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The Heisman? It's his, man

FSU coach Bobby Bowden and his players say there is no doubt Chris Weinke deserves the nation's top award.

By BRIAN LANDMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 20, 2000

TALLAHASSEE -- Throughout the season, Florida State senior Chris Weinke sidestepped any questions about the Heisman Trophy as if he were as quick and nimble as, say, Michael Vick.

Sure he'd like to win the award, but he desired a trip to Miami for the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl and a shot at a second straight national title far more than a trip to New York's famed Downtown Athletic Club on Dec. 9.

He understood, however, the two weren't mutually exclusive.

Far from it.

After overcoming a flu-like bug that forced him to the hospital Friday, Weinke threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Seminoles to a 30-7 win in their biggest game of the season, against archrival Florida on Saturday.

"It probably added to his legacy," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said Sunday morning of Weinke's performance. "It added to any kind of hopes we would have for him in the Heisman."

"Obviously, I don't control that," Weinke said. "What I have been able to control is done now. ... It's in other people's hands now. I've given it my best shot the last 12 games and hopefully that's going to be good enough."

By all accounts, he and Oklahoma senior quarterback Josh Heupel are the front-runners and, no, the networks aren't calling the race yet. Heupel and top-ranked Oklahoma close out the regular season at Oklahoma State on Saturday and meet Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 2. If the Sooners win and if FSU can leapfrog Miami in the Bowl Championship Series standings, Heupel and Weinke will be heading to Miami via New York.

Hey, Chris.

Call your travel agent.

"The quarterback at Oklahoma has been mighty valuable to his team, there's no doubt about it," Bowden said. "His numbers aren't showing up like Chris' numbers, but he must be fantastic."

Heupel has completed 237 of 353 passes (67 percent) for 3,018 yards and 17 touchdowns with nine interceptions, the key to Oklahoma's resurgence after years of mediocrity.

Weinke has completed 266 of 431 passes (62 percent) for 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Along the way, he has rewritten the FSU and Atlantic Coast Conference record books. He also commanded center stage Saturday night in what has become the nation's most intense, most high-stakes rivalry.

"He was playing on guts," said senior receiver Marvin Minnis, who caught eight passes for a career-high 187 yards and two touchdowns. "He was out there coughing and everything, but he was still going. They (Heisman voters) should look at that."

"Chris missed the most important meetings (Friday and Saturday) and he felt like crap and he still came out and threw for nearly 400 yards," senior center Jarad Moon said. "I don't see how there's another choice, really. ... I don't see how the national media as a whole could be that dim-witted to not pick Chris for the Heisman."

But what's disconcerting to FSU players and coaches is that it appears some of the 900-plus voters are looking at another number -- 28, Weinke's NFL-like age.

Coaches have said Weinke, who's known for his unflappability, is like a man playing amongst boys and that trait, a plus on the field, has created a Heisman backlash.

"It doesn't seem fair," Bowden said. "Being too short doesn't count. Being too tall doesn't count. I don't think the age should be a factor."

Some folks seemingly have forgotten that Weinke quit playing football for more than six years after high school to pursue a professional baseball career. That, Weinke will tell you, was a disadvantage.

"When it's all said and done, you're going to take the guys who have been nominated for it and stack their numbers up and when it comes right down to it, the people out there are going to pick the guy who has been able to accomplish more than anyone else," he said. "When it's all said and done, what I've been able to accomplish here is going to speak for itself when it comes time to make that decision."

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