It's getting down to crunch time in college football: award lists are being finalized, conference champions will be crowned in the next month, and bowl matchups will soon be set. As my team from the show-me state (Mizzou) has yet to show us anything other than they are continually over-hyped in preseason basketball, football, baseball, and nearly every other sport that no one follows, I often root for another Big 12 school:
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma O.K.
Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Oklahoma!
Last year, I predicted to Nacho, with several games left on the schedule, noone would touch Oklahoma; they seemed to be men among boys. Then came the Conference Championship loss to K-State, and the embarassing loss to LSU, and I was forced to eat my words. But regardless Jason White, their QB had a Heisman under his belt, and a solid core returning for his 6th and final season. While they knew their D might be a little suspect (as has been shown in the last couple games) with the loss of their incredible D coordinator Mike Stoops to Arizona, the offense was returning nearly all its starters and the entire offensive line nearly intact. In addition, the countries most sought after recruit had committed to OU. I think most people knew Adrian Peterson would make an impact, but noone would have predicted he would rush for over 100 yards every game his freshman season, including 200+ in two of their biggest games of the season (Texas and OSU).
Now these two, White and Peterson, are leading the Heisman race, and baring any poor performances (which seem unlikely given the rest of their schedule, but this is college football so you never know), one of the two should win the Heisman. White seemed all but out of the race the first 4-5 games of the season, but has been incredible as of late, and with Peterson injuring himself (although it just appears to be a nagging injury and nothing serious) in OU's last game, White could be the second ever two time Heisman winner. If Peterson wins, he'd become the first freshman ever to win the award; Vick is currently the highest freshman vote getter finishing third his first year.
As ESPN.com says:
(This week will be) a good time to break off a big game for a pair of Heisman favorites as the Sooners -- coming off two tough games -- face Nebraska at home. The question now is whether its Jason White or Adrian Peterson that pads the stats the most.
I guess we'll see in the next few weeks if OU can keep from flopping a second year in a row. Regardless, unless both these guys completely bomb in the next couple weeks, one of them looks to be guaranteed the Heisman.
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