He's the one

Leinart surges ahead of teammate Bush as Heisman front-runner

Matt Leinart had never broken 400 yards passing until Saturday night's outing against the Irish. AP

USC running back Reggie Bush is an outstanding player, and he deserves serious consideration for the Heisman Trophy -- in 2005.

In a Heisman race marked by an unusual number of intrasquad debates -- Jason White or Adrian Peterson? Aaron Rodgers or J.J. Arrington? -- USC's was officially put to rest Saturday when Bush's teammate, quarterback Matt Leinart, threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-10 rout of Notre Dame.

Bush had his own signature moment in the third quarter, mind you, catching a Leinart pass in the flat, juking a Irish defender out of his shoes and racing 63 yards for a back-breaking touchdown. But while the sophomore scat-back is good for a couple such game-turning plays every week -- his three long touchdown catches against Virginia Tech, his 65-yard punt return against Oregon State -- Leinart showed again Saturday why he is the Trojans' constant.

For those keeping track, the Trojan quarterback has followed up his breakout sophomore season (63.4 completion percentage, 3,556 yards, 38 touchdowns, nine interceptions) with an immaculate junior campaign (66.2 percent, 2,748 yards, 28 TDs, five INTs), a feat made all the more impressive when you consider he's done it with a near-entirely new receiving corps and a reshuffled offensive line. The faces have changed significantly since the start of USC's current 20-game winning streak, but the one sight that's stayed the same throughout is that of Leinart, with his smooth delivery and low-key demeanor, standing tall in the pocket and throwing downfield completions like he's brushing his teeth.

The Irish got off to a quick start Saturday night, going up 10-3, but Leinart, who's now 23-1 as a starter, promptly obliterated the deficit, putting the Trojans up for good on a pretty 57-yard connection with freshman receiver Dwayne Jarrett. By the time his night was over -- noticeably later than one might expect in a blowout -- he'd tacked on a 35-yard score to Steve Smith and a 23-yarder to Jason Mitchell.

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It was almost a carbon copy of predecessor Carson Palmer's trophy-clinching performance against the Irish two years ago. The only thing resolved so far in this year's muddled race, however, is that Leinart will be returning to New York.

Most of the Heisman discourse this season has focused on two questions involving Oklahoma. Can a freshman, Peterson, really win the trophy? And will White's late-season meltdown a year ago hurt his chances of a repeat? Between Peterson's stunning show against Texas and White's huge second halves against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, the Sooner pair has had no shortage of showcase opportunities.

Leinart, on the other hand, has somehow managed to fly under the radar despite the fact he was on the cover of every magazine this side of Vogue at the start of the season. Part of that is the fact most of USC's games get relegated either to West Coast regional or late-night Fox Sports Net coverage. But it also can be argued that no one's done more to hurt Leinart's candidacy than his own teammate, whose dazzling performance in the season-opening win over Virginia Tech instantly vaulted him to the top of several Heisman lists -- not to the mention the tongues of ESPN's studio analysts.

With Leinart firmly reclaiming his status Saturday, he can now turn to next week's season finale against rival UCLA and the chance to perhaps begin the engraving process with another big performance. But he won't have the stage to himself. White and Peterson will be playing in prime time against Colorado, while Rodgers and Arrington face Southern Miss. Other contenders Alex Smith of and Cedric Benson are done, but they're hardly out of mind.

Leinart, however, has at least one significant edge over each of them. Unlike Smith, he plays in a major conference, and unlike Benson, his team is undefeated.

And unlike White and Peterson, Rodgers and Arrington, he no longer should have to compete with his own teammate.

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.