Every Sunday we'll handicap the major player awards. Follow the standout players at every position all season long. Here's our take following Week 8.
| Heisman -- Outstanding Player |
| PLAYER |
POS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Joe Hamilton |
QB |
Georgia Tech |
Threw for 324 yards, 2 TDs in comeback. |
| 2. Shaun Alexander |
RB |
Alabama |
Ran season TD total to 13. |
| 3. Ron Dayne |
RB |
Wisconsin |
Chalked up 4th 1,000-yard season. |
| 4. Drew Brees |
QB |
Purdue |
Threw for 509 yards, 4 TDs. |
| 5. Chad Pennington |
QB |
Marshall |
Tossed 3 TDs, 393 yards against Toledo. |
| |
| Maxwell -- Outstanding Player |
| PLAYER |
POS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Shaun Alexander |
RB |
Alabama |
Ran for 214 yards and 3 TDs vs. Ole Miss. |
| 2. Joe Hamilton |
QB |
Georgia Tech |
Career-best 23-for-34 for 324 yards, 2 TDs. |
| 3. Drew Brees |
QB |
Purdue |
Threw 5 TD passes, ran for another TD. |
| 4. Ron Dayne |
RB |
Wisconsin |
Rushed for 167 yards, 2 TDs on 17 carries. |
| 5. Chad Pennington |
QB |
Marshall |
Led team to 10th straight win. |
| |
| Walker -- Outstanding Running Back |
| PLAYER |
STATS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Shaun Alexander |
6-1, 220 |
Alabama |
Now has 41 career TDs, tops in UA history. |
| 2. Ron Dayne |
5-10, 253 |
Wisconsin |
Has 1,020 yards in 7 games. |
| 3. Travis Prentice |
6-2, 228 |
Miami (Ohio) |
Has 432 career points, 2nd to Ricky Williams' 452. |
| 4. LaDainian Tomlinson |
5-11, 217 |
TCU |
Nation's No. 1 rusher had 178 yards, 4 TDs. |
| 5. Darren Davis |
5-8, 190 |
Iowa State |
Ran for 111 yards and 2 TDs vs. Missouri. |
| |
| Outland -- Outstanding Interior Lineman |
| PLAYER |
STATS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Cosey Coleman |
6-5, 315 |
Tennessee |
Idle (at Alabama). |
| 2. Jason Whitaker |
6-5, 300 |
Florida State |
His QB passed for career-high 354 yards. |
| 3. Chris McIntosh |
6-7, 307 |
Wisconsin |
Badgers had 705 yards offense. |
| 4. Semisi Heimuli |
6-2, 303 |
Texas A&M |
Aggies rolled up 522 total yards. |
| 5. Rob Ritti |
6-3, 285 |
Missouri |
No. 2 QB had 303 yards, 2 TDs, zero
INTs. |
| |
| Lombardi -- Outstanding Lineman/Linebacker |
| PLAYER |
POS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Corey Moore |
DE |
Virginia Tech |
Had 3 tackles in shutout of Syracuse. |
| 2. Courtney Brown |
DE |
Penn State |
Sack vs. OSU gives him 8 in '99. |
| 3. Alex Brown |
DE |
Florida |
Gators allowing just 57.2 rush ypg. |
| 4. LaVar Arrington |
LB |
Penn State |
Had 2½ sacks vs. Ohio State. |
| 5. Corey Simon |
NT |
Florida State |
'Noles allowed season-low 178 yards. |
| |
| Nagurski -- Outstanding Defensive Player |
| PLAYER |
POS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Corey Moore |
DE |
Virginia Tech |
Led record-setting 62-0 shutout. |
| 2. LaVar Arrington |
DE |
Penn State |
Hurdled RB for 1 of 2½ sacks. |
| 3. Corey Simon |
NT |
Florida State |
FSU gave up only TD on game's last play. |
| 4. Alex Brown |
DE |
Florida |
Helped hold Auburn to 54 yards
offense in the 1st half. |
| 5. Brian Urlacher |
SS |
New Mexico |
Has 33 tackles in last 2 games. |
| |
| O'Brien -- Outstanding Quarterback |
| PLAYER |
STATS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Joe Hamilton |
5-10, 189 |
Georgia Tech |
Has 1,671 yards, 13 TDs, 4 INTs passing, 293 yards rushing |
| 2. Drew Brees |
6-1, 212 |
Purdue |
Has 2,322 yards, 16 TDs, 8 INTs. |
| 3. Chad Pennington |
6-3, 220 |
Marshall |
Has 11,316 career yards, 8th-best in NCAA history. |
| 4. Chris Redman |
6-3, 215 |
Louisville |
Has 2,314 yards, 20 TDs, 9 INTs. |
| 5. Tim Rattay |
6-1, 200 |
Louisiana Tech |
Passed for 406 yards, 4 TDs on 56 attempts. |
| |
| Biletnikoff -- Outstanding Receiver |
| PLAYER |
STATS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Plaxico Burress |
6-6, 229 |
Michigan State |
Had 50 yards, 1 TD vs. Purdue. |
|
| 2. JaJuan Dawson |
6-1, 201 |
Tulane |
Had 11 catches for 138 yards, 2 TDs. |
| 3. Troy Walters |
5-8, 175 |
Stanford |
Held to 3 catches for 38 yards. |
| 4. Danny Farmer |
6-4, 210 |
UCLA |
Held to 32 yards on 3 catches. |
| 5. Trevor Insley |
6-1, 195 |
Nevada |
Has 74 catches, 1,043 yards in '99. |
| |
| Butkus -- Outstanding Linebacker |
| PLAYER |
STATS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Brandon Short |
6-3, 246 |
Penn State |
Leads team with 50 tackles. |
| 2. Na'il Diggs |
6-4, 235 |
Ohio State |
Posted 2 tackles for loss. |
| 3. LaVar Arrington |
6-3, 230 |
Penn State |
Has 3½ sacks in last 2 games. |
| 4. Mark Simoneau |
6-0, 240 |
Kansas State |
Led team with 7 tackles, 3 for loss. |
| 5. Sekou Sanyika |
6-4, 235 |
Cal |
Had 4 tackles for loss, 54 for career. |
| |
| Bednarik -- Outstanding Defensive Player |
| PLAYER |
POS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Corey Moore |
DE |
Virginia Tech |
Has 8 sacks in 6 games. |
| 2. Tyrone Carter |
SS |
Minnesota |
Nation's No. 4 defense allowed 1 TD. |
| 3. Na'il Diggs |
LB |
Ohio State |
Has 64 tackles in 7 games. |
| 4. Brandon Short |
DE |
Penn State |
Leads Nittany Lions with 40 tackles. |
| 5. Dwayne Goodrich |
CB |
Tennessee |
Idle (at Alabama). |
| |
| Thorpe -- Outstanding Defensive Back |
| PLAYER |
POS |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Dwayne Goodrich |
CB |
Tennessee |
Has 13 career INTs, 4 for TDs. |
| 2. Tyrone Carter |
SS |
Minnesota |
Minnesota leads Big Ten in team defense. |
| 3. Ralph Brown |
CB |
Nebraska |
Idle (at Texas). |
| 4. Ahmed Plummer |
CB |
Ohio State |
Had INT vs. Penn State. |
| 5. Brian Urlacher |
SS |
New Mexico |
Had 13 tackles vs. BYU. |
| |
| Groza -- Outstanding Kicker |
| PLAYER |
YEAR |
SCHOOL |
COMMENT |
| 1. Sebastian Janikowski |
Jr. |
Florida State |
Kicked 4 FGs (31, 34, 52, 32), 3 PATs |
|
| 2. Terence Kitchens |
Jr. |
Texas A&M |
Kicked 2 FGs (40, 35), 4 PATs. |
| 3. Shayne Graham |
Sr. |
Virginia Tech |
Kicked 2 FGs (25, 37) 8 PATs. |
| 4. Paul Edinger |
Sr. |
Michigan State |
Kicked 2 PATs. |
| 5. Sims Lenhardt |
Sr. |
Duke |
Kicked 1 FG (32) 4 PATs |
