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Smith unanimous pick atop Scripps Heisman Poll

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 11/21/2006 - 12:10.

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Unless something unbelievable happens, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith has reduced the race for the Heisman Trophy to a mere formality.

With his terrific four-touchdown pass performance in Saturday's 42-39 win over No. 6 Michigan, Smith garnered all 10 votes in this week's Scripps Howard Heisman Trophy Poll. The Buckeyes' senior has led every poll this season except the preseason one, which Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn led. Quinn is a distant second this week followed by West Virginia running back Steve Slaton.

Heisman ballots were mailed out last week to the more than 900 voters nationwide with trophy ceremony set for Dec. 9 in New York. Compiled by The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Scripps Poll is the longest-running weekly Heisman Trophy poll in the country, in its 20th year. The final poll in December correctly has predicted the Heisman winner in 16 of the previous 19 seasons. There are 10 voters, two from each of five regions of the country. The tabulations are on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis. First-place votes in parentheses.

This week's poll with statistics from last weekend:

Name, Position, School, Statistics, Points.

1. Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State, 29-of-41, 316 yards passing, 4 TD passes, 50 points, (10).

2. Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame, 22-of-30, 218 yards, 3 TD passes 31 points.

3. Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia 23 carries, 215 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 21 points.

4. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas 26 carries, 84 yards, 92-yard TD kickoff return, 20 points.

5. Mike Hart, RB Michigan 23 carries, 142 yards, 3 TDs, 18 points.

Others: Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii, 7; Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech, 2, Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers, 1.

The voters: Kirk Bohls (Austin American-Statesman); Scott Cain (Arkansas Democrat Gazette); Dennis Dodd (CBSSportsLine); Vahe Gregorian (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Mike Griffith (Knoxville News Sentinel); Randy Holtz (Rocky Mountain News); John Lindsay (Scripps Howard News Service); Michael Lewis (The Salt Lake Tribune); John Rohde (The Oklahoman); Michael Vega (The Boston Globe).