ESPN's Take

Gerhart's consistency a cut above the rest By Ivan Maisel

ESPN.com



Editor's note: Each week this season, ESPN.com will ask one of its Heisman Watch voters to explain his or her picks.

1. Toby Gerhart, Stanford: The senior is second in the nation in rushing (1,736 yards) and first in scoring (26 touchdowns). He never had a bad game and he had plenty of good ones, especially down the stretch. In the Cardinal's last four games, when the aches and pains of the autumn have accumulated, Gerhart averaged 29 carries and 185.5 yards per game. Want a tiebreaker? He is an outstanding student. At Stanford. Bottom line: Gerhart has the best stats and played the most consistent football of any of the Heisman contenders.

2. Mark Ingram, Alabama: Like Gerhart, the Alabama sophomore is a money player who shrugged off the first contact. Like Gerhart, Ingram got stronger as games got longer. In the fourth quarter against South Carolina, Ingram got every one of the 68 yards the Crimson Tide needed to score the touchdown that put the Gamecocks away, 20-6. Ingram rushed for 1,542 yards, an Alabama record, and 15 touchdowns. He is the best offensive weapon on the No. 1 team in the nation.

3. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska: Most defensive tackles who dominate games clog up the middle of the field so their teammates can make the stops. The Nebraska senior is so strong and mobile that he does both. Suh's 4.5 sacks Saturday night in the 13-12 loss to Texas will be remembered as long as quarterbacks run in fear. He has 12 sacks. Suh might not overcome the natural bias against defensive players -- it's hard for voters to take a leap without stats to guide them -- but his play attracted enough attention for him to become a Heisman finalist.

4. Kellen Moore, Boise State: The sophomore has numbers straight out of EA Sports: 39 touchdown passes, three interceptions, 3,325 yards and the nation's best efficiency rating of 167.35. Moore doesn't flinch under pressure. He finds a way to get the ball to a receiver no matter how big the body bearing down upon him. Moore, a lightly recruited coach's son from rural Washington, is so smart that Broncos coach Chris Petersen regularly picks his brain for ideas. All this, and two more seasons of eligibility.

5. Colt McCoy, Texas: The senior and 2008 Heisman runner-up overcame a slow start to the season with a fantastic second half, peaking with 479 yards of total offense in the Longhorns' 49-39 defeat of Texas A&M. That made McCoy the favorite until his offensive line fell apart against Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game. Still, McCoy has thrown for 3,512 yards and completed more than 70 percent of his passes. He also is the Longhorns' second leading rusher with 348 yards.