NCAA Football Heisman

Gentlemen, start your hype engines.

We're just past the halfway mark of the college football season and, forget the battle for who will play for the BCS title, the most intriguing campaign is for the Heisman Trophy.

The latest flavor of the month is Alabama running back Mark Ingram, who has been touted by several TV talking heads and is the top candidate at HeismanPundit.com.

That's understandable, but why has there been hardly no Heisman mention for West Virginia's Noel Devine and Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis, who are the nation's third and fourth leading rushers?

"Dion's been very consistent," Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt said. "You expect a freshman running back like him to perform that way maybe like three or four games a year, not eight games in a row."

Ingram obviously deserves consideration for the award, but is it not so much for what he's done, but who he plays for? After all, he has the No. 1 requirement to win the Heisman – he plays on a team that's ranked in the top five

It's the great mystery in Norman, Okla., right now.

Is quarterback Sam Bradford's career over at Oklahoma? Will the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner opt for surgery to repair the sprained AC joint in his right shoulder? Could he play again this season or next?

Those are all burning questions that Sam Bradford was supposed to address following Wednesday's Oklahoma Sooners practice, but he called off a scheduled press conference. Oklahoma associate athletic director for media relations Kenny Mossman told FanHouse that Bradford wants to gather more information. There is no rescheduled date set and that Bob Stoops will not be taking any questions on Bradford after practice.

Whether or not Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford returns to the Sooners this season, or if he has indeed played his last college game, seems to be anybody's guess.

DALLAS -- Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford's emotions were sprawled all over the place on the night of Sept. 5 as uncertainty about his injured shoulder weighed on him, when a text message of inspiration popped onto his cell phone.

"I'm praying for you and I hope you can get back as soon as possible."

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Sam Bradford at times looked a little rusty, and he and his receivers seemed out of synch, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback returned after a nearly one-month layoff to lead the 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-7 win over Baylor on Saturday in Norman, Okla.

Bradford, who had missed three games after spraining the AC joint in his (right) throwing shoulder in the first half of the season opener, passed for 389 yards and a touchdown in a relatively easy Big 12 opener. The real test comes next Saturday when the Sooners take on No. 2 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry in Dallas.

"It's extremely gratifying just to get back out on the field," Bradford said. "Just to be out there with the guys that I have put in so much work with in the offseason and just the simple things like handoffs. Everything out there, it's just exciting to be back."

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford seems like he wants to return to the field with the Sooners after being sidelined since the season opener with a Grade 3 sprain of the A-C joint in his throwing shoulder.

The burning question is when?

Bradford began throwing with the team for the first time last week, leading to speculation he might return in time for last Saturday's non-conference showdown at Miami. Soreness in his shoulder as the week progressed caused the coaching staff and Bradford to nix that plan even after doctors cleared him to play.

Now there is speculation the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback will give it a shot during Saturday's Big 12 opener against Baylor if all goes well in practice this week. That would seem most ideal with the rivalry game with Texas coming up on Oct. 17 in Dallas.

The Hypesman has hit a wall.

Be that a defensive end coming unblocked to hit Tim Tebow, a linebacker driving Sam Bradford into the turf, Colt McCoy playing no one of value for the month, orJahvid Best getting shut down on the road; these are the times that try a hypemaster's soul. And the Heisman, as we all realize, is nothing if not the crafty creation of diabolical minds bent on building up their own television ratings in the guise of determining who is college football's greatest player.

But with the demise of the major candidates has come a startling rise in the ranks of the unknown. Could it be that Houston, Boise State, or, wipe away the look of amazement on your face, Cincinnati represent the new founts of quarterback greatness? Yep, at least if the ClayNation analysis of surging Heisman candidacies holds any credence whatsoever. Which it does.

Read on for the top eight Hypesman candidacies and why they're surging or plummeting.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops confirmed Thursday that Landry Jones will be the starting quarterback when the No.8 Sooners take on the 17th-ranked Miami Hurricanes in Miami on Saturday.

Heisman Trophy wining quarterback Sam Bradford, who has been out since suffering a shoulder joint sprain in the season opener, had practiced with the team this week and for a while looked ready to return under center. But Stoops feels his star needs more time.

"Sam has made daily progress, but we don't feel like he's quite where he needs to be yet," Stoops said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. "Our team has a lot of confidence in Landry's ability and we're looking forward to going into the game with him at quarterback. Our approach will be the same that it has been in the last two games"

Crazy as it sounded but a few weeks ago, there is a chance neither Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford will win the 2009 Heisman Trophy. Maybe that's a good thing. Their journey of inevitability has taken on some water surprisingly early this year.

When BYU's Coleby Clawson slammed Bradford to the turf causing a shoulder injury, Bradford's repeat hopes were finished. He has still yet to play a down since then. Last Saturday against Kentucky, Tebow also sustained a concussion injury while being driven to the ground. It is unclear whether he will play Saturday against LSU in Florida's first real test this season.

Meanwhile, Colt McCoy already has five interceptions although he completed 80 percent of his passes Saturday against UTEP as the Longhorns appear to have turned a corner offensively in pouring 64 points on the Miners.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops isn't sure yet about Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford's status this week, but he is pleased with the progress the star quarterback has made.

That could mean Bradford will be available for Saturday's game at No. 17 Miami. But then again, it could mean he still needs more time to heal the AC joint sprain in his right throwing shoulder he suffered during the first half of the Sooners' season-opening 14-13 loss to BYU on Sept 5.

"All his rehab to this point has been positive," Stoops said during Monday's Big 12 football media teleconference. "We just have to feel comfortable that he's healthy, that he feels good enough to make the throws we need to make and he's ready to do it."