October 28, 2009

Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer

VOTE: Tell us who you would vote for this week

Does this guy deserve to be considered for the Heisman Trophy?

He has thrown for 1,445 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions for an undefeated team that ranks among country's best.

Not even the most blindly loyal Alabama fan would endorse Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy as a Heisman contender. Yet, McElroy's statistics are better than those posted by Florida's Tim Tebow, who some still stubbornly rate among the Heisman contenders.

The truth hurts, and each week it's becoming painfully obvious that Tebow isn't having a season worthy of Heisman consideration.

Tebow has passed for 1,159 yards, with eight touchdowns and four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns by Mississippi State last week. Those numbers are inferior to that of the struggling McElroy.

Of course, the argument is that Tebow also is a rushing threat, which McElroy is not.

But consider that Ohio State's much-maligned Terrelle Pryor has more passing yards (1,408), passing touchdowns (nine) and rushing yards (471) than Tebow.

The Tebow camp would point out that Ohio State has played one more game than Florida. And some would argue that it's not all about statistics, that Tebow has led his team to an undefeated record.

Well, so has Iowa's Ricky Stanzi and TCU's Andy Dalton, and neither are being touted for the Heisman.

Texas is unbeaten behind Colt McCoy, who has thrown for 1,806 yards and 14 touchdowns. Yet, his Heisman stocked dropped after a poor showing in a 16-13 victory over Oklahoma.

McCoy bounced back with a strong game against Missouri, and could resurface as a leading contender if he plays well Saturday against Oklahoma State. He could even make a late charge at winning the Heisman if he has a strong second half of the season.

Tebow could, too. But based on his performance so far, he shouldn't be considered a strong contender.

Olin Buchanan is the senior college football writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at olin@rivals.com.