Look who came for the Heisman race

By By Will Bradwell / sports writer
Nov. 6, 2003
All of a sudden, Eli Manning is a serious Heisman Trophy contender.
And I don't mean the way Deuce McAllister was a Heisman candidate. Deuce had as much a chance of winning the Heisman in 2000 as did my mother.
Manning sincerely doesn't give a rip, but the Ole Miss quarterback has quietly developed a legitimate shot at college football's highest individual award.
You can hardly blame him for the ire he holds against the Downtown Athletic Club, which doles out the Heisman. His older brother, former Tennessee quarterback Peyton, was robbed of the award in 1997. Father Archie wouldn't spit on the DAC if it were on fire.
The Mannings' angst for the award is so intense that Archie instructed Ole Miss to forget about running a Heisman campaign for Eli.
Even without a campaign, Manning has established himself as one of the top five players up for the award. It's pointless to wonder how Eli would stand right now if Ole Miss was actually pushing him as a candidate, but it probably wouldn't have hurt his chances.
He's certainly got Heisman-esque numbers. Through nine games, Manning has 21 touchdowns against only eight interceptions. He's thrown for over 300 yards in four games, and has put up at least 250 yards in all but two games and even those two were Ole Miss wins. And most important of all, he has the Rebels two wins away from their first SEC West division title.
Manning needs just 337 passing yards to reach 3,000 for the season. He may get that on Saturday against Auburn, since the Rebels probably won't have a whole lot of luck on the ground against the Tigers' defense.
Throw in Ole Miss' remaining games against LSU, Mississippi State and a possible appearance in the conference championship, and Eli could conceivably wrack up close to 4,000 yards by the time the Heisman ballots are due.
The knock on Eli is that he hasn't won the big game yet. Florida was big and so is the five-game winning streak that the Rebels are enjoying, but I'm talking about a BIG game.
He'll have that opportunity in the Rebels' next two outings. The Auburn game on Saturday will be seen nationwide on CBS, and if Ole Miss wins, the LSU game on Nov. 22 probably will be too.
Another offensive explosion against Mississippi State's woeful secondary on Thanksgiving also nationally televised on ESPN, don't forget wouldn't hurt.
At this point, Manning looks poised to solidly fit in as one of the top three players for the award. Still, he needs some help from the race's leaders, Oklahoma quarterback Jason White and Pitt wideout Larry Fitzgerald. White's numbers aren't much better than Manning's in fact, Eli has about 200 yards more than White but playing for the nation's best team has helped the Sooner signal-caller.
An Oklahoma loss would do wonders for Eli's candidacy. The rest of the Sooners' schedule is pretty uneventful, though. Unless Oklahoma trips up against Texas Tech, their last big challenge will come in the Big 12 championship game, where the Sooners will probably face Nebraska.
Make no mistake if Oklahoma finishes 13-0, White wins. If the Sooners don't run the table, though, and if Ole Miss does, advantage Eli.
Fitzgerald may be the guy to beat, though. He's got sick numbers 60 catches for 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns. It's a lot harder for a wide receiver to have a bad game than it is for a quarterback. Unless he starts dropping balls, Fitzgerald could win.
The biggest knock against Fitzgerald may be his age. He's just a sophomore, and both Mike Vick and Randy Moss can tell you that Heisman voters often bite their thumbs at underclassmen.
And don't underestimate Eli's name. People remember what happened to Peyton six years ago. A lot of voters, particularly those from the South, may be sympathetic to Peyton and give consolations through a vote for the family's latest candidate.
That may not be the way it's supposed to go, but in a close race, you'd be willing to take a few more votes any way you can get them. Just ask Ronnie Musgrove.