NEW YORK - Reggie Bush took slow, deliberate steps to the podium — a gear most people didn’t know he had.

Then he began his acceptance speech with a huge sigh of relief and a hand over his heart.

Bush may have been the only one in the packed room with any doubt about who would win the Heisman Trophy because once again, the sensational Southern California tailback left the competition far, far behind.

Bush was voted the nation’s best college football player in a landslide Saturday night, receiving a record 87.9 percent of the first-place votes to best Texas quarterback Vince Young and Trojans signal-caller Matt Leinart, last year's winner.

Flashing uncanny acceleration and ability to change direction, the junior has conjured up memories of Gale Sayers, drawn comparisons to Marshall Faulk, Barry Sanders and Tony Dorsett, and is the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft.

“Oh man, this is amazing,” Bush said, a row of former winners lining the stage behind him. “It’s truly an honor to be elected to this fraternity. I’ve been in college for three years and it’s the first time I’ve been invited into a fraternity.”

Bush received 2,541 points to finish 933 points ahead of Young (1,608), with Leinart a distant third (797). Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn was fourth (191).

Bush got 91.7 percent of the 2,769 points possible, breaking the mark of 85.2 percent set by Texas' Ricky Williams in 1998.

The 784 first-place votes received by Bush was the second-most in Heisman history, topped only by another famous USC runner — O.J. Simpson, who had 855 in 1968. Simpson, however, had the luxury of being in a Heisman class with 1,200 voters instead of this year's 892 (out of 923 ballots mailed).

“I was in shock because Vince Young and Matt are such great players,” Bush said.

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Bush and Leinart will be the first Heisman winners to play in a college game together when USC goes for a third straight national title against Texas in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4.

“It’s a special opportunity,” Bush said. “It’d be even more special if we win this game.”

Bush and Leinart are the third teammates to win the award in consecutive seasons and the first since Army’s Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis did it in 1945-46.

When Bush’s name was called, he bent over in his chair, clasped his hands and slowly headed for the podium after hugging his mother, stepfather and brother.

Dressed in a three-piece pinstriped suit, Bush choked back tears while thanking his family “for their unconditional love and support throughout my life.”

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This year’s Heisman race appeared tight for much of the season, with Bush making a big statement in mid-October against Notre Dame. He ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns in South Bend, and provided the final push Leinart needed to score the winning TD in the closing seconds of a classic 34-31 victory.

But Bush was relatively low-key after the Notre Dame game and Young seemed to have pulled ahead, with talk that two candidates from USC would cancel each other out.

That was until Nov. 19, when Bush left Fresno State repeatedly grasping at air and onlookers grasping for superlatives to describe a performance that had to be seen to be truly appreciated.

He ran for 295 yards, racked up 513 all-purpose yards — the second-highest total in NCAA history — and USC escaped with a 50-42 victory.

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If there was still any doubt Bush was best, he dispelled it against UCLA, running for 260 yards and two touchdowns in a 66-19 victory. Only the lopsided score kept Bush from doing even more damage.

Asked for a Heisman moment from the season, Bush said, “I don’t think I can pick one.”

Of course not. He’s already ripped off 36 plays of at least 20 yards this season.

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