This isn't some sort of protest vote. I'm not trying to make a statement about crooked parents or shady boosters or NCAA loopholes or cockamamie explanations or inexplicable exonerations. The reason I left the Auburn quarterback off my Heisman Trophy ballot is much simpler than that.

On a night when Newton is sure to make several trips onto the stage at the College Football Awards Show, the trophies he wins tonight will be a precursor to Saturday night's coronation. Oh, I have no doubt that Newton will win the Heisman. He's a cinch, a shoo-in, a sure thing.

And I had every intention of voting for him when I sat down at my computer Monday afternoon to fill out my ballot.

I always like to take one last look at the candidates before voting, but Newton was a for sure No. 1. He not only threw for 28 touchdowns but also ran for 20 more, and he did it playing in the toughest conference in the land.

The only question I needed to answer was who else was going on my ballot. Oregon running back LaMichael James? Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck? Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon? Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore?