Dixon deserves it
December 5th, 2007, 10:07 am · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
I crunched the numbers and analyzed the level of opposition. I relied on a season’s worth of observations. And I asked a handful of guys whose opinions I respect.
Armed with that information, I filled out and submitted my 2007 Heisman Trophy ballot earlier this week, and the first-place vote went to:
In this crazy season in which there is no clear Heisman favorite at the end, Dennis Dixon is the only player I can vote for and — considering his talent, statistics and value to his team — have no regrets.
On the morning of Nov. 15, the Oregon quarterback was the front-runner for me and a lot of other Heisman voters. That night at Arizona, Dixon discovered that he could not play on a knee injury suffered the game before, when Arizona State cornerback Omar Bolden tackled him.
Had he not gotten hurt, he would likely be the favorite to receive the award at Saturday’s ceremony. Oh, and the Ducks would probably be playing for the national championship. No player in the land was more valuable to his team, as evidenced by Oregon looking lost and lifeless in losing three games since Dixon’s departure.
Arkansas running back Darren McFadden was second on my ballot, and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was third. Most Heisman voters will have those players in reverse order (if Dixon is on their ballots at all).
Yes, Tebow — with 29 touchdown passes and 22 scoring runs — has had a remarkable season. But I am not going to be blinded by his TD-run total. Last year, he reached the end zone eight times on 89 rushing attempts while doing the short-yardage dirty work for starting QB Chris Leak, who has since graduated.
It should be no surprise that Tebow has rushed for so many touchdowns while running the offense full-time. Serving as the first rushing option near the goal line is part of his role for Florida. However, Dixon — who, in Jonathan Stewart, had a pretty nice guy to hand the ball off to inside the opponents’ 10-yard line — has nine rushing TDs in a little over half as many carries as Tebow.
And while Tebow is the nation’s second-rated passer, Dixon, who has thrown for 2,136 yards and 20 touchdowns, is not far behind at No. 4.
Regarding their teams’ schedule strength, the Pac-10 and SEC have been considered the best in the country all season, so level of opposition in conference games is a wash. Oregon’s non-league opponents: Houston, Michigan and Fresno State, all bowl teams with 8-4 records. Florida’s non-conference foes: Western Kentucky, Troy, Florida Atlantic and Florida State.
One question that was raised as I solicited opinions on Dixon: Can somebody win the Heisman if he missed almost a quarter of the regular season? This season, no, because Dixon is not going to win.
But he is the player who I can vote for with the most good faith.
By the way, Gene Menez of Sports Illustrated, making a contention Tebow is “two players in one body,” pointed out that the 838 yards rushing by the Gators QB is more than ASU running back Keegan Herring (816). The clear implication is that Tebow outgained a starting RB for a highly-ranked program.
However, the comparison is misleading at best.
Herring is a starter all right, but did not become one until the eighth game of the season, after Ryan Torain was lost for the year with a foot injury. Herring started six games (including a contest in September that Torain missed with a sore knee), and even then, he shared the running responsibilities with Dimitri Nance.
