Heisman Trophy To Be Awarded Saturday; Ingram Odds On Favorite

Sports News - December 10th, 2009 - Written by Bryan

heisman The five finalists for College Football's most coveted individual achievement were announced earlier this week, and there were no real surprises. Colt McCoy, Mark Ingram, Toby Gerhart, Ndamukong Suh and Tim Tebow all received the invite to New York to attend the annual Heisman ceremonies at the Downtown Athletic Club.

Five finalists have not been selected to attend the prestigious award ceremony since 2004, when Matt Leinart collected the coveted bronze statue.

Tim Tebow made college football history, again, simply by being selected as a finalist and being invited to the presentation. Never before has a player made the trip to New York three consecutive years.

tim tebow "Having the chance to go back to New York means a lot to me," Tebow said in a conference. "It is a special honor but it wouldn't be possible for me to have this opportunity without my teammates and coaches."

As a senior in 2009, Tebow did not have the year he did when he earned Heisman honors as a sophomore, nor the statistics he had from his junior year. With that said. Tebow did lead the Florida Gators to a 13-1 record and a date with the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl.

In a game against Georgia on Halloween, Tebow eclipsed the SEC record for most career rushing touchdowns. On the season as a whole, Tebow passed for 2,413 yards good for 18 touchdowns, and rushed for 859 yards good for 13 more touchdowns this season.

Tebow is trying to become only the second player in history, next to Archie Griffin, to win the prestigious award more than once.

The other quarterback selected as a finalist was last year's runner up Colt McCoy, who has led his Texas Longhorns to an undefeated regular season, a Big 12 Championship as well as spot in the BCS National Championship game, on January 7th, in Pasadena against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Statistically McCoy's numbers are down this year compared to his 2008 campaign. However, McCoy has still thrown for nearly 3,500-yards and 27 touchdowns, but his 12 interceptions have hindered his performances; including three last week in the Big 12 Championship game versus Nebraska during which McCoy had his worst game of the season. McCoy's bad game almost cost the Longhorns huge, but as time expired, the Texas squeezed a field goal just inside the upright to the Big 12 Championship and a berth to the BCS National Title Game.

The field of five also includes two running backs.

Sophomore Mark Ingram led the Alabama ground attack in the extremely difficult Southeastern Conference. Ingram put up career numbers that included over 1,500+ yards rushing and 15 touchdowns. He shot back up to the front of the Heisman finalist after his performance last week in the SEC Championship game against the former No.1 team in the country, the Florida Gators. Ingram accounted for 175 total yards and three touchdowns in the Crimson Tide's biggest game of the year.

"I'm looking forward to the experience and appreciate the opportunity to represent our team at the Heisman ceremony," Ingram said.

The other running back in the group is Stanford's junior RB Toby Gerhart. Gerhart rushed for over 1,700+ yards, and scored more touchdowns than anyone in the nation, with 26 TDs. Coming into the year, Gerhart was the least well-known player of the five finalists.

"I am most pleased that my efforts along with those of so many others this year have put Stanford Football back on the national map," Gerhart said in an interview.

In Stanford's season finale against Notre Dame, Gerhart finished strong as he scored three touchdowns, and threw a touchdown pass.

The last finalist in the group is Nebraska's senior defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. Suh spent the 2009 season wreaking havoc on opposing Big 12 offenses, totaling 12 sacks in 13 ball games. Suh saved his best for last in the Big 12 Championship game against Texas, a game in which the Huskers fell just short of pulling the upset. In that contest Suh piled up 4 1/2 sacks to go along with 12 tackles.

Suh is the first defensive player since Charles Woodson, who claimed the Heisman, to be invited to the ceremonies as a Heisman finalist.

"It is good to see that the Heisman voters have recognized the true impact a dominant defensive lineman like Suh can have on a football game," Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini said of the news his lineman was a finalist.

As with just about every major sport and event, Las Vegas oddsmakers have established College Football Betting Odds on each of the Heisman finalists. Odds, courtesy of Bodog Sportsbook, show Mark Ingram as the leading finalist, with odds listed at 2/5, or bet $5 to win $2. In second, Toby Gerhart enters the day at 5/7, or bet $7 to win $5. Next is Colt McCoy at 21/10 (2.1 to 1), or bet $1 to win $2.10. Finally, Suh and Tebow round out the field with 5/1 (5 to 1), and 15/1 (15 to 1) odds respectively.

Results of the bet will be known when the Heisman Trophy is handed out this Saturday December 12th, at 8 pm EST. Ceremonies will be covered by ESPN on their main network.