ORLANDO -- Forgive Rex Grossman if he isn't quite himself when the Heisman Trophy is awarded this Saturday. He's still adjusting to this idea of not being in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. He's still trying to get used to the fact that Florida won't play in the Rose Bowl for a shot at the national championship.

New York City? The chance to shake hands with numerous Heisman winners past? That's all real nice and dandy, but Grossman would leap at the chance to trade in his sleek Heisman suit for jersey, helmet and a chance to play in Pasadena.

And this award he's up for? After last week's stunning loss to Tennessee, even he's not sure he's worthy.

	Florida's Rex Grossman is the preseason favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

"You'd like to think the Heisman Trophy winner does everything he can to win that game and in the end, pulls it out," Grossman said. "I don't think I had a bad game, but I didn't have an unbelievable game.

"You'd like to think that if someone's going to win the Heisman Trophy, they'd be good enough to win that game. Obviously we weren't."

But what about the numbers, the stats? For Grossman, they are downright gaudy. While other Heisman finalists grasp for intangibles, leadership qualities and other fuzzy methods to solidify their candidacy, Grossman merely has to point to his statistics.

His pass efficiency rating of 170.8 led the nation and was the 12th-best total in NCAA history. In addition, he led the nation in passing yards per game (354.2), total offense (354.9), yards per passing attempt (9.86) and yards per play (9.10).

He completed 259 of his 395 passes (65.6 percent) for a school record 3,896 yards, breaking the record set by Danny Wuerffel during his Heisman-winning season of 1996. He threw for 34 touchdowns and set four school records, including the mark for consecutive games with 300 yards passing.

And a favorite stat? Grossman threw for more yards and more touchdowns in the first half than Ken Dorsey, Joey Harrington and Eric Crouch did in their entire season.

The sophomore threw for 300 yards in 10 of 11 games and in two years, has tossed 55 touchdowns, more than any other quarterback in their first two years of college football.

Even against Tennessee, when he was beaten, bruised and battered by the tenacious Vol defense, he still managed to pick himself up and throw for 362 yards and two touchdowns.

"He's really special. He's a tremendous talent," said Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer. "You watch him on film and continue to be impressed with his arm strength, his quick delivery, his ability to avoid the rush, his toughness, his timing. There are just so many things that make him special."

Yet not special enough, some say, to win a Heisman. At least not yet. For now, critics contend he's too young, that a sophomore has no business stealing arguably the most prestigious individual award in all of sports. Yet he came to Florida the same year Dorsey arrived at Miami, and is actually 8 months older then the Hurricanes QB.

"Whether or not a sophomore can get votes, I guess it's up to the individual," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. "It's all a big popularity contest anyway."

They critics also contend that Grossman lost two games -- something that puts a dark tarnish over any glowing resume. And they finish by saying he's merely another product of Spurrier's wide-open, Fun-n-Gun offense. On any other team, they say, he wouldn't be nearly as impressive.

Grossman disagrees.

"I don't like that comment at all," Grossman said. "I definitely have all the tools I need to succeed. Obviously there is a great system here, but in my opinion, not just any quarterback could come in here and get the job done. It's not that easy."

In fact, Florida's prowess could be hurting Grossman. He was frequently pulled in lopsided victories, allowing him to average only 40 yards passing in the fourth quarter. In addition, backup Brock Berlin has thrown for nine touchdowns.

"Those media people all around the country say that we score all these pitches in the fourth quarter when we are way ahead," Spurrier said. "I wish they would look at the statistics. Brock has nine touchdowns, all of which we could have given to Rex if we played like that."

Yet for all the touchdowns, yards and completed passes, it's one blown opportunity, one incompletion that Grossman will remember most.

That play -- an incomplete pass on a two-point conversion attempt with 1:10 left in last week's 34-32 loss to Tennessee -- ended any hopes of a national championship. It was essentially the climax of a failed season in Gatorland, where nothing short of an SEC title and shot at the national title is expected.

"It was the same play as the touchdown before," Grossman said. "They covered it. I thought maybe I could have run it in, but just decided to throw it up for grabs."

So now, Grossman finds himself not in Atlanta, playing LSU for a shot at the SEC title and the Rose Bowl, but in New York, in a suit, at an event to honor the top college football players in the country.

Ironic, indeed.

"I think I had a pretty good year," Grossman said. "But it's hard not to think about those two losses. We are still pretty down in Gainesville. In a perfect world, the Heisman Trophy winner comes from behind and wins that game with some great play. But it didn't happen. And now, the awards are about all we can win."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com.