It says a lot about this years crop of candidates that a guy whose team lost three games, did not play for a conference championship or make a BCS bowl game is the clear-cut favorite. Nevertheless Tebow is the first player in NCAA history to both pass and rush for more than 20 touchdowns in a season and he also just seems to have that "It" factor, which can't be underestimated.
Brennan's numbers, as expected, are outstanding and more importantly he has taken his team and program to a whole new level, which includes an undefeated record and a BCS bowl game birth. He did miss some time with injuries and the Warriors didn't play any college football superpowers but Brennan deserves credit for what he's accomplished both this year and throughout his college career as the NCAA record holder for touchdown passes.
3. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas (JR)
'07 Rushing Stats: 1,725 YDS, 5.7 AVG, 15 TD's
I really struggled with whether to put "D-Mac" at 2 or 3 but at the end of the day I just couldn't get past the fact that his team lost four games while Brennan's was undefeated. Granted you have the strength of schedule debate so I can absolutely see the argument for pushing McFadden up a slot but this is all subjective anyway and in my opinion Brennan gets the ever so slight edge here. I just can't emphasize enough how close it was though.
There wasn't a single player who was more valuable to his program this year than Dixon was to Oregon. In case you doubt that just remember that prior to his injury the Ducks were ranked #2 in the nation and on their way to the BCS Championship game. Then Dixon went down and they proceeded to lose their next three games in pretty ugly fashion. Hopefully voters won't forget about Dixon.
It is not a coincidence that the Mountaineers only two losses this season came in games where White missed a significant amount of time with injuries. West Virginia did still manage to win the Big East and land a slot in a BCS game and the central catalyst behind their success was White, who despite the contributions of Steve Slaton is obviously the straw that stirs the drink in Morgantown.
Honorable Mention:
6. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri (JR)
7. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma (FR)
8. Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College (SR)
9. Glenn Dorsey, DT, L.S.U. (SR)
10. Kevin Smith, RB, Central Florida (JR)
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