Be sure to scroll down to a video I posted last night...

  • My Heisman Top 5 going into the last week: 1) Toby Gerhart, Stanford 2) Terrance Cody, Alabama 3) Golden Tate, Notre Dame 4) Colt McCoy, Texas 5) C.J. Spiller, Clemson.
  • The Heisman should go to the best player on a good team, not the most famous player on a great team.  The only reason I add the caveat about a good team is that bad teams don't play in pressure spots on the big stage.  Notre Dame was an average/good team this year, but Tate was on the national radar and delivered time after time. 
  • Gerhart's season is over, but he finished as strong as any Heisman candidate I can remember.  His last four games: Oregon (38 carries, 223 yards and 3 TDs), USC (29 carries, 178 yards and 3 TDs), Cal (20 carries, 136 yards and 4 TDs) and Notre Dame (29 carries, 205 yards and 3 TDs).  Just remember, when you hear Notre Dame apologists whine all week that their admission standards are too high to compete with USC and Florida, Gerhart put up these numbers with 10 offensive teammates that needed 1200 SATs and 3.5 GPAs to play football on "The Farm."  
  • Terrance Cody had the most indelible moment of the season when he blocked a potential game-winning field goal against Tennessee.  Plus, the Tide turned the moment he showed up on campus last year and SEC offenses stopped running effectively against Alabama.
  • Tate and Spiller are the two most talented players in the country.
  • McCoy makes it over WR Jordan Shipley because the receiver came up empty in the Horns big games (zero TD catches against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State).  Yet, McCoy still engineered victories.
  • Noticeably absent: Tim Tebow, Florida (set the bar too high in previous seasons and he failed to reach it); Mark Ingram, Alabama (benched in the most important game of the season against Auburn due to ineffectiveness); Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (great name, but I've never seen him play, so I'll reassess after the Big 12 Title game). 
  • Any more questions about the validity of the 2009 New Orleans Saints?  Not from me.
  • Any more questions that Drew Brees and Peyton Manning being the two best QBs in the NFL right now?  It's been true since the moment Tom Brady's knee blew up.
  • I'm not knocking Brady's career, but he's been a top 10 QB in 2009 not a top 2 QB.  He's missed Randy Moss time after time on big plays and he's not delivering in the clutch like he did pre-injury.  At the moment, he's in the same class as Phil Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Favre, a step below alpha Manning and Brees.
  • The Saints offense is the perfect storm.  The orchestra has matured and is finally playing at the level of the maestro.  Therefore, Brees is simply conducting like Brady did in 2007.  While the passing games are similar, this Saints offense is better built for late season success because they have a power running game to grind out 4th quarters and deliver in cold weather.
  • How many times does Bill Belichick need to go for it in low-percentage 4th down situations before ESPN acknowledges that he's not showing "trust in his offense", he's showing no faith in his defense?  Maybe he's right.  Maybe his defense cannot get the big stop.  But the media can at least be honest and recognize the situation for what it is.
  • **Correction** Yesterday, I quoted Bootsy as saying he was "convinced" Bob Stoops will be the next Notre Dame coach.  In truth, he said he "really thinks" Bob Stoops will take the job.  Apparently, those are completely different.  For example, I really think I can sleep with that girl at the bar, but I am convinced that I will wake up with an STD.  

"Survey Says"...