jalbre6
12-08-2004, 06:45 PM
from :http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/awards04/news/story?id=1942052
Leinart, Bush, White and Peterson lead final 5
Four players whose teams are bound for the Orange Bowl dominate the Heisman Trophy finalist list, which was announced Wednesday evening on SportsCenter.
Quarterback-tailback tandems from No. 1 Southern California (Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush) and No. 2 Oklahoma (Jason White and Adrian Peterson) are joined by QB Alex Smith of Fiesta Bowl-bound Utah (No. 6 ESPN/USA Today, No. 5 AP).
Those five players have earned invitations to New York for Saturday's Heisman presentation ceremony.
USC quarterback Leinart, who finished sixth in the Heisman balloting as a sophomore last season, has passed for 2,990 yards and 28 touchdowns with only six interceptions in leading the Trojans (12-0) to the Bowl Championship Series title game.
Southern California tailback Bush has 2,181 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns this season. His 167.8 all-purpose yards per game average is seventh-best in Division I-A. He closed out the regular season with a bang against UCLA, rushing for a career-high 204 yards on 15 carries, catching six passes for 73 yards and adding 58 return yards.
White, who won the 2003 Heisman, has 2,961 yards passing and 33 touchdowns for the Sooners (12-0). White -- who won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top senior quarterback, for 2004 -- would be just the second two-time Heisman winner, joining Ohio State great Archie Griffin (1974-75).
Oklahoma tailback Peterson, who would be the first underclassman to win the Heisman, has 1,843 yards rushing, averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and 15 touchdowns. Peterson set an NCAA freshman record with his 10th 100-yard rushing game when he rolled to 172 yards in the Sooners' 42-3 rout of Colorado in the Big 12 title game.
Smith is Utah's first Heisman finalist. The junior racked up 28 touchdown passes, with only four interceptions, and 2,624 passing yards as he led the Utes (11-0) into college football's elite as the first team from a mid-major conference to play in the Bowl Championship Series. Smith is considered a long shot to win the Heisman because his stellar numbers were earned against some less-than-stellar competition in the Mountain West Conference.
Among Heisman contenders who did not make the top 5 were Texas running back Cedric Benson, Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell and California teammates Aaron Rodgers and J.J. Arrington.
Leinart, Bush, White and Peterson lead final 5
Four players whose teams are bound for the Orange Bowl dominate the Heisman Trophy finalist list, which was announced Wednesday evening on SportsCenter.
Quarterback-tailback tandems from No. 1 Southern California (Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush) and No. 2 Oklahoma (Jason White and Adrian Peterson) are joined by QB Alex Smith of Fiesta Bowl-bound Utah (No. 6 ESPN/USA Today, No. 5 AP).
Those five players have earned invitations to New York for Saturday's Heisman presentation ceremony.
USC quarterback Leinart, who finished sixth in the Heisman balloting as a sophomore last season, has passed for 2,990 yards and 28 touchdowns with only six interceptions in leading the Trojans (12-0) to the Bowl Championship Series title game.
Southern California tailback Bush has 2,181 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns this season. His 167.8 all-purpose yards per game average is seventh-best in Division I-A. He closed out the regular season with a bang against UCLA, rushing for a career-high 204 yards on 15 carries, catching six passes for 73 yards and adding 58 return yards.
White, who won the 2003 Heisman, has 2,961 yards passing and 33 touchdowns for the Sooners (12-0). White -- who won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually to the nation's top senior quarterback, for 2004 -- would be just the second two-time Heisman winner, joining Ohio State great Archie Griffin (1974-75).
Oklahoma tailback Peterson, who would be the first underclassman to win the Heisman, has 1,843 yards rushing, averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and 15 touchdowns. Peterson set an NCAA freshman record with his 10th 100-yard rushing game when he rolled to 172 yards in the Sooners' 42-3 rout of Colorado in the Big 12 title game.
Smith is Utah's first Heisman finalist. The junior racked up 28 touchdown passes, with only four interceptions, and 2,624 passing yards as he led the Utes (11-0) into college football's elite as the first team from a mid-major conference to play in the Bowl Championship Series. Smith is considered a long shot to win the Heisman because his stellar numbers were earned against some less-than-stellar competition in the Mountain West Conference.
Among Heisman contenders who did not make the top 5 were Texas running back Cedric Benson, Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell and California teammates Aaron Rodgers and J.J. Arrington.