I don't know if anyone else saw the USC-Fresno State football game on Saturday, but I stayed up far past my bedtime to watch it. I didn't intend to, but I couldn't stop watching Reggie Bush put on a performance for the ages. Bush had 513 total yards against a top 20 team. That's a staggering number. Only 4 teams in all of college football gain that many yards as a team per game; for an individual to gain that many is mind boggling. This guy is Barry Sanders, folks. His ability to stop and go and be at top speed again in one or two steps is almost superhuman. When he gets in the NFL, they're going to be saying the same things they said about Sanders when he was in the league. One coach said that Sanders had two speeds - "here he comes" and "there he goes". And just like Sanders, when Bush turns the corner and breaks into the open field, the defensive player trying to tackle him is just going to be thinking, "Damn, I hope I don't end up being the play of the day on Sportscenter tonight."
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::steps up to the microphone and taps it gently.::
Hi, my name is Jeff, and I'm a University of Texas homer ...
Now that we have that out of the way, allow me to raise the counter-argument to the Reggie Bush Train that seems to have picked up a lot of steam recently.
Yes, Bush is a dynamic, exciting, incredible player. He is quite deserving of the Heisman. But it's not a lock; there is an excellent case to be made for The University of Texas' Vince Young.
The differentiator between the two, for me, is consistency. Vince has been the man in every game, whereas Bush has great spikes followed by games where he's positively invisible. As a body of work, taken as a whole Vince's season has been better. Bush puts up some big numbers, but he has the chance because his team has been on the verge of losing a lot of those games and thus the offense has had to stay full-throttle the whole game. Every game for UT, meanwhile, has been a laugher since the Ohio State thriller, so Vince has been handing it off for large parts of the second half.
Reggie can run, but so can Vince -- did you see Vince's 80 yard touchdown run a few games ago? And talk about posterizing defenders, I think there are a few who are STILL trying to figure out where the guy went.
But Vince is a quarterback. He has the ball in his hands every. Single. Play. Reggie's great, but without Leinart to throw the ball or hand it off, he gets nothing. Vince has good pieces around him, yes, but he is The Man on that offense. He doesn't have another Heisman candidate in the backfield setting him up, like Bush does. The entire offense runs through him, and he's the single biggest reason UT is winning its games by 40 points.
Finally, Vince has all of the intangibles the Heisman is supposed to be about. It's hard to gauge when you're just looking at numbers or highlight reels, but in a very genuine sense he is the heart and soul of this team. Even the defense takes confidence from him. To a man, you ask a UT player why they're undefeated and they'll point to Number 10. He exudes an almost palpable sense of calm and poise to the entire team. Take Vince Young away, and Texas might not even be in the top 10 this year. Take Bush away from USC and you've still got Matt Leinart and a team that's probably still going to the Rose Bowl.
In short, you can't go wrong with either of these guys. But to call the race over at this point is a disservice to the unbelievable season Young is having. Selfishly, I hope Bush does win it, because the odds of Vince coming back for a senior year at UT go up astronomically, and for a UT fan that's about the best news we could get.
But I can't really wish for that. Vince is too good, too strong, too much of a leader for any UT fan to wish him anything but the best. Whether he comes back or goes pro, whether he's a Heisman winner or just an also-ran, the guy's a class act and an incredible athlete. And given the choice between which of the two to build a team around, I'll take Number 10 every time and twice on Sunday (unless the team's on Monday Night Football, in which case I'll take him twice on Monday).
Oops, I said "Reggie's great, but without Leinart to throw the ball or hand it off, he gets nothing." I am, of course, leaving off kick return yardage. But one return for a touchdown the entire year, and an average that's not even in the top ten (at least I don't think it is, I need to double check that) isn't anything to write home about. His returns are fun, and exciting to watch, but he doesn't deserve to win the Heisman on the strength of his returns.
Ed: Reggie's Gale Sayers, not Barry Sanders. If you're looking for the next Barry Sanders, check the third best running back in Los Angeles (behind Reggie and LenDale), Maurice Drew. The dude's about knee high to a grasshopper, with thighs the size ICBs and killer ankle breaking moves. But Reggie's upright running style and the ability to change direction while running downhill is pure Sayers.
Jeff: The consistency argument is crap. Reggie shows up with the Trojans need him most -- in big games. It's one thing to put up big numbers against the cream puffs; it's another to go big when your team needs you most. Reggie's biggest games came against USC's toughest competition (Arizona State, Notre Dame, Fresno, Oregon).
The return yards artificially inflate the total yardage -- with all that scoring, he got his hands on so many kickoffs that guaranteed at least 20 yards each. But the rushing yardage was amazing. Do you know how many times Vince Young threw for over 294 yards this season? Twice! And yes, it's unfair to compare raw numbers, because Reggie only touches the ball about 20-30 times a game.
The fact that Reggie Bush stands out head and sholders above everyone on a team that includes a Heisman Trophy winner (Leinart), a Biletnikoff finalist (Jarrett), a Thorpe semi-finalist (Bing), and the best pure running back in college football (White), has to say something about his "inangibles".
Yes, his intangibles are that he's surrounded by world-class talent. Vince has good players around him, absolutely, but he doesn't have another Heisman Trophy winner, a Biletnikoff finalist, a Thorpe semi-finalist, OR the best pure running back in college football. And yet he performs like he does. I'd say that's a better argument for Vince and against Bush.
I mean come on, Bush isn't even the best running back on his own team, by your own admission!
Like Vince did against Ohio State and Texas Tech? You're right, Bush does show up in big games. Vince, however, shows up in EVERY game, big or small.
Like I said, UT's blown out everyone they play, so unlike USC they haven't had to light up the scoreboard. (Of course they're still winning by 40 points a game even only having to play one half.) Vince is handing the ball off for most of the second half of every game, when he's not riding the bench, his work long done.
Look, Bush would be a worthy Heisman winner. I'm not here to bash him, he's a great player. But you have to agree that Vince has a legitimate claim to it as well. This isn't "over". The case can be made for Vince, and I'm here to make it.
The Heisman has gone to a quarterback 15 out of the last 20 years. The running backs who've won it have broken the all time rushing record, and the other guy was a defender who stole it from Manning. Given that history, and combined with his performance game in and game out, I think there's still a legitimate chance Vince will win it.
P.S. Isn't it nice to forget all that religion and Supreme Court nonsense for a little while and argue about something that REALLY matters?!
It's not that Bush only shows up in big games, it's that he hardly gets any touches in those other games. The Fresno game was the first time he got more than 20 carries! He's averaging about 15 carries and 3 catches a game, yet he still has amassed big numbers. Vince Young gets to touch the ball on every play. Reggie's not calling the plays -- don't blame him for rushing for under 100 yards when he only gets 10 or 15 carries.
Does it help that Bush is surrounded by NFL quality talent? Of course it does. But how impressive is it that when the team is struggling, they turn to Bush rather than the other superstars. Kiffin gave Leinart the chance to win the Fresno game by throwing the ball all over the field. It didn't work, so he switched to handing it off to Bush and telling him to outrun the defense. These weren't up the middle runs that can be attributed to good blocking.
LenDale White is the best north/south, between the tackles running back on USC. Vince Young is the best multi-tool QB in the NCAA. Leinart is the best pocket passer (read: white dude who doesn't run weel) in the nation. Reggie Bush is the best football player the NCAA has seen in a while.
OK, NOW the Heisman competition is over.
Stinkin' Aggies. Grrr.
-- Jeff