Ingram, Suh 1-2 in final Heisman poll

Published 12:01 am Thursday, December 10, 2009

A confusing Heisman trophy race saved its best for last.

With 189 total yards and three touchdowns in Alabama’s rout of Florida in Saturday’s SEC title game, running back Mark Ingram narrowly edged Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in the final Scripps Howard Heisman Trophy poll of the season. Suh was every bit as impressive as Ingram Saturday night notching 41/2 sacks in the Cornhuskers’ 13-12 loss to Texas in the Big 12 title game.

Ingram finished with 33 poll points, one more than Suh as each received two first-place votes. It was the closest final tally in the Scripps poll’s 23-year history The 75th Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday night in New York City. The Scripps poll has accurately forecast the winner 18 of 22 years.

If this vote holds true, some history will be made as no Alabama player has ever won the Heisman while Suh would be only the second defensive player to win it joining Michigan’s Charles Woodson in 1997. Ingram would join Florida’s Tim Tebow two years ago as the only sophomores to win the Heisman.

Stanford RB Toby Gerhart was a close third with 29 points and actually picked up the most first-place votes with four.

Texas’ Colt McCoy and Tebow both showed the ever-changing nature of this race. They were in first and second in last week’s poll but plummeted after poor performances in the Big 12 and SEC title games.

It was just that kind of a year for the often-befuddled voters to the very end. No less than five players received first-place votes in the final poll.

“In one of the least clear-cut Heisman Trophy races of all times, why not give it to a defensive player, especially one that has dominated all season long?,” asked voter Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman. “(Suh) has been off-the-charts great.”

Voter Tom Luicci of The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. agreed calling Suh “the most disruptive force in college football in a year when no offensive star dazzled. Unblockable.”

John Rohde of the Oklahoman saw it differently insisting Gerhart was “the best No. 7 at Stanford since John Elway. He’s tough as nails, led the country in scoring with 26 touchdowns …”

Of course, none of them faced what Ingram did, the toughest defenses in the nation in the SEC. Ingram’s 1,542 yards rushing (12th in the nation, second in the SEC) included 100-yard games vs. ranked foes Florida, LSU, Virginia Tech and Ole Miss while six of his 18 touchdowns came against that tough competition.

“Ingram was a workhorse, no doubt,” said Michael Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune who nonetheless narrowly picked Gerhart over Ingram.

Even outclassed by Alabama, which snapped Florida’s nation’s longest 22-game winning streak, Tebow maintained diehard support in SEC country.

“Tim Tebow was the best player in college football, carrying the Gators to an undefeated regular season in the toughest conference in the nation,” said Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Poll

Ten voters select five players each week. The tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points for a first-place vote, four points for second, etc. First-place votes are in parentheses.

Player Points

1. Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama 33 (2)

2. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Neb 32 (2)

3. Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford 29 (4)

4. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas 16 (1)

5 (tie). Tim Tebow, QB, Florida 7 (1)

5. C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson 7

Others receiving votes: Houston QB Case Keenum 5, TCU DE Jerry Hughes, 1.

(Scripps Howard News Service Heisman Trophy poll voters: Kirk Bohls, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com; Vahe Gregorian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Mike Griffith, The Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel; Michael Lewis, Salt Lake Tribune; Bob Condotta, Seattle Times; John Lindsay, Scripps Howard News Service; Tom Luicci, The (Newark) Star-Ledger; John Rohde, The Oklahoman.)