2008-2009
College Football Season
Awards

Bradford Wins Heisman

by Dave Congrove
December 13, 2008

(CFP) -- Oklahoma sophomore QB Sam Bradford won the 74th annual Heisman Trophy award at a ceremony in New York on Saturday night, becoming the second consecutive underclassman to do so. Texas junior QB Colt McCoy was second and Florida junior QB Tim Tebow was 3rd.

Bradford out-pointed McCoy 1,726 to 1,604. Tebow, last year's Heisman winner, tallied 1,575 points. However, Tebow received more first-place votes.

The point differential between first and third was the tightest Heisman finish since Tim Couch won in 2001 over Florida's Rex Grossman and Miami's Ken Dorsey.

Neither Bradford or McCoy finished in the top ten Heisman balloting last year.

Here's a look at each of this year's finalists, in their order of finish:

1) Sam Bradford, Sophomore, QB, Oklahoma - The second consecutive sophomore to win the award completed 302-of-442 passes (68.3 percent) for 4,464 yards and a nation's-best 48 TD's against just 6 INT's. He also added 5 rushing TD's as he led his team to a 12-1 season and a berth in the BCS Championship versus fellow Heisman candidate Tim Tebow and Florida. In the final five games of 2008, Oklahoma became the first team in 89 years to score 60+ points in five consecutive games. With one game still left to play, the Sooners have already scored 702 points to shatter the record of 656 set by Hawaii in 2006.

2) Colt McCoy, Junior, QB, Texas - McCoy led his team to an 11-1 record and a regular season victory over Oklahoma. He completed 291-of-375 passes (77.6 percent) for 3,445 yards with 32 TD's and 7 INT's. He was also the leading rusher on the Longhorns with 576 yards and 10 TD's.

3) Tim Tebow, Junior, QB, Florida - The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner led his team to a 12-1 season and berth in the BCS Championship versus 2008 Heisman winner Sam Bradford and Oklahoma. He completed 174-of-268 passes for 2,515 yards with 28 TD's and just 2 INT's. He added 564 yards rushing and 12 TD's.

The Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the best college football player in America, It is named after John W. Heisman, noted collegiate player and coach, and recognized as the inventor of the forward pass. The award is voted annually by hundreds of sports journalists around the country and past Heisman Trophy recipients. Each voter gets to submit a ballot that ranks their top three players. Points are tallied by awarding 3 points for each first-place vote, two points for second, and one point for third.

Also See: All-Time Heisman List

2008 AWARD WINNERS

AP Coach Of the Year: Nick Saban, Alabama

Home Depot Coach Of the Year: Nick Saban, Alabama

AP Player Of the Year: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma

Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
See: All-Time Chuck Bednarik Award Winners

Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
See: All-Time Fred Biletnikoff Award Winners

Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Aaron Curry, Wake Forest
See: All-Time Butkus Award Winners

Walter Camp Award (top player): Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
See: All-Time Walter Camp POY Winners

Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Graham Gano, Florida State
See: All-Time Lou Groza Award Winners

Ray Guy Award (punter): Matt Fodge, Oklahoma State
See: All-Time Ray Guy Award Winners

Vince Lombardi Award (lineman or linebacker): Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
See: All-Time Vince Lombardi Award Winners

John Mackey Award (tight end): Chase Coffman, Missouri
See: All-Time John Mackey Award Winners

Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell Award (top player): Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
See: All-Time Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell Award Winners

Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player): Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
See: All-Time Bronko Nagurski Trophy Winners

Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
See: All-Time Davey O'Brien Award Winners

Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Andre Smith, DT, Alabama
See: All-Time Outland Trophy Winners

Dave Rimington Trophy (center): A.Q. Shipley, Penn State
See: All-Time Dave Rimington Award Winners

Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Malcolm jenkins, Ohio State
See: All-Time Jim Thorpe Award Winners

Johnny Unitas Award (senior quarterback): Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
See: All-Time Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Winners

Doak Walker Award (running back): Shonn Greene, Iowa
See: All-Time Doak Walker Award Winners

CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a:
- member of the Football Writers Association of America
- voting member of the Vince Lombardi Award
- voting member for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award
- nominating member for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy
- nominating member for the Outland Trophy
- nominating member for the 25-player FWAA All-America Team