Page 14
The Behrend Beacon
5 Reasons Wh
Larry Johnson should
Larry Johnson should be the Heisman
Trophy winner because of his stats and
lack of anyone clearly better. This is a
bold statement, but I have compiled the
stats to prove it. All stats are based on
games as of 11-20.
If you don't know some of the names
that I am about to mention, then you
know very little about college football
and will not enjoy this article. For those
of you who enjoy college football
(especially Penn State fans), bon
appetite.
1. 1,736 Rushing Yards This is a new
Penn State single-season record and a
very imposing number. This is good for
second in the nation in rushing yards
behind only Chris Brown of Colorado.
Now on the surface one could argue that
Brown should be a better candidate for
the award because he currently has eight
more yards than Johnson.
If you dig deeper into the stats of these
two athletes you will find that it took
Brown 43 more rushing attempts to get
those eight yards. This shows that
Johnson is clearly the better runner of
the two.
Another prime candidate for the
Heisman at the position of running back
is Miami's Willis McGahee. In most
current polls of the three running backs
he is the closest to being favored for the
award.
However, in rushing yardage Johnson
is clearly the dominant back. McGahee
has only 1,188 yards on a mere 190
carries as opposed to Johnson's 232
attempts and Brown's 275 rushes.
Attempts are only as good as the
yardage received from them. In this scat,
Johnson stands head and shoulders
above the other two players. Johnson is
averaging an incredible 7.5 yards per
carry, which is I.2yards more than either
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McGahee or Brown. In fact out of all of
the runners with more than 140 attempts
this season, Johnson is leading the
country in yards per carry.
With McGahee's lack of rushes and
yards, and Brown's difficulty in keeping
up with Johnson's yardage despite many
more attempts, it is clear to see that
LJ is the best
yardage back in
college football.
Scott Soltis
The only person
with more points is Brock Forsey of
mighty Boise State. He is not an option
because his team plays against high
school caliber defenses.
Again, we can compare Johnson's
numbers with those of the other two
major candidates. Chris Brown has
scored 108 points and McGahee 102
points, both scored all their points on
rushing touchdowns. Larry Johnson has
scored three receiving touchdowns,
which proves his versatility.
Brown for example, has only caught
five passes for a total of 40 yards.
McGahee has nearly as many receiving
yards as Johnson, but has caught 20
fewer passes. Some wide receivers have
not caught as many passes as Johnson.
Whether on the ground or through the
air, Johnson is a threat to score.
McGahee might pick up some receiving
yards, but he has been unable to do the
important thing, score. Brown is
one dimensional, only running, never
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Friday, November 22, 2002
win the Heisman Trophy this year
receiving
With this in mind Johnson should
be solidified as the most versatile
threat at running back in the country.
Also, with his superior ability to run,
catch, and importantly score, he is the
best running back in the nation.
3. Arguments About Lack of
Competition are Unfounded Every
team, I don't care if it is Miami of
Florida or Miami of Ohio, is going to
have some easy games. People like
to use Penn State's schedule against
Johnson to try and demean his
accomplishments.
This is also how people can say that
Brown or McGahee are better players.
I say bologna.
Sure Larry put up huge games
against Northwestern, Illinois, and
most recently Indiana. But people
quickly forget that he also had 161 all
purpose yards and two touchdowns
against No. 4 lowa.
He had 124 all-purpose yards and a
TD against eighth-ranked Michigan.
Johnson also had what was easily
his worst day of the season at No. 2
Ohio State and still managed 98 all
purpose and got into the end zone.
He steps up no matter what the
circumstance, making it non-germane
2. 116 Points
Scored
Johnson's
ability to get
into the end
zone ranks him
second
nationally in
points score
4. There Is No Incredible Quarterback
Now, don't get me wrong Miami's
Ken Dorsey, Marshall's Byron
Leftwich, and lowa's Brad Banks are
all outstanding athletes and great
quarterbacks. I just have doubts that
any of them are Heisman worthy.
Leftwich showed a great deal of grit
playing banged up several times, but
his team plays no one. Central Florida
and Virginia Tech were the two
toughest teams on the schedule this
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Scott Soltis and Zoe Rose, sports editors
year, so it is no surprise that he is putting
up big numbers. Also his numbers have
dropped off significantly from 2001. He
has just as many interceptions thrown as
last year, but almost 20 fewer touchdowns.
lowa's Brad Banks is emerging as a new
favorite, for good reason. Banks is second
in the country in QB rating, which is the
best thing that he has going for him.
However, looking deeper into how Banks
stacks up we can see some more modest
rankings. Banks is 32nd in the nation in
passing yards and 22nd in completion
percentage. These are not damning stats
by any means, hut it might plant a seed of
doubt.
Finally we have Ken Dorsey. Miami's
offense is a lot like the St. Louis Rams, put
somebody behind it and it will go far.
Dorsey has an incredible supporting cast
which allows him to be a serious contender.
That, plus the fact that he is on a team that
has not lost in a long time, and is currently
ranked tops in the nation, and he has a great
deal of momentum for the Heisman.
cast an official vote for the Heis
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5. The Votes Will Be Highly Divided
With Dorsey, Leftwich, Banks,
McGahee, Johnson, and to a lesser extent
Brown all neck and neck it will be a tight
race. Dorsey, Banks, McGahee, and
Johnson all will garnish a decent number
of votes. The fact that they are both play
Hurricanes will hurt Dorsey and
McGahee, with loyal Miami voters not
knowing which candidate to select. So,
the race is between Banks and Johnson.
Both Big Ten teams which might divide
loyal Big Ten voters.
The race can go many ways, especially
with a week to go. People can pull away:
people can have a bad day. The Heisman
this year will be down to the wire, but if
the season were to end today, Larry
Johnson deserves the coveted trophy.
Even if he has a bad day (which is
unlikely against once-powerful
Michigan State), Johnson still has had a
phenomenal season worthy of high
acclaim.
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