CNNSI.com's Heisman Watch

Carson Palmer won the Jeweled Shillelegh, but can he win the Heisman? AP

College football producer Luke Winn will track the Heisman race for CNNSI.com all season long.

Welcome one, welcome all, to our weekly, five-sided debate, which will rage on until Dec. 14 ... and then rage harder afterward, when four deserving candidates leave New York City without hardware and with only consolation prizes to their names. (Wait, we're being informed that consolation prizes are NCAA violations. Strike that, absolutely nothing to their name. Not a thing.)

One week remains, with only Ken Dorsey and Willis McGahee having a chance to strike a final Heisman pose, and the others left to sit, wait and be pestered by pestering journalists looking to stir up this war of words, statistics and regional biases.

This week's list, as it has so often been in this crazy race, is different from last week's:

1. Carson Palmer, USC, Sr., QB
Last game (vs. Notre Dame): 32-of-46, 425 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs in 44-13 win
Season (10-2): 288-of-458 (62.9 percent), 3,639 yards, 32 TDs, 10 INTs

For weeks, Brad Banks had been the top QB on this list, but Palmer has made quite a case for himself of late. Take a look:

Banks in all 12 of his games (11-1): 155-of-258 (60.1 percent), 2,369 yards, 25 TDs, 4 INTs
Palmer in his past six games (6-0): 147-of-222 (66.2 percent), 2,010 yards, 23 TDs, 4 INTs

Wow.

Palmer, mind you, is doing this against the most difficult schedule in the nation -- a combined opponents' record of 83-40 -- while the combined record of Banks' opponents was 63-64. Palmer also has beaten three ranked teams (Auburn, Colorado, Notre Dame), while Banks has beaten only two (Penn State and Michigan).

2. Willis McGahee, Miami, Soph., TB
Last game (vs. Syracuse): 14 carries, 134 yards, 2 TDs in 49-7 win
Season (11-0): 223 carries, 1,481 yards (134.6 ypg), 21 TDs

Scored on runs of 51 and 61 yards against Syracuse. Is there a better big-play back in the nation? The only reason McGahee drops from No. 1 is the realism factor: Sharing votes with teammate Ken Dorsey will make it difficult, if not impossible, for Willis to win the trophy.

3. Brad Banks, Iowa, Sr., QB
Last game (vs. Minnesota): 9-of-17, 100 yards, 2 TDs, 2 rushing TDs in 45-21 win
Season (11-1): 155-of-258 (60.1 percent), 2,369 yards, 25 TDs, 4 INTs

Banks beat out Larry Johnson for Big Ten offensive player of the year honors and continues to beat out L.J. on this list. Banks doesn't have the stats Palmer does, but his passing efficiency rating (tops in the nation) and almost perfect record should help him dominate the Midwest vote.

4. Larry Johnson, Penn State, Sr., RB
Last game (vs. Michigan State): 19 carries, 279 yards, 4 TDs in first half of 61-7 win
Season (9-3): 251 carries, 2,015 yards (167.9 ypg), 20 TDs

We covered this topic last week. His 2,015 yards speak for themselves. Unfortunately, unlike the three players above him, Johnson's team has neither a win over a team currently ranked in the top 25 nor a chance to play in a BCS bowl.

5. Ken Dorsey, Miami, Sr., QB
Last game (vs. Syracuse): 16-of-25, 345 yards, 2 TDs in 49-7 win
Season (11-0): 182-of-330 (55.2 percent), 2,773 yards, 24 TDs, 9 INTs
Dorsey finally had a Heisman-worthy performance on Saturday, going 10-for-10 to open the game against Syracuse. As we say every week, however, Dorsey is not even the best player on his own team.

On the radar:
Although he won't win the trophy, Marshall's Byron Leftwich, with a pain-filled, 401-yard day against Ball State, may have earned himself an invite to New York.

Want to weigh in with your own opinion? Vote in The People's Heisman.

 

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