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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Heisman race could end with a USC victory
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
Saturday's Heisman Trophy awards ceremony is going to make the last Presidential election results look like a landslide. There are so many worthy candidates and just one trophy.
Much has been written about this year's Heisman, after some of the preseason frontrunners stumbled along the way and left the door wide open for new names.
Out west, Washington State's Jason Gesser's campaign never got beyond the grain elevator sign erected in little Dusty, Wash. Part of the reason was WSU's loss to Ohio State in September when Gesser was overshadowed by the Buckeyes freshman Maurice Clarett. Jason never recovered.
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My Heisman ballot:
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Here is how my Heisman ballot looks:
1. Carson Palmer
2. Ken Dorsey
3. Larry Johnson
Carson Palmer made the greatest improvement this year form last year. I picked Ken Dorsey over Willis McGahee because he is the center of the Miami offense. EVERYTHING, including McGahee's runs, go through him. Johnson deserves mention because of his 2,000 yards and is the first back from Penn State to do that.
--Jack Arute
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Enter Carson Palmer.
By mid-season, West Coasters were touting the Trojan signal-caller's numbers and accomplishments. By the time the Trojans whipped their cross-town rival UCLA, the Palmer for Heisman campaign was at full steam. When USC beat Notre Dame in primetime, America saw what West Coasters were talking about.
I don't know if it's thanks to Norm Chow's tutelage or what, but Palmer is a different QB this season. He's a mature leader who played a pivotal role in USC's ascension to a BCS bowl berth.
In the Southwest, some people had already started engraving Texas quarterback Chris Simms' name on the Heisman before the Longhorns ever took a regular season snap. Then Simms lost to Oklahoma -- through little fault of Simms -- and the debate switched to where he would go in the NFL draft instead of would he be in New York this weekend.
Before Clarett showed that he was indeed mortal -- and susceptible to injury -- there was talk he could become the first true freshman to compete for the Heisman. His campaign never got untracked. Instead it languished, as he did, with a stinger injury. But his performance off the bench -- while still battling pain in his shoulder -- in Ohio State's crucial win over Michigan ensured that Clarett will be a preseason favorite in 2003.
|  | | Brad Banks' great season likely won't be rewarded. |
Midwesterners still got their candidate, although he's facing an image problem. Brad Banks became the poster boy for the Iowa football program when he helped the Hawkeyes win a share of the Big Ten. But Banks suffers from a lack of TV coverage and because Iowa's Big Ten accomplishments were overshadowed by Ohio State's undefeated run.
Byron Leftwich was an early Heisman hopeful. Marshall's signal-caller had a Heisman-type season. But it was in the MAC instead of one of the BCS conferences. For someone like Leftwich to win, more than a Heisman season was needed.
Miami's Ken Dorsey started and finished his season on most Heisman lists. All Dorsey did this year was add to his astounding résumé (38-1 as a starter, 3,073 yards in the air and 26 TDs this season) that should be more than enough to earn him the Heisman, except a fellow teammate stands in his way.
In last year's national championship game at the Rose Bowl, Willis McGahee saw limited action at the fullback spot. He was third on the depth chart and figured to see backup action this year. Then Clinton Portis bolted for the NFL and Frank Gore went down to injury. All McGahee did was tear apart opposing team's defenses, logging 1,686 yards rushing, 350 receiving and a school-record 27 touchdowns.
Penn State's Larry Johnson made a quiet run to Heisman consideration. When Joe Paterno abandoned his traditional tailback by committee approach to the running game, he turned toJohnson. The 6-foot-2 senior responded with Penn State's first 2,000-yard rushing effort (2,015 yards) and 20 touchdowns. But some have said that his yards came against the bottom of the Big Ten and questioned the numbers.
|  | | Seneca Wallace lose his momentum after losing to Oklahoma 49-3. |
A few preseason Heisman hopefuls also fizzled.
Last year's runner-up, Rex Grossman, suffered without Steve Spurrier's ranting, throwing just 20 TD passes to 17 INTs as Florida went through a four-loss season.
Dave Ragone dropped off the Heisman map almost as quickly as he appeared on it. When Louisville lost its opener to Kentucky, Ragone disappeared from most Heisman lists.
Iowa State's Seneca Wallace stayed in the hunt until the Cyclones lost five of their last six games, including Connecticut's 37-20 upset ending the regular season.
Wednesday was the deadline for voting, and many of the more than 900 balloters waited until the very last minute to cast their vote. The race was so tight that it wasn't clear which five players would be invited to New York until Wednesday.
It should provide for an exciting finish on Saturday night.
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 ESPN's Trev Alberts breaks down the Heisman Trophy race.
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