Prolific running is a talent, the argument suggests. Prolific passing is a gimmick.

That may be so, but it narrows the field and it also insults the achievements of so many. Harrell's favorite target at Texas Tech last season, Michael Crabtree, caught 134 passes for 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns. As a redshirt freshman. All three marks are NCAA freshman records. Crabtree was named a first-team All-America and won the Biletnikoff Award, but he, like Harrell and Smith, could not crack the Heisman top 10.

Was it because Crabtree is a freshman? Or because he plays for the Houston Cougars of the 21st century? Likely both.

As for the running backs, one problem they encounter as a class is that some of the most exhilarating runners in the country these days play … quarterback. Is there any player in the nation more exciting to watch in the open field than West Virginia's Pat White, who well could become the second quarterback named White with no NFL future as a passer to win the award this decade? And how many running backs had more rushing TDs than Tim Tebow's 23 last season? The answer is two: Ray Rice of Rutgers (24) and Kevin Smith of Central Florida (29).

Smith is an interesting case, by the way. As a junior he led the nation in rushing (183.4 yards per game, the highest average since LaDainian Tomlinson's 196.2 in 2000) and rushing TDs, but Smith finished no better than eighth in Heisman balloting.

What's a running back to do? First, your team better advance at the very least to a BCS bowl, though the national championship game is probably what's required. Second, you must finish at worst among the top three rushers in the nation. Last year just two BCS bowl teams — Illinois and Ohio State — had running backs among the nation's top dozen, but Rashard Mendenhall of the Illini was eighth in the country in rushing and Chris 'Beanie' Wells of the Buckeyes was 11th. And as for the inestimable "Wow!" factor that a Heisman candidate must elicit, both Big Ten backs were flat-liners.

Which brings us to Reggie Bush. The 2005 Heisman winner is the only non-quarterback to win the award since Dayne did so in '99. Bush rushed for nearly 40 fewer yards per game than that season's rushing leader (DeAngelo Williams of Memphis), but he compensated for it in two ways: 1) by being a sublime all-purpose player, returning punts and kickoffs and catching passes out of the backfield, and 2) by being a Pete Maravich of the gridiron, producing no shortage of "Did-you-see-that?!?" plays.

Is there any running back like that on the '08 horizon? No. West Virginia's White is the only player with the gifts to approach Bush's bedazzling scampers through the secondary.

And, thus, your Heisman finalists could very well be a short list: Though Harrell and Crabtree will continue to shatter aerial marks this year like NASA test pilots out of "The Right Stuff", those achievements will be discounted by voters who nearly gave their hearts to Colt Brennan last season … and then watched the Sugar Bowl in disgust.

It'll likely come down to the quarterbacks who can take their teams to Fort Lauderdale for the BCS Championship Game: perhaps Sam Bradford of Oklahoma or Chase Daniel of Missouri. Tebow, of course, has to be a favorite, while I like West Virginia's White, who has a relatively easy schedule (two toughest games at home), five returning starters from a terrific offensive line, and Dayne-ian Lifetime Achievement Award prospects.

Video   Tebow a humble Heisman winner Dec. 9: Florida quarterback talks about winning trophy as college football's top player and about his future. NBC Sports

If a running back should claim the trophy? Look to Georgia, a school with the prospects to play for the national title and a sophomore tailback, Knowshon Moreno, who, if not better than Ohio State's Wells, is certainly more exciting to watch. He even has a Heisman-hypeable name: "They call him Moreno. You'd like to see more, no?"

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