Heisman Tenets Should Bend for Brennan

There are certain unwritten rules in regards to the awarding of the Heisman Trophy, perhaps the most prestigious individual award in American sports. It almost always:

• Goes to a quarterback or running back (23 of the past winners have played either position)

• Goes to a player from a major conference (again, 23 of the past 25 recipients came from teams that are presently in the BCS conferences)

• Goes to a player on a team having a great year (the past seven winners have all been from schools in the thick of a national-title chase).

Most importantly, it always goes to an upperclassman.

This has been a season unlike any in recent memory, so it should come as no surprise that the awarding of the Heisman might break a few trends as well. When the finalists are announced today, the favorite will be Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, just a sophomore on a team with three losses. Another name expected to be on the list, running back Darren McFadden, plays for an Arkansas team that has lost four times.

But as long as unconventional candidates are being considered, the best one can be found 2,400 miles from the American mainland. Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan is the "most outstanding player," but he may not even receive an invite to the ceremony in New York.

Brennan was Hawaii's most valuable player by a mile, in a year in which the team experienced unprecedented success. The Warriors are the nation's lone undefeated team, and will face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, having secured just the third BCS bid ever awarded a team from a non-automatically qualifying conference.

Brennan has been denigrated as a "system quarterback." Hawaii operates a run-and-shoot offense, passing on virtually every play. The same attack allowed the Warriors' previous starting quarterback, Timmy Chang, to set an armful of NCAA passing records. But dismissing Brennan's accomplishments as simply the result of an offense that is pass-first, -second, and -third is no more fair than awarding the trophy to Tebow because he is the Gators' primary ball-carrier as well as passer. Brennan's numbers are simply staggering. He has a career completion percentage of 70.7, with 131 touchdowns. He also has rushed for 15 scores. This year, the numbers are typically astonishing: 337-of-472 passing (71.4%), for 4,174 yards, and 38 touchdowns, with another eight scores rushing.

Comparing team success also gives the edge to Brennan, as Hawaii went 12–0 while Florida finished 9–3. True, Tebow and Florida played much tougher competition than Hawaii, but Tebow is also surrounded by far more talented players.

The biggest factors weighing in Brennan's favor are the pressure under which he has played, and his performance in Hawaii's biggest games. He entered the season knowing he and his team had to be perfect to even have a chance at a BCS game, and Brennan raised his game when Hawaii faced its most difficult stretch to close the season.

Hawaii's three toughest opponents, Fresno State, Boise State, and Washington (the only BCS conference team on the Warriors' schedule) were scheduled to play during the team's final four games. In those contests, Brennan was marvelous, completing 110 of 142 passes (78.7%) for 1,333 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. He also added a pair of rushing scores. That's an average stat line of 37-of-47, 444 yards, 4 TDs, 1 interception, and 1 rushing TD.

Brennan also showed his resiliency throughout the season — rallying Hawaii for overtime wins against Louisiana Tech and San Jose State — but never moreso than in the final two games. He was knocked unconscious late in the win over Fresno State, missing the remainder of that contest. The following week against Nevada, he showed his unselfishness by playing two snaps on the first series in order to help create confusion for the Wolfpack defenders. In doing so, his per-game averages suffered and he lost a career-long streak of games with at least 200 yards passing, but may have helped his team win a close game.

Brennan returned for Hawaii's final two games, with the WAC title and a BCS bid on the line. Against Boise State, the Warriors fell behind early as Brennan threw two interceptions. From that point on, he was unstoppable, finishing 40-of-53 for 495 yards and five scores in a 39–27 win.

With the stakes even higher against Washington, Brennan also bailed the Warriors out of an early hole. Hawaii fell behind 21–0 thanks to penalties and turnovers, but Brennan went 42-of-50 for 442 yards and another five touchdowns — the last giving Hawaii the lead in the final minute — without an interception.

Contrast that to the outcome for Tebow and Florida in the Gators' five biggest games, against Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Kentucky, and Georgia. Though he played reasonably well, the Gators went 2–3 in that stretch to fall out of national- and conference-title contention.

The Heisman is not supposed to be a career achievement award, though it sometimes toes the line that way, such as when Nebraska's Eric Crouch won in 2001. If any player deserves such a career prize, it is Brennan. He has brought a Hawaii program with a limited budget, poor facilities, and the unique challenges of geography to the big money world of the BCS, an outcome that will have a lasting effect on the school's football operations for years.

The last player from a non-major conference school to win the Heisman was BYU quarterback Ty Detmer, also a "system" player, in 1990 — a year that in many ways paralleled this one for strange results. If the traditional Heisman tenets are to be broken this season, they might as well be for the right player. That player is Colt Brennan.

Mr. Levine is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.