I was just wondering if they should cancel the ceremonies at the Yale Club in mid-town Manhattan on December 14 and hand out two John W. Heismans next year.

Not that we don't have a busload of candidates. That is evident enough. But is it possible that the race this year for the Heisman Trophy could end in a tie?

Less than a month until the announcement and I cannot remember a closer race. Candidates come and go like the leaders of the Democratic Party. Think about the names that have vanished since the start of the season.

Quarterbacks: Chris Simms, Seneca Wallace, Rex Grossman, Dave Ragone and Eli Manning. Running backs: Maurice Clarett, Onterrio Smith and Cedric Benson.

I am looking at a Heisman favorites list published by a highly respected national magazine back in the summer that listed among its top six choices Grossman, Ragone, Benson, and Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen.

Until the third week of October, when Iowa State ran into a road grader known as the Oklahoma defense, Seneca Wallace was the No. 1 candidate on everybody's list. Now you couldn't find him with a flashlight.

	Hornung scored more than half his team's points at Notre Dame in 1956.

Let us ponder the possibility of a candidate that shocks the world in the final weeks, much like Paul Hornung in 1956, when the Notre Dame quarterback won the John W. Heisman in spite a 2-8 record and a 40-0 trouncing by Oklahoma at South Bend. In that game, the Golden Boy swept right end on the first play and was met head-on by linebacker Jerry Tubbs at the Notre Dame 22-yard line. The two flew backwards four yards until Hornung landed on his back at the 18.

Hornung's thumb was so battered that season that he could not take snaps from under center. But he won the award anyway over Tennessee's Johnny Majors, who would have finished first in the balloting if he played for Notre Dame.

There have been some close races for the Heisman, and this year's will come down to the wire. Let us review the point differentials over the years:

1961: Syracuse RB Ernie Davis over Ohio State RB Bob Ferguson by 53.
1953: Notre Dame HB Johnny Lattner over Minnesota HB Paul Giel by 56.
2001: Nebraska QB Eric Crouch over Florida QB Rex Grossman by 62
1989: Houston QB Andre Ware over Indiana RB Anthony Thompson by 70.
1956: Hornung over Majors by 72.

A couple of other marquee names that finished second in the last two decades were Stanford quarterback John Elway (1982 to Georgia's Herschel Walker) and San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk (1992 to Miami's Gino Torretta). They haven't been snubbed for any award since.

This is how the race will shake out during the November stretch run. Let the best man win by at least one vote:

Ken Dorsey, Miami QB, The Convenient Choice: How can you quibble with a quarterback who has led his team to 31 straight victories and, with win over Pitt and Virginia Tech, along with a big night at the Fiesta Bowl, can finish his career 38-1? He has three 300-yard passing days this year and 21 touchdown passes. Odds: 8-to-5.

Brad Banks, Iowa QB, The Silky Sullivan Choice: Silky Sullivan was the greatest come-from-behind racehorse in the history of the game, and Banks runs with the same style. His name was not on a single list I read at the start of the season. But a late rally against Purdue, a 10-for-10 performance against Northwestern, and a nation-leading 167.8 passing rating might help Banks nip Dorsey at the wire. This endorsement from Minnesota coach Glen Mason doesn't hurt: "Why his name isn't at the top of the Heisman list is mind-boggling for me?" Odds: 3-to-1

Chris Brown, Colorado RB, The Forget-Rashaan-Salaam-Choice: Like Salaam before him, Brown is poised to crack the 2,000-yard rushing barrier. Salaam also won the John W. Heisman and vanished quicker than Dennis Miller. Odds 7-to-2.

Jason Gesser, Washington State QB, The Wrong Time Zone Choice. If the Washington State games were played on eastern time, Gesser might have already passed Dorsey as the favorite. The WSU boxscore barely makes the Sunday newspapers in New York. After throwing two touchdowns in the second half against Ohio State back in September, Gesser has the Cougars on the brink of the Pac-10 title. What you have done fore me lately? In the case of Gesser, a lot. Odds: 6-to-1.

Byron Leftwich, Marshall QB, The Willis Reed Choice: One of the most stirring images of sports was Reed, suffering from a leg injury, limping onto the court a minute before tipoff in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals. He scored the first two buckets and provided a charge of adrenaline that launched the Knicks over the Lakers for the title. Leftwich, who suffered a similar leg injury, had to be carried by his teammate down the field between plays in a loss to Akron. That act alone keeps him in the Heisman Race. Odds: 10-to-1.

Here's hoping that the winner distinguishes himself for years to come. A few of the more recent Heisman candidates are remembered, in part, for the movie titles they bring to mind:

Eric Crouch - "Gone in Sixty Seconds"
Chris Weinke - "Hair"
Ron Dayne - "Dog Day Afternoon"
Ricky Williams - "Space Cowboys"
Danny Wuerffel - "Son of Flubber"
Rashaan Salaam - "Harder They Fall"
Ty Detmer - "Duck Soup"
Andre Ware - "Car 54, Where are You?"
Gino Torretta - "Gone With the Wind"

Jim Dent is the author of "Junction Boys" and "The Undefeated" and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. "Junction Boys" will be ESPN Original Entertainment's second original, made-for-television movie. The premiere is scheduled for Saturday, December 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.