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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Weinke should be the next Heisman winner
By Gary Danielson
Special to BCSfootball.com
Respond to Gary's rankings.
Each Monday, ABC college football analyst Gary Danielson breaks down the top quarterbacks in the country and how the Heisman race shapes up. This week, he presents how he voted on his Heisman ballot.
The election results are in, and I was correct in all counts. Everyone should have waited until after the Big XII Championship Game to vote for the Heisman.
There were a number of people who could have won it. Michael Vick was the leader going into the season. Injured ankle or not, I didn't think he was going to win it. He did not have the numbers to do it. He got injured at the wrong time, and because of it, he was the first one to fall.
Next was Drew Brees. He carried it for a while. When he became the leader, he dodged Michigan, barely dodged Ohio State, but fell apart at Michigan State. It was a great year and a great career for Drew, but not enough to win the Heisman.
It then became Josh Heupel's to lose. His team followed all the criteria. He came from nowhere, and he won games. I knew his statistics wouldn't have mattered if he kept winning games. But, when he took center stage and all eyes were on him, he threw more interceptions than touchdown passes in each of his last four games. His team -- as much as Josh -- saved Oklahoma's undefeated season. Josh had a tremendous year, but not enough to come from nowhere to win the Heisman Trophy.
At one point, I would have said Eric Crouch had a shot at it, but Nebraska didn't have the team nor did Eric have the season to demand that attention.
Some people also want to talk about LaDainian Tomlinson's 2,158 rushing yards. This prestigious award should go to someone who plays top-notch competition. Brees, Vick, Heupel, Chris Weinke, Marques Tuiasosopo, Crouch and Vick all played big-time schedules. LaDainian might be a great professional -- I have no idea. But TCU does not play big-time college football.
|  | | Chris Weinke led the nation in passing yards and finished second with 33 TD passes. |
So it falls to Chris Weinke.
By no means is he a bad winner. In every measurement that I follow for the Heisman, he stands out. In his career, he took Florida State to three straight national championship games. Statistically, he is the best that ever played at Florida State.
And this year, he threw for more than 4,100 yards and took FSU to another shot at the national championship.
Weinke should be a landslide winner. In every aspect, he should win the Heisman.
I cast my vote this way:
1. Chris Weinke, Florida State
Season stats: 266-431-4166, 33 TD, 11 int.; rush: 30-(-97), 1 TD
2. Josh Heupel, Oklahoma
Season stats: 280-433-3392, 20 TD, 14 int.; rush: 70-144, 7 TD
3. Drew Brees, Purdue
Season stats: 286-473-3393, 24 TD, 12 int.; rush: 91-546, 5 TD; rec: 2-6, 1 TD
Chris came from behind to win this. Before the season, I predicted he would win because he had the best team, and he performed. But in the voters' minds, other people had to lose it for Chris to win it.
Congratulations to all of them. It was a great year. Next year, I will have to start looking at other positions.
Gary Danielson writes a column every Monday for BCSfootball.com
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