Mission Impossible? How Sam Bradford Can Win a 2nd Heisman

"Sam Bradford is the reining Heisman Trophy winner...the guy can't get any ink." This quote from an ESPN anchor to start out another love-gushing Tim Tebow plug sums up the mountain that Sam Bradford has to climb to win his 2nd Heisman trophy. While Bradford is certainly in the consensus with Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow as the Heisman favorites, who actually believes he can win the award? On ESPN's first Heisman watch, Sam Bradford was a distant third to Tebow and McCoy, without a single first place vote. In fact, on most preseason Heisman prognostications, Bradford trails both Tebow and McCoy.

So how can a guy who scored 50 touchdowns last year, won the Big 12 every year he started, ran the highest scoring offense in college football history, and is on course to break the NCAA all-time passing touchdowns for a career have such a slim chance to win his 2nd Heisman?

The first knock on him is the support around him. In addition to replacing four offensive lineman, Oklahoma is also replacing both wide receivers. Depending on how long Jermaine Gresham is out, Sam Bradford could spend the first month of the season without his best tight end as well. While these are legitimate concerns for Oklahoma, should changeover in the supporting cast around him knock Bradford out of the Heisman race? And if Bradford puts up similar numbers with a totally different supporting cast, shouldn't that improve his Heisman chances? Interesting enough, The Florida Gators are replacing both wide receivers and three offensive lineman, but that hasn't affect the Heisman chances of Tim Tebow. I guess that fourth lineman was the straw that broke the media's back for Bradford.

Another issue is that Heisman winners will be undoubtably reluctant to vote for any player to win his 2nd Heisman, and that includes Tim Tebow. Using Tebow as a case study, for Bradford to win his 2nd Heisman, he has to perform BETTER than he did last year, when he orchestrated the greatest offense in NCAA history. It'll have to be a slam-dunk, no doubt Heisman campaign, because if a case can be made for a player who hasn't won the Heisman, than the former Heisman winners won't vote for Bradford.

So does Sam Bradford have to do to win his 2nd Heisman? Well, he could:

1. Transfer to Texas, USC, or Notre Dame, where he will get more favorable media coverage.

2. Jump up and down on the sidelines when the cameras are rolling to display "will" and "leadership."

3. If you lose, give a speech after the game about how you will never see a player play as hard as he will for the rest of the season.

Kidding aside, Here's how Sam Bradford wins his 2nd Heisman:

1. While it may be near impossible to match last years numbers, he needs to be pretty close. at least 40 touchdowns with less interceptions would be tough to ignore(he had 6 regular-season interceptions, so asking for 5 or less this year is very doable).

2. Oklahoma has to run the table...meaning Sam has to outduel Colt in the Red River Rivalry.

3. Florida has to lose...preferably twice. Even if Sam has more passing yards and Touchdowns than Tebow, an undefeated Florida would trump anything Bradford does on the field, since voters will remember 24-14. While that's unfortunate for Sooner fans, its reality: Tebow has to LOSE the award for Bradford to win it.

My advice to Sooner fans crossing their fingers that Bradford will join Archie Griffin in December, forget about the Heisman trophy and focus on winning the national title. Don't be too upset if it seems like Bradford is being disrespected or ignored in the Heisman debate. Hoisting the crystal ball in January would be much sweeter.