Colleges

Still just a 3-man race

By wire services
Published December 8, 2005

NEW YORK - The Heisman Trophy competition is a three-man race - just as it's been all season.

Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart of Southern California will be back in New York on Saturday, along with Texas quarterback Vince Young, when the Heisman Trophy is awarded to the nation's best college football player.

The Downtown Athletic Club, which hands out the sport's most prestigious individual award, invited Wednesday only those three players to the presentation ceremony.

Last season, five players attended the Heisman ceremony and Leinart won it. Since 1999, either four or five finalists have been invited to New York.

Bush, Leinart and Young have been the front-runners since the preseason, and they've been jockeying for position all year.

Bush emerged as the favorite in the past three weeks with two enormous games. The 200-pound speedster had 513 all-purpose yards in a 50-42 victory over Fresno State and he rushed for 260 yards and two touchdowns in a 66-19 victory over UCLA, which completed a perfect regular season for the Trojans (12-0).

Bush, who finished fifth in the Heisman voting last season to earn a trip to Manhattan, has rushed for a career-high 1,658 yards, averaging 8.9 per carry, and scored 18 touchdowns.

The junior would be the first running back to win the award since Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne in '99. The last five winners have been quarterbacks.

Leinart is having an even better season this year than last, when he became the sixth USC player to win the Heisman, and second Trojans quarterback in three years, joining Carson Palmer (2002).

Leinart passed up a chance to become the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft to return to USC for his senior year, and threw for 3,450 yards and 27 touchdowns. The left-hander is 37-1 in three years as a starter and could become the second player to win two Heismans, joining Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, who won in 1974 and '75.

Young, the best running quarterback in the country, became an effective passer this season, throwing for 2,769 yards and 26 touchdowns. He's led the Longhorns (12-0) to a perfect regular season and Big 12 title.

He piled up 506 total yards, a Texas record, in a 47-28 come-from-behind win over Oklahoma state and became just the second QB in major college history to run and pass for more than 230 in the same game.

The three finalists will meet in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4 with the national title on the line.

BUNKLEY DUBBED ALL-AMERICAN: FSU senior noseguard Brodrick Bunkley has been named a first team All-American according to the Football Writers Association of America. The FWAA/Cingular ABC Sports All-America team will be recognized at the college football awards show Friday evening in Orlando.

EIGHT BULLS HONORED: USF running back Andre Hall made the all-Big East first team, and offensive tackle Theodric Watson, center John Miller, offensive guard Frank Davis, defensive lineman Terrence Royal, linebacker Stephen Nicholas, cornerback Mike Jenkins and safety Johnnie Jones earned second team honors.

Redshirt freshman Carlton Williams, USF's starting free safety, underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a broken bone in his left hand, though he expects to make a healthy return in time for the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte on Dec. 31 against N.C. State.

Williams had 62 total tackles this season, highest among USF's defensive backs, and tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

LEGISLATION: A playoff system could be used in major college football and the so-called "plus-one" model for determining a national champion should be reconsidered, the head of the Bowl Championship Series told Congress. Lawmakers on the subcommittee - which examined steroids in sports earlier this year - made clear they are not interested in pursuing legislation, but they did want to know why Division I-A football is the only college sport without a playoff system.

"Why can't it do it?" asked Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. "We're not going to introduce a playoff bill after this hearing. But I hope this hearing causes discussion. I would like to see the NCAA and the major conferences and the BCS come together on their own to develop a playoff system."

LOMBARDI AWARD: Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk won the award for the nation's top college lineman or linebacker, becoming the fifth Buckeyes player to receive the honor.

STUDENT ADVANTAGE: About 275 Rutgers students will be randomly selected to receive $300 stipends for travel to the Dec. 27 Insight Bowl in Phoenix, Ariz. The money comes from more than $85,000 donated by alumni and others, including a $25,000 state donation . Free tickets also are available for students through the athletics department.

ARKANSAS: Quarterbacks coach Roy Wittke was fired over the weekend, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Times staff writer Greg Auman contributed to this report.

[Last modified December 8, 2005, 00:50:19]