Sportsbook.com Heisman Trophy Handicapping

Written by:
Carrie Stroup
Published on:
Dec/09/2009

Sportsbook.com currently has Alabama RB Mark Ingram as a heavy favorite at -350 to win the 2009 Heisman Trophy.

In a year when nobody grabbed hold of the lead for more than a week at a time, it's generally considered that last week's games wound up the final barometer and it's safe to say only a couple of legitimate Heisman Trophy contenders stepped to the forefront, while a couple of others took a major step backwards.

The envelope, please . and the main runners-up include:

TOBY GERHART, RB, Stanford

There's nothing phony about this sophomore's stats as the 6-1, 237-pound Gerhart finished off his season with 1,736 yards rushing (5.6 yards per carry) and 26 touchdowns for a Cardinal club that went 8-4 and thus marked its first winning season since way back in 2001.

Gerhart's showing in his final regular-season game-a magnificent 29-carry, 205-yard, three-touchdown performance in Stanford's rollicking 45-38 home win against Notre Dame-gave him a major late-season push with Heisman voters but did the fact that he didn't play last weekend eventually hurt his chances? Could be.

The rock-hard Gerhart has been steady all year long-a quality many of the other Heisman Trophy hopefuls can't lay claim to in this 2009 season-but he'll have to settle for second-best this time. No doubt it would have helped his cause had Gerhart been a "name" prior to the start of the season but without any preseason hype he'll find it difficult to swipe this award now.

Gerhart's Heisman Odds are currently +300.The West Coast may sway heavily towards the Stanford star but don't expect him to win any of the other geographical regions and one of the problems he'll have: not enough second-place votes in the Midwest, South and East.

COLT McCOY, QB, Texas

Any real hopes of power-lifting this year's Heisman Trophy for last year's runner-up likely went down the drain last Saturday night in the Longhorns' scary 13-12 last-second win against Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game.

McCoy, who threw three interceptions and no touchdowns versus the Cornhuskers, nearly botched the game late with his shoddy clock management and note he spent much of the night running for his life as the Big Red defense put a target on his back and never did let up.

On the year, the 6-3 senior signal-caller has good numbers-they're just not good enough.

McCoy has a total of 27 touchdown passes and 12 picks on the year and he's thrown for 3,512 yards while completing 70.5 percent of his passes. His prospects to cop this year's award looked good following that 49-39 win against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Night when McCoy threw for 304 yards and four scores, while adding a whopping 175 yards rushing, but it was back-to-earth last weekend in Arlington and so expect a invitation to New York City but no shiny prize as he exits the big city.

Sportsbook.com currently has McCoy handicapped at +125 to take home the Heisman. You can expect this veteran to pull in loads of first-, second- and third-place votes from the Southwest but he figures to not getting many No. 1 votes from the rest of the land as his wobbly showing last weekend was the death blow to his campaign even while leading the Longhorns to a 13-0 season.

TIM TEBOW, QB, Florida

Tebow's 246-yard passing game (63-yard rushing performance) in last Saturday's SEC Championship Game wasn't nearly enough as the not-so-mighty Gators were crushed by Alabama 32-13 and so the best this 6-3, 245-pound senior can hope for here is a mere round of applause at the Heisman presentation. And keep the eye black at home, Tim!

No doubt that the numbers on the year were not always great-although Tebow is often better measured in the intangibles-but his season-long stats do include 2,413 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions to go along with 859 yards rushing and 13 more scores. The ability of Tebow to bounce back from illness and injuries must be acknowledged here but when the now 12-1 Gators needed lots of life to beat Alabama, neither Tebow nor his teammates (on either side of the ball) could come through in the clutch.

Tebow's Heisman Odds are +1500. Hard to believe that Florida's 22-game winning streak went down with a whimper and this emotional fireplug couldn't save the day. Now he drops way back in the Heisman pack although you could see lots of second-place votes for him in the South and Southeast regions.

Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska

This dominant force on the defensive side of the ball is currently paying out at +500. Widely considered the top prospect for next year's NFL Draft, having his name called out Saturday night will be tough. Never before has a strictly defensive player won the Heisman. Then again, there is a first time for everything.

Now, the winner of the 2009 Heisman Trophy award is...

MARK INGRAM, RB, Alabama

To the winner go all the spoils and this 5-10, 215-pound sophomore back will be the one smiling at night's end this Saturday as he will win the Heisman and then have a shot to win it all in Pasadena-doesn't get a heckuva lot better than that, right?

The spunky back entered last week's games as one of the co-favorites to win the Heisman and then busted free for 113 yards rushing and 76 yards receiving, along with three scores to help jettison the Crimson Tide past Florida in the aforementioned SEC Championship Game.

Ingram's rock-solid season had a late-year blip on the screen in that close-call 26-21 win at Auburn (16 carries for 30 yards rushing). But overall the numbers have a real Heisman Trophy feel to them.

He wound up rushing for 1,542 yards (averaging a hefty 6.2 yards a carry) with 15 touchdowns and Ingram added 30 pass receptions worth 322 yards and three scores.

Ingram's Heisman Odds are currently -350. Okay, he's no slam dunk to win this statue in the eyes of many gridiron fans but he's the best of this year's crop when you consider the numbers, the wins (now 13-0, including triumphs over Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, LSU and Florida) and the impact he had on that championship game when Ingram broke numerous tackles and placed his indelible stamp on that title tilt. He's your 2009 winner, folks!

Get your bets in now on Saturday's Heisman Trophy presentation at Sportsbook.com.

 

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