Ndamukong Suh Makes a Strong Case for Heisman
14 comments so far
December 6, 2009 by
Coming into the Big 12 Championship Game Texas quarterback Colt McCoy was generally regarded as the leading candidate to win the Heisman Trophy. Ndamukong Suh had other plans.
Suh sacked, hurried and generally roughed-up the winningest quarterback in college football history and made a strong statement to Heisman voters.
The stats speak for themselves:
Suh: 12 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 quarterback hurries
McCoy: 20 of 36 passing for 184 yards, 3 INTs, 17 carries for -20 yards
The Blackshirt defense, led by Suh, held one of the nation's best offenses to their lowest point production all year and McCoy to his worst performance of the season.
Heisman Voting
According to a straw poll of Heisman voters conducted by StiffArmTrophy.com, Suh is in a three-way deadlock with McCoy and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart.
McCoy and Gerhart are both phenominal players. But, after looking at the results of Saturday's head-to-head battle between McCoy and Suh, how can any Heisman voter still choose McCoy?
Don't Take Our Word For It
Now, obviously we are a little biased. Let's see what Texas coaches and the national media say.
"He's the best defensive player we've played all year"-Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis
"He was all over the place. And we just couldn't handle him. I tried to find him after the game to wish him good luck in the NFL, because I don't want to see him again." -Texas head coach Mack Brown
"Heisman voters are charged with selecting "the Most Outstanding Player in the United States in 2009," so will they? Saturday, the most outstanding player in the United States singlehandedly dismantled one of the nation's best offenses.
Suh will be No. 1 on my inaugural Heisman ballot, but unfortunately, the majority of the 926 voters don't understand the game well enough to vote for a defensive tackle." -Andy Staples (Sports Illustrated)
"Won't win the award, but maybe should." -Matt Hayes (SportingNews)
Suh for Heisman
Come on Heisman voters. Vote Suh for Heisman.
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aj Dec 06 09
Andy Staples writes for SI, not ESPN.
If the argument all year long was Oregon lost to Boise, so they couldn't possibly be ahead of them in the polls, how could a voter in good faith vote for McCoy over Suh, when a head-to-head matchup showed who the better player was (by far)? I'd go Suh first, Gerhart second, and Mark Ingram third, but I know better to expect anything close to that.
Rob Dec 06 09
Uhm, Suh had 12 tackles, not 10....
Mike Dec 06 09
I don't know all the rules but why did Texas kick the winning field goal from the left hash mark when the last pass play went out on the right ?
Jason Dec 06 09
AJ & Rob, good catches. I have corrected the errors and severely reprimanded our fact checker.
Good question Mike. I just watched the replay on espn360.
The last play started on the left hash. McCoy rolled to his right and was outside the right hash when he threw the ball out of bounds. So, it does seem like the ball should have been spotted on the right hash.
The TV coverage didn't show if Texas lined up on the left and then the ball was spotted or if the officials spotted the ball on the left hash and then Texas lined up. Either way it looks like (another) oversight by the officials.
But, it doesn't do any good to blame the officials about the outcome when we could have made a number of plays that would have changed the game.
tim Dec 06 09
on an incomplete pass the ball gets spotted at the previous spot
PSW Dec 06 09
Suh is hands down the best player in the country.
Matt Dec 06 09
Jason--typically, if it were just one or two bad calls, then I would agree with you 100%.
But there is a prevalent history of Texas' opponents getting the whole shaft, and nothing but the shaft. That happened all night--no holds against Texas (despite their O-Line tackling our D-Line), the completely wrong pass interference calls, and the gaffe on adding time back to the clock when time had expired.
Oh, and the latest on 'Clockgate' is that the booth reviewer admitted that they used the footage that ABC had of their 'synced' clock--problem is, that clock ABC showed wasn't the official game clock. And we have no clue who put the footage together at ABC or if they had an agenda.
So, yes, the folks that are calling for blood in this game and are calling shenanigans against Texas do have a very valid point. One that the Big XII Commish would do well to address point-by-point, as this won't go away, especially with the cheatin' conference killers and their ilk coming to Lincoln next fall.
Mase Dec 06 09
I haven't posted in awhile, but after going to the game last night, I have to weigh in. All I know is that the clock display in front of us read zero, no whistle was blown, and no official on the field said there was a second left...so guess what, there wasn't a second left! People can say all they want about what ABC showed, what the scoreboard showed, or what they saw in the booth when the ball hit out of bounds, but the most important thing is that none of those represent the OFFICIAL game clock. The refs on the field have the official time, as they have for the last 120 years...if they don't say there is a second left, if they didn't stop the watch with any time left...then whether or not there was on TV doesn't matter. Furthermore, if they were a half-second to a second late stopping the clock due to human perception-reaction time, isn't it conceivable that they were a half-second to a second late STARTING the clock? It's a wash in my opinion, and likely the reason why the clock time is NON-REVIEWABLE! Nebraska won the game and got screwed in my opinion...end of story. I don't care how many times they want to show the bogus clock on TV and what it read when the ball hit the ground...
Mase Dec 06 09
PS - Suh for Heisman...that guy completely dominated last night! And he schooled the Heisman front-runner head to head repeatedly on a big stage. I think my favorite play may have been when he tackled the Texas running back, along with seemingly half of the offensive line, right in front of their bench! They got caught in the SUHnami!
iggy Dec 07 09
if you think Oklahoma was a crazy atmosphere this year just wait until the Horns come to town next year. We won't forget the b12 ttl game and Lincoln will be out for blood.
Zack Dec 07 09
I was at the game on Saturday and a former college football player. I have never seen a defensive tackle take over a game like he did. I truthfully belive he deserves the heisman, but he WON'T(this coming from a Texas fan). These days people just do not unstand the importance of the position enough to give the award to him. And yes they did get the call right, so you must deal with the fact that Nebraska lost. For Nebraska and Suh to gain National respect they must beat teams like Iowa State at home. That's just the way it is!
Chris Dec 07 09
Suh will win the Heisman.
Matt Dec 10 09
Nebraska won. This is coming from a texas fan. We managed to get the favor from the BCS and ABC. That is all. Also from a texas fan if Tebow or McCoy are in the top 3 at the heisman ceremony on saturday then the 900+ voters are biased and ignorant. I love McCoy and he is a damn good quarterback and one of the greatest leaders and players ive seen, but its about the Best OVERALL player of the YEAR... NOT the best offensive player of the past 4 years...
YogiBarrister Dec 12 09
Suh will certainly have the best NFL career of the top five Heisman candidates, but his game against Texas clinched the award for Ingram. I'm sure if you ask, Suh will gladly take the career over the trophy.