The Heisman Trophy should go to....

The Heisman is supposed to go to the Most Outstanding Player in College Football, not the best player on the best team. The Top 3 candidates (at least what the media is reporting) are Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, and Toby Gerhart. I personally wouldn't have Tebow in my Top 5 but that is another story. If I was given a vote, I would give the Heisman Trophy to Toby Gerhart. Sure Stanford has 4 losses, but that isn't Gerhart's fault. Blame his defense which is currently ranked #65 in the country. By the way Florida is #1 and Texas #9 for those scoring at home.

Argument for Gerhart:
1. Gerhart has finished strong. In his last four games, three of which came against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 20, Gerhart rushed for 742 yards (185.5 YPG) and 12 TDs.
2. Gerhart was at his best when he played the best. In four games against teams currently ranked, Gerhart rushed for 158.3 YPG and 12 TDs (against unranked teams, Gerhart ran for 137.9 YPG).
3. Gerhart didn’t pad his stats against bad teams. Against Washington State and San Jose State (two of the five worst rush defenses in the country), Gerhart gained “only” 121 and 113 yards – figures which represent two of his four lowest rushing totals this season.

Argument against Tebow:
1. Tebow has finished strong in his last five games but, none of those five opponents are ranked. The stretch consisted of Georgia (10th in SEC in scoring defense), Vanderbilt (2-10, winless in SEC), South Carolina, FIU (119th in nation in total defense) and Florida State (108th in nation in total defense).
2. Florida has also faced only one ranked opponent this year (No. 15 LSU). Tebow was 11-16 for 134 yards with a TD and Int, though that was his first game following a concussion suffered at Kentucky.
3. Tim Tebow’s last two games accounted for two of his three highest offensive outputs of the season (311 vs FSU, 317 vs FIU). As mentioned above, those teams are in the bottom 13 nationally in total defense.

Argument against McCoy:
1. McCoy also has finished strong but in his last four games, Texas faced zero ranked teams -- two teams that went 1-7 in the Big 12 (Baylor and Kansas) along with Texas A&M and UCF (which are 111th and 112th nationally in pass defense).
2. Texas has faced only one team currently ranked this season (No. 22 Oklahoma State). McCoy threw for 171 yards on 16-of-21 passing and a TD in a game which the Texas defense/special teams accounted for two TDs.
3. 19 of Colt McCoy’s 27 TD passes and four of his five best passing games have come against teams which currently do not have a winning record. Against opponents with winning records, he's thrown for eight TDs and five Ints.

So there you have it. Gerhart has been the better player against better competition. Being on an undefeated team helps McCoy and Tebow, but that is more of a team accomplishment (think Jason White over Larry Fitzgerald in 2003 was a mistake?) and not what the Heisman is supposed to be about. Do the right thing and restore order to the way the process is supposed to work. Vote for Gerhart!