Point Spreads - NCAA, Final Four, College Basketball, NBA, MLB, World Series, NFL, College Football, BCS & Super Bowl Point Spreads

In 31 days, the winner of the 2006 Heisman Trophy will be announced and the man to carry off the prize will more than likely be one of these two senior quarterbacks, Troy Smith from Ohio State or Brady Quinn of Notre Dame. Smith has a slight edge over Quinn but the Notre Dame star is narrowing the gap.

Prior to Ohio State’s 17-10 win at Illinois on Saturday (Nov.4), Smith’s lead over Quinn was nearly insurmountable and it would take more than one bad performance or meltdown by the Buckeyes for Smith to fall behind Quinn.

The Illinois defense made Smith look human on Saturday as the senior quarterback was kept in check most of the day, completing 13-of-23 passes for 108 yards, one interception and no touchdowns. The interception Smith threw was only his third this season. Through ten games this football season Smith has completed 158-of-237 passes for 2006 yards and 22 touchdowns. Perhaps Smith’s best personal statistic is his 165.9 quarterback efficiency rating and of course the Buckeyes are sitting on top of all polls with a record of 10-0.

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Quinn needed a monster game to close the gap on Smith and he got it against North Carolina on Saturday as he threw for a season-high 346 yards and four touchdowns in Notre Dame’s 45-26 win. After nine games this season, Quinn has completed 216-of-338 passes for 2579 yards, 25 touchdowns against four interceptions. Though Quinn has thrown for more yards than Smith, his quarterback efficiency rating is not as high at 150.0.

In order for Quinn to overtake Smith in the Heisman balloting, he needs Michigan to defeat the Buckeyes in Columbus on Nov. 18th and Notre Dame to get a big win over Southern California.

West Virginia sophomore running back Steve Slaton had been creeping up on the two leaders until his two fumbles in the third quarter of the Louisville game last Thursday night (Nov 2). The Cardinals capitalized on the turnovers that eventually cost West Virginia the game. Slaton finished the day with 156 yards and a touchdown. Slaton is still a candidate but voters aren’t very forgiving especially if a players performance cost his team a game.

It seems that every year there is a wild-card candidate who tries to crash the Heisman party when November rolls around and this season is no different. Arkansas sophomore running back Darren McFadden is beginning to gain some serious attention, especially after his performance against South Carolina on national television Saturday night. McFadden showed Heisman stuff with 219 yards rushing on 25 carries.

McFadden is the first sophomore in school history to pass 2,000 yards in career rushing. With a career high 219 yards, tied for fourth best ever by a Razorback, against South Carolina, McFadden now has 2,151 yards. Legendary Auburn coach Pat Dye (now retired) said Arkansas' Darren McFadden is the SEC's best running back since Bo Jackson the 1984 Heisman winner. Dye ought to know, he coached Jackson while at Auburn.

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