Breaking Down The Heisman Finalists

Yesterday, the finalists for the Heisman Trophy were announced. And they are:


Colt Brennan, quarterback, Hawaii
Chase Daniel, quarterback, Missouri
Darren McFadden, running back, Arkansas
Tim Tebow, quarterback, Florida

I've listed them there in alphabetical order. Now let me list them and their stats in the order that I think they should finish in the Heisman voting.

Fourth
Colt Brennan. The University of Hawaii quarterback only faced one ranked team all season, and while he did put up impressive stats against #17 Boise State, he didn't face the tougher opponents that the others did. Here is his statline from that game:

Vs. #17 Boise State(W): 75.5% comp., 495yds, 5TD/2INT; 18yds rush, 2.0avg, 1TD

Third
Darren McFadden. I imagine that most people probably have McFadden in either the #1 or #2 spot. However, his down games against two of the five ranked opponents that he faced pushes him down in my estimation. In those two games, both losses for his team, he actually failed to score any touchdowns. Overall, McFadden ended with a 2-3 record against the five ranked opponents that he faced. Here are his stats from those five games:

Vs. #21 Kentucky(L): 173yds, 6.0avg, 1TD; 10yds receiving, 0TD
Vs. #22 Auburn(L): 43yds, 2.5avg, 0TD; 5yds rec, 0TD
Vs. #23 South Carolina(W): 323yds, 9.2avg, 1TD; 4yds rec, 0TD; 23yds passing, 1TD
Vs. #22 Tennessee(L): 117yds, 5.3avg, 0TD; 17yds rec, 0TD
vS. #1 LSU(W): 206yds, 6.4avg, 3TD; 34yds passing, 1TD

Average: 172yds, 5.8avg, 1TD; 7.2yds rec, 0TD; 11.4yds passing, .4TD/0INT

Second
Chase Daniel. The Mizzou quarterback was unable to defeat Oklahoma twice, but he's the only one out of the four candidates that has a winning record against ranked opponents. Daniel finished with a 3-2 record against those teams, and scored at least one touchdown in all five of those games. Here are his stats from those contests:

Vs. #25 Nebraska(W): 70.2% comp., 401yds, 2TD/0INT; 72yds rush, 6.5avg, 2TD
Vs. #6 Oklahoma(L): 78.7% comp., 361yds, 1TD/2INT; -1yds rush, -.1avg, 0TD
Vs. #22 Texas Tech(W): 73.7% comp., 210yds, 1TD/2INT; 11yds rush, 1.6avg, 0TD
Vs. #2 Kansas(W): 81.6% comp., 361yds, 3TD/0INT; 6yds rush, .9avg, 0TD
Vs. #9 Oklahoma(L): 59% comp., 219yds, 0TD/1INT; 26yds rush, 2.4avg, 1TD

Average: 72.6% comp., 310yds, 1.4TD/.8INT; 22.8yds rush, 2.2avg, .6TD

First
Tim Tebow. The Florida quarterback faced four ranked teams, and lead the Gators to a 2-2 record against them. In each of those four contests he scored at least three total touchdowns, and was the prime example of a dual threat type of quarterback. Here are his stats:

Vs. #22 Tennessee(W): 73.7% comp., 299yds, 2TD/1INT; 61yds rush, 3.4avg, 2TD
Vs. #1 LSU(L): 46.2% comp., 158yds, 2TD/INT; 67yds rush, 4.2avg, 1TD
Vs. #8 Kentucky(W): 69.2% comp., 256yds, 4TD/0INT; 78yds rush, 3.9avg, 1TD
Vs. #20 Georgia(L): 63.6% comp., 236yds, 1TD/0INT; -15yds rush, -1.2avg, 2TD

Average: 63% comp., 237yds, 2.2TD/.4INT; 47.7yds rush, 2.5avg, 1.5TD

Yes, Tebow's stats in the completion percentage and average passing yards departments are down a little from Daniel's, but Tebow also averaged more passing touchdowns and less interceptions against the ranked opponents that he faced. Overall, Tebow averaged an astonishing 3.7 total touchdowns versus the ranked teams that he faced. Daniel averaged a solid 2.0, and McFadden averaged 1.4.

I believe that these stats show that Tebow was able to perform better overall against his toughest opponents than either Daniel or McFadden. All of the finalists chosen are tremendous athletes, but only one deserves to have his name called for the Heisman. And that's Tim Tebow.