. He also didn’t give up a pick while completing 65.9 percent of his throws. So yeah, it’s obvious he’ll take home the hardware if he can keep up those numbers. But what human can? Watch Leftwich closely, as the voters will be quick to jump off the bandwagon if he falters even once.
Cody Pickett
senior quarterback, Washington
That’s right, a Pac-10 quarterback. Don’t laugh, Pickett has completed 62.5 percent of his passes (50-of-80) for 665 passing yards as his No. 14 Huskies are looking like strong contenders for the conference title. Against San Jose State last Saturday, he threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns. On the season, he’s got five touchdown passes with just two picks. Perhaps his greatest challenge is convincing the voters to pay attention to Pac-10 football. Playing on the West Coast means he also plays later, and the voters have a track record of not staying up late.
MSU’s hope:
Charles Rogers
junior wide receiver, MSU
Rogers really helped out his cause last week against Rice, nabbing two touchdowns and 155 receiving yards. That gives the 6-foot-4, 205-pounder 293 receiving yards and three touchdowns on just 13 catches this season. A gaudy 22.5 yards per catch average combined with the No. 15 Spartans’ 2-0 record has put Rogers in serious contention. You can expect him to put up similar numbers against California this weekend, but he won’t start garnering national consideration until he puts up the numbers against a team such as No. 20 Notre Dame on Sept. 21.
Dark horse:
Onterrio Smith
senior tailback, Oregon
With Joey Harrington gone to the NFL, Smith is shouldering the burden in Eugene, Ore. And so far he’s getting the job done, as the Ducks are 2-0. Oregon barely defeated Fresno State 28-24 last Saturday, but it was Smith who tallied two 2-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to save the victory. He carried the ball 35 times for 124 yards in the game. On the season, he’s averaging 4 yards per carry (63 carries for 251 yards).
