Before I start getting hate mail from all those Red Raider fans, yes, I know he's had a record-breaking season and all that good stuff, and I've seen his stats numerous times. Harrell did complete 408 passes on 568 attempts for 4,747 yards with 41 touchdowns, though he did have more yards and touchdowns last year, by the way.
He'll probably win team MVP. Actually, I'd give that to Michael Crabtree. (Sorry, Longhorn fans! Had to bring him up.)
You are probably wondering how someone could replace one of the heads of the three-headed monster of the Big 12: Harrell, Bradford, and McCoy. Well, that would be the only running back in Division 1 football who has rushed for 100 yards in every single game this year. (His season-low was actually 103 yards.)
He is Shonn Greene of Iowa, the team who upset previously-undefeated Penn State. He also played in a conference where they decided to play defense. I cannot say the same for the Big 12.
The Big 12 had 12 quarterbacks throw for more touchdowns than interceptions—that's every starting quarterback in the conference. No other conference can claim such a thing, with five of the 12 quarterbacks throwing for more than 28 touchdowns. That is just too much for one conference, and it must indicate that the Big 12 recruits great quarterbacks (some are) and that their defenses simply are not very good.
In addition, nine teams in the Big 12 average over 30 points a game, including 4-8 Baylor. Catch my drift? Each team was beating each other up during those high-scoring Big 12 conference games, with Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Texas going 1-1 against each other.
15 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
matthew offermann 7 months ago
hahhahhahha woah man that is some funny shit u should have put this in the humor section there is no way in hell harrell well let me rephrase that there SHOULD be no way in helllll harrell doesnt win the heisman but seriously good article at least u can know it made someone laugh
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Keeven Kuate 7 months ago
why would we need 3 QBs from the same HALF of the conference? It may be extreme but I'm trying to make a case for him. He's been completely forgotten.
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matthew offermann 7 months ago
you wouldnt need them because they wont be there T-bow is somehow gonna take harrells spot
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Colin Flosi 7 months ago
Harrell won't win the Heisman.
It will be Bradford, and in all honesty, Harrell may not be a finalist.
11-1 for a Tech quarterback isn't enough, he needed yo go 12-0, and he didn't.
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scott morris 7 months ago
The loss to OU forced Tech out of the Big 12 South debate, the national spotlight, and the program's first BCS berth; thus, Harrell will not win the Heisman. But Harrell should have the honor of being a finalist. His numbers were lower this year due to a vastly improved running game. Even so, after the bowl game he will have thrown for over 5000 yards for the second year in a row while leading the program to an 11-1 record against the twelfth most difficult schedule in the nation. Shonn Greene put up some great numbers and should be considered for the Doak Walker Award. But when was the last time a team with 4 losses had a Heisman finalist? Graham Harrell should start packing his bags for New York.
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Keeven Kuate 7 months ago
Well the last time, was Tim Tebow WINNING the heisman on a team that was 9-4 last year...
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Dustin Tieskoetter 7 months ago
Why should a teams losses matter? The Heisman is an idividual award, not a team award! Actually, the Heisman is joke of an award anymore.
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scott morris 7 months ago
Their 4th loss was the bowl game after he'd already been awarded the Heisman. Still, my statement was vastly incorrect. I forgot about McFadden, who was a finalist when Arkansas had four losses, and there are plenty of others down the line. But two of Tebow's 3 losses came against LSU--eventual national champs--and Georgia, who also won a BCS bowl game. Iowa's losses have come in pillow fights with Northwestern and Illinois. Pony up, come play in a real conference or win the games you're supposed to, and then we'll talk about winning a Heisman with 4 losses.
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james 7 months ago
In Iowa's defense (which, btw, they have a pretty good one in Iowa City), the 4 losses were by 1, 5, 3, and 3. 12 points with 3 of those losses being on the road. I agree with your 4 loss idea, but I truly believe that the Heisman should go to the most outstanding player in college. What the B12 QBs are doing, and the numbers that they put up, are not outstanding. Its par for the course with the way B12 teams play defense right now.
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Keeven Kuate 7 months ago
So your telling me that Shonn Greene does not deserve to be a finalist?
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Kiah Jackson 7 months ago
Harrell has not done anything different than every QB that plays at T Tech break records and loose big games.
I agree Greene gets the go ahead before him.
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Keeven Kuate 7 months ago
You know it. Too bad I dont have a heisman vote...yet!
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Kiah Jackson 7 months ago
I understand why Greene didn't get an invite but I don't agree with it. Good article Keev.
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scott morris 6 months ago
Harrell didn't get the nod, but to clarify a few things:
Big 12 defenses may or may not be suspect; bowl season should provide a little clarification.
One of Iowa's 4 losses was to Illinois, a team with a losing record; Tech lost once (well, got demolished) to a team playing for the national championship. But, come on, OU has put up 60+ in five games. Texas had enough defensive talent to slow them up, but no one else has been able to hang with them. Florida should be able to do the same.
If Heisman voters would have looked more closely at Harrell's career, they may have found plenty of "big game" moments: (1) 2006, Harrell finds Robert Johnson for a 37 yard touchdown to comeback against rival Texas A&M with 26 seconds left. (2) 2006 Insight.com bowl, Minnesota is up 38-7 midway through the third quarter. Harrell and Tech score 31 unanswered points and defeat Minnesota in the largest comeback in bowl history. (3) Harrell repeats the comeback the next year against Virginia in the Gator Bowl. Tech scores 17 points in the last 3 minutes. (4) 2007, Graham throws for 466 yards and 5 touchdowns in a losing effort at Texas. (5) 2008, Harrell finds Crabtree to upset Texas with one second remaining. (6) 2008, coming off the loss to OU, Harrell breaks his left hand while Tech fell behind to Baylor. Harrell stays in the game, and leads tech back by scoring 21 straight in the last quarter-and-a-half.
Other Tech QB's have put up stats, but never led a team to only one loss. Only B.J. Symons threw for more yards and touchdowns in a single season, but he also had 22 interceptions that same year. Harrell is far more accurate, accounting for 130 touchdowns in a career with only 32 interceptions.
What Harrell has done at Tech with far less talent around him than he would have at any other major program in the country speaks volumes. He won't go to New York for the Heisman presentation, and he probably won't be a very high draft pick (probably a third rounder at best because of his size), but he had a great career, put up monster numbers, won more games than any previous Tech QB. Had Harrell played at any of the traditional college football powerhouses, he would have won the award already.
Ok, I'm done...time for a beer.
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Keeven Kuate 6 months ago
When I wrote this article, I thought it was a long shot that he would not make it. I'm surprised that they only have three finalists.
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