Article:Toby Gerhart Wins the Heisman

Okay so we all know that Mike Ingram won the Heisman Trophy last night. However, all of us bloggers gave out our own Heisman Trophy Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the efforts of our good friend Shotgun Spratling from The Blueworkhorse, the ballots are in and they are counted Check out this great article courtesy of The Blue Workhorse

That's right folks. The votes have been tallied. There were 71 ballots cast with each having an outcome on the overall standings. It came down to the wire between the top two contenders. This is as close as it gets with the top two being separated by ONE MEASLY POINT!

We traveled from coast to coast collecting ballots from Florida to California to New York to Oregon with a myriad of stops in the midwest. Eighteen different players received votes while another three men, including Jesus Christ, were noted as honorable mentions. Without further ado...

(drumroll) Your 2009 Sports Blog Heisman Trophy winner is...
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1. Toby Gerhart (Stanford)
"Leads the nation in rushing yards, rushing TDs, and carries. In the best conference in the nation top to bottom this year (except Wash St of course), Gerhart led a young, undertalented team to a victory over Oregon and a pounding of USC. His stats are not the function of bad competition, a specific offensive system (Texas Tech, e.g.), or incredible talent around him. With a combination of power, agility, and stamina, Toby Gerhart was the best player in the nation this year." ( Russell - East Coast Bias)

"To call Toby Gerhart dominant would be a disservice. In fact, I’m not sure adjectives exist to fully grasp the impact that Gerhart had on not only Stanford, but the teams he played against. Considering only his statistics, Gerhart’s 1736 yards and 26 TDs is ridiculous. Taking a further look at how those yards were gained tells a more complete story. The Cardinal went to Gerhart early and often, and he always delivered, including a pounding of Oregon for 223 and 3 TDs." ( Alan - Over the Pylon)

"Played his best, against the best competition, in the best conference in college football. Overall numbers are better by every measure than Mark Ingram. Last 4 games (3 ranked opponents plus Notre Dame): 742 yards (185.5 YPG) and 12 TDs. Stanford had 85th ranked defense.." ( Jonathan Lee - AccuScore)

"Cuz he's a frickin' beast." ( Kellex - Blaze of Love)

"There is no debate, Gerhart is the MVP, the heart and soul of his team and the Cardinal wouldn't be in the position they are in without him. Give the Heisman trophy to him and let that be the end of the debate." ( Brett - Midway Illustrated)

Those who listed Gerhart #1 on their ballot  (official ballots in blue) :  SoB Mike - Sports of Boston ; John Havard - Garnet & Black Attack ; ghtd38 - RockMNation ; The Beef - RockMNation ; The Ciskie Blog ; FalconBlog ; The Original Blawger - Bulldawg Blawg ; cocknfire - Team Speed Kills ; Russell - East Coast Bias ; Samuel Chi - BCS Guru ; Alan - Over the Pylon ; Jon Lee - AccuScore ; Pedro Moura - USC Student Sports ; Kellex - Blaze of Love ; OC Domer ; Dan Greenspan ; Sean - Michigan Sports Center ; JPH - Lets Go Rockets ; KPatra - The Sports Union ; Ken - Fang Bites ; Doug - HeyJennySlater ; Sportsdawg - An Opinion On Sports ; Bunch - Modern Hombre, co-founder of Blogs with Balls, ; Brett - Midway Illustrated ; BJ Fischer; Heisman - The Blue Workhorse; Chris H - The Blue Workhorse

2. Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska)
"On a day where “Heisman Frontrunners” Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow were supposed to make their final statements of deserving the hardware it was Suh who stole the show and produced the most dominating performance college football fans have seen on national television in a long time. For the season Suh has 82 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 1 interception, 10 pass breakups, 24 quarterback hurries, 1 forced fumble and 3 blocked kicks." ( Matt Hofeld - Crimson & Cream Machine)

"He will be the #1 pick in the NFL draft in April and absolutely made the Texas offensive line look like children in the Big 12 Championship game. He was in the backfield on every play and is the most dominating player in college football." ( Scals -The Blue Workhorse)

"Everyone else finally got to see what everyone in the Big 12 has been seeing for awhile. Suh is the best DL in college since Warren Sapp. He is worth the price of admission." ( Mike Tag - I Am the 12th Man)

Those who listed Suh #1 on their ballot  (official ballots in blue) : Dave - Tailgating Ideas ; RPT - RockMNation ; Darrell Owenby - SEC Rivals ; Cynic - Hugging Harold Reynolds ; MLMinTampa - Alligator Army ; Joe Tetreault - Tetreault Vision ; Bill C - RockMNation ; Ace - The Wolverine Blog ; Luke - Eleven Warriors ; Mark Kieffer - Clone Chronicles ; Bull Run ; Red Cup Rebellion ; Allen Kenney - Blatant Homerism ; Chris - Seahawk Addicts ; Mizzourah ; Tye Berger - Bring On The Cats ; Scott - Badgercentric ; Dr. Aaron - Joe Sports Fan ; Tom Fornelli - Blog Ten Football ; Alex - Double Extra Point ; James - NE Patriots Draft ; Jamie Gilkey - Suns Stufft ; Will Stewart - Tech Sideline ; Marco - @SAGonzo ; Mike Tag - I Am the 12th Man ; Mark - Crimson & Cream Machine ; College Game Balls ; Brian Cook - mGo Blog ; Shotgun Spratling - The Blue Workhorse; Rosenblogger - The Blue Workhorse; Scals - The Blue Workhorse

3. Mark Ingram (Alabama)
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"He's a workhorse who powered Alabama through their (soon to be) national championship season, and he utterly demolished Florida, to win a national title berth, with 189 total yards and 3 TDs." ( Mitchell Blatt - Juiced Sports Blog)

"There's no padding here. Ingram's yards were hard fought, against SEC defenses who routinely stacked the box and dared QB Greg McElroy to beat them. Ingram also tallied over 1,000 yards of total offense after contact - more than half of his yards." ( Ell - Bama Sports Report)

"The dude is a brute. He has all the necessary ingredients when you think of a prototype RB. Strong, fast, and has power. And at 5'10' and 215 lbs, he has shown he can steam-roll and shake would be tacklers. He rushed for an Alabama record 1,542 yards and 15 touchdowns. " ( Jeff Garcia - Project Spurs)

Those who listed Ingram #1 on their ballot  (official ballots in blue) :  John Havard - Garnet & Black Attack ; Ell - Bama Sports Report ; Mike Parisi - Sports of Boston ; Mitchell Blatt - Juiced Sports Blog ; Brian - BC Interruption ; Jeff Garcia - Project Spurs ; Dan Shanoff ; L8N - Lets Go Rockets ; LawVol - Gate 21 ; Robert Weintraub - One Foot Inbounds ; MoonDog Sports ; Drew M - The Blue Workhorse

4. C.J. Spiller (Clemson)
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"The biggest homerun threat in college football. A threat to score from anywhere on the field." ( Alex Morgan - Double Extra Point)

"Put C.J. Spiller on Alabama, or Texas, or Florida, or even Cincinnati, and he might just be the odds-on favorite for the Heisman Trophy this season. His ability to affect the game as a runner, receiver, and returner is unmatched by any other back in country — Spiller finished 2009 with 1145 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 201 carries (5.7 yards per carry), 445 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 33 catches (13.5 yards per catch), 210 yards and a touchdown on 13 punt returns (16.2 yards per return), and an astounding 708 yards and four touchdowns on 21 kick returns (33.7 yards per return). Just for the hell of it, he even threw for a touchdown this season.." ( Ace - The Wolverine Blog)

"Spiller, arguably the NCAAs most dynamic special teams player of all-time, wrapped up a brilliant career by nearly single handedly carrying underdog Clemson in the ACC Championship on 20 carries for a career-high 233 yards and four touchdowns against Georgia Tech. The senior averaged a mind boggling 270 all-purpose yards in four games against top-15 opposition this year. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has preemptively elected to retire Spillers #28, and despite not having the accrued halfback totals of a Gerhart or an Ingram, it’d be difficult to argue with Spiller’s overall contribution to his program (and the game) in the last 4 seasons." ( Luke - Eleven Warriors)

Those who listed Spiller #1 on their ballot  (official ballots in blue) :  Winfield Featherston - From The Rumble Seat

5. Colt McCoy (Texas)


"He really took control in the final two games. He had an impressive game against Texas A&M when his team needed it and made a clutch drive for the win against Nebraska." ( Travis - Hammer & Nails)

"You’d be hard pressed to find a player across the country, save for Tebow, more valuable than McCoy for his team’s attitude, performance, and success. 3512 yards and 27 TDs are the raw numbers through the air, but often overlooked is McCoy’s ability to scramble and use his legs for conversions, TDs, and keeping opposing defenses in check in critical situations. ( Alan - Over the Pylon)

Those who listed McCoy #1 on their ballot  (official ballots in blue) :  DWalk - Walker Sports ; Travis - Hammer & Nails

6. Kellen Moore (Boise State)


"39 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 3325 yards passing. Most efficient passer in college football (167.3) and while Boise State played no one this year, their signature win over Oregon is better than anyone Texas beat all season" ( Brian F - BC Interruption)

"No. 1 nationally in pass efficiency, throwing 39 TDs against 3 INT in leading the Broncos to another undefeated season." ( Dan Greenspan - College Football News)

Moore had no first place votes.

7. Tim Tebow (Florida)


"He is still the juice that fuels the Gators offense and is a great leader, but a down year statistically in a year where the D carried the team"

"The Chosen Nne has not had his best of years, but his stats are still silly. In the end, Tebow became his own worse enemy. You can't get 50 TD's and win the Heisman and then come back to the table with anything less." ( DWalk - Walker Sports)

Tebow had no first place votes.

8. Golden Tate (Notre Dame)


"Seventeen total touchdowns on the season, and never once was he tackled by a single defender. The kid is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball, and plays like a linebacker at WR." ( Tom Fornelli - Blog Ten Football)

"You can't keep him from getting the ball, you can't tackle him, and you can't catch him. Despite being double or triple covered every play, Golden still came up with huge plays time and again. Golden kept the Irish in games single-handedly for seven weeks (while Michael Floyd was injured)." ( OC Domer)

Tate had no first place votes.

8. Case Keenum (Houston)


"While his numbers are impressive, what is most intriguing about Keenum is his ability to step up in tough situations. He engineered early season upsets of Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. And, most tellingly, look at his numbers in Houston’s three losses: 1440 yards, 13 TDs and 4 INTs. You certainly can’t pin those losses on Keenum, and he did just about anything anyone could ask of him to keep his team in the games." ( The Cynic - Hugging Harold Reynolds)

Keenum had no first place votes.

8. Jeremiah Masoli (Oregon)


"The Ducks bounced back from the opening game disaster to win the conference, thanks to Masoli's performance. Over 2,000 yard passing, 650 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns." ( Samuel Chi - BCS Guru)

Masoli had no first place votes.


 * Sports Blog Heisman Trophy voting breakdown

3 points for a first-place vote, 2 for a second-place vote, 1 for a third-place vote

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 * Player | School | First | Second | Third | Total points |
 * Toby Gerhart | Stanford  | 25 | 21 | 12 | 129 |
 * Ndamukong Suh | Nebraska | 31 | 13 | 9 | 128 |
 * Mark Ingram | Alabama  | 12 | 18 | 15 | 87 |
 * C.J. Spiller | Clemson  | 1 | 5 | 13 | 26 |
 * Colt McCoy | Texas  | 2 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
 * Kellen Moore | Boise State  |  | 2 | 3 | 7 |
 * Tim Tebow | Florida  |  | 1  | 3 | 5  |
 * Golden Tate | Notre Dame  |  | 1  | 1  | 3  |
 * Case Keenum | Houston  |  | 1  | 1  | 3  |
 * Jeremiah Masoli | Oregon  |  | 1  | 1  | 3  |


 * Five other players (Brandon Graham, Jimmy Clausen, Dion Lewis, Josh Nesbitt, and Danario Alexander) each received two points while Rolando McLain, Jake Locker, and Freddie Barnes each received a single third place vote.. |


 * I sent out as many e-mails as I could to sports web sites all across the nation and received back 71 ballots. Of the 71 ballots that were sent in, the most represented region is the Midwestt with 25. The remaining representations: Southeast - 18; Northeast - 13; Far West - 8; Southwest - 8.





Heisman Trophy voting points by region

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 * Player | Northeast | Southeast | Southwest | Midwest | Far West |
 * Gerhart | 16 | 31 | 15 | 48 | 19 |
 * Suh | 22 | 28 | 18 | 47 | 13 |
 * Ingram | 19 | 26 | 11 | 24 | 7 |
 * Spiller | 2 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
 * McCoy | 8 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 1 |

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Shotgun Spratling