At least one voter regrets voting early.

Critics of the H------ Trophy balloting process have long complained that too many voters vote prior to the final games of the season. This year, with four finalists playing in the Big-12 and SEC championship games, those critics are louder than ever.

Kirk Bohls, of the Austin American-Statesman, noted before those games that the Trust told him that 10% of all votes had been turned in early. He tweeted:

Just blogged at Statesman.com that about 10 percent of the 926 accredited Heisman voters have already turned in their ballots. Help Colt?

Given the disastrous game McCoy had (0 TDs, 3 INTs), it's likely that those 10% of ballots had him higher ranked than the subsequent 90%.

And sure enough, at least one voter regrets voting early.

Doug Krikorian of the Long Beach Press Telegram announced his vote on November 30:

Just cast my Heisman Trophy ballot, and voted for Texas' Colt McCoy, Florida's Tim Tebow and Stanford's Toby Gerhart, in that order.

But in retrospect:

After watching Colt McCoy's lame performance against the Cornhuskers, I now regret casting my Heisman Trophy vote for him.

Now that the Trust has gone to all-electronic balloting, is there any reason to open up the voting system prior to the finish of the games? You can't control when folks make up their minds - but you can ensure that they'll have all the information.

Kari Chisholm | December 8, 2009 | Comment on This Post (29 so far)
Permalink: At least one voter regrets voting early.

Comments

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Most don't even follow it all anyways!

75% of them don't even deserve a vote!

Posted by: Joe | Dec 8, 2009 12:27:19 AM

Where are you guys? It has been over 9 hours since to updated the votes.

Posted by: Juan Orosco | Dec 8, 2009 12:52:08 AM

its 4am here on the east coast, when is the next update?

Posted by: Jim | Dec 8, 2009 1:04:28 AM

its 4am on the east coast, whens the next update?

Posted by: Jim | Dec 8, 2009 1:08:17 AM

So, he wants to base how he votes on just one game? He should have thought of that before he cast his votes. If we are going to use this criteria, then McCoy and Tebow would be off the list for their performances this past weekend, and Mark Ingram getting benched and pretending he was hurt after being completely shutdown by Auburn last week would surely knock him off the list as well. That would leave Gerhart, Suh, and maybe Dion Lewis?

Posted by: TL | Dec 8, 2009 1:27:06 AM

Joe's right, a lot of Heisman voters don't deserve their vote. If one game was going to sway their vote, it shouldn't sway it that much--out of thirteen games, one shouldn't be the difference between obscurity and stardom.

Plus, it's unfair to Gerhart to be punished for not playing in a conference with a conference championship weekend on primetime TV. Let's face it, the game broadcast really helps with publicity.

Posted by: sam | Dec 8, 2009 2:13:01 AM

The Heisman Trophy has become a part of the "what have you done for me lately society." Most voters don't watch any games until the big games and that can make or break your Heisman candidacy. The Heisman vote is a popularity contest and it is sad that it has come to this. Most of the voters have no right, nor the creditability, to vote on something that should determine "the best player in college football."

Posted by: Ryan | Dec 8, 2009 2:21:43 AM

I think it is time that a defensive player won the award. It is not the trophy for the best quarterback. It is not the trophy for the best running back. It is the trophy for the best football player.

Posted by: Maralyn | Dec 8, 2009 4:57:49 AM

Yeah, I think the one thing that all of us fans can agree on regardless of who we want to win the Heisman is that about 800 of those 900-or-so votes are made by complete homers and idiots. Even if the guy I wanted to win did, there's no question the Heisman is a farce.

Posted by: Lance | Dec 8, 2009 5:12:38 AM

al eschbach - wwls - sports animal- oklahoma city - also voted early and said he would change order after seeing nebraska -ut game

Posted by: larry | Dec 8, 2009 5:16:45 AM

The fact that Championship Weekend even matters in the Heisman voting is just further proof that it's really a popularity contest between the best players on the top teams, and that most voters put waaaay too much weight on this weekend. Without this weekend, would Suh be on so many ballots? Would one 3 INT weekend wipe away the decent year that McCoy was having? Would Gerhart have been forgetten by so many on ESPN and CBS (not a single mention from Danielson or the SEC and Big10 alums that populate ESPN)? Would Tebow have cried?

Posted by: Yaaaa | Dec 8, 2009 6:58:42 AM

Quote from Suh going into the texas game "My main focus is I want to get into the BCS game. I want to play in the Fiesta Bowl. It's to bad I have to spoil Texas National Championship hopes to do that. I'm sorry but its really about me and my team right now!"

It was a Nebraska Win on defense.

Posted by: Brandon Stritt | Dec 8, 2009 7:12:04 AM

At least be honest. Simply make the formal qualification change to the best offensive player who touches the ball as that is what it really is. Defensive players and offensive lineman need not apply.

Posted by: Gary | Dec 8, 2009 7:56:48 AM

I think Lance said it best.

Posted by: Archie | Dec 8, 2009 8:52:56 AM

Yea, a lot of the voters don't deserve their vote and they shouldn't accept any votes til the season is over. Tebow and McCoy had great games on rivalry week but didn't do a lot championship week. I'm sure both of them took a lot of vote they don't deserve in my opinion

Posted by: CDT | Dec 8, 2009 8:56:12 AM

The better question is... why can't they leave the voting open until 12/11 at 11:59PM, with the option to change their votes and then close up all the voting?

Posted by: D | Dec 8, 2009 9:52:27 AM

If the trophy is truly about the best player in college football you have to give it to Suh. He dominated the Big 12 championship. Huskers should have put the ball in his hands on offense they would have won. Extra time on the clock wouldn't have been an issue.

Posted by: Mike Miller | Dec 8, 2009 10:07:14 AM

SUH is clearly the best defensive player in college football and the way he changed games he deserves the trophy. if it poundings taken then i see why bradford voted for his boyfriend but if he got pounded like the pounding SUH gave to mccoy i bet he wouldve voted different

Posted by: jay | Dec 8, 2009 10:09:42 AM

"Here was my response to Doug. Doug the reality is guys like you should never even get to vote. What a shame/SHAM. Do you even watch college football during the season? Maybe you should spend less time writing your typical name droping articles about so and so you ran into at the local resturant etc... Lets face it you should be writing in the Human interest section of the local news."

I don't even know why this guy writes a column in the sports section. He is nothing but a name dropper.

Posted by: TKLBC | Dec 8, 2009 10:39:47 AM

Vote for who you want with whatever criteria you use but anyone who thinks Suh is not the best player in college football should have there voting rights revocted!!!

Posted by: Steve | Dec 8, 2009 11:20:27 AM

A boy named Suh, period. The same humble individual that tossed "Opie" around like a rag doll Saturday night. Tebooh whoow, and Opie need not apply. Neither could carry the water for the other three finalists. I live in Big 12 country and would like to see it bring home the Championship, but it aint going to happen. Mack needs to quit whining and kissing rear ends of ANYBODY that will listen, and retire. He loses his last hope of any championships Big 12 or other for a LOOOOONG TIME this year with Opie and Shipley leaving and he looks tired. Go fishin Mack.

Posted by: ghostzapper | Dec 8, 2009 12:44:32 PM

Over half of the people on this thread are as bad as the two sportswriters who regret their votes after watching the last game. If your vote is that fickle, you don't get it. For those fans out there that keep talking about how dominant your favorite was in one game or another, you need a change in perspective. This award is about the best player for the season- which doesn't necessarily mean most yards, most TDs, most tackles. There are many factors that can be used that you can't put a hard number to- carried his team the farthest, overcame the most pressure, changed the season for his team.

Bottom line, most fans words aren't worth any more than the fickle sportswriter who regrets his/her vote based on one game.

Posted by: CB | Dec 8, 2009 12:52:32 PM

Another way around "regretting your vote".....don't base your vote on just ONE freaking game. It's about the body of work in the entire season, not one game.

Posted by: cue | Dec 8, 2009 1:10:12 PM

CB your right. That is one more reason SUH is the man, since he did it game after game, and then for the finally on one of the biggest stages against one of the best offenses in the country, against an all American Lineman (with double teams all game), and Top it off with another Heisman candidate. Don't forget that he stands out at a position that is hard to stand out if not impossible for most.

Posted by: TKLBC | Dec 8, 2009 1:18:03 PM

Just be prepared....
If 10% voted early..... Suh and Ingram would not have been as high in their voting without seeing that last weekends' games, so don't get too mad if Colt and Tebow have sucked some votes from that 10%... while Gerhart probably fared better with that crowd.

ALL of this voting should happen AFTER the last bowl has been played to be make this legit!

Posted by: Pete | Dec 8, 2009 10:34:44 PM

I love how Ingram, the hardest running RB in the country who gets over 60% of his yards after contact "was benched and pretending he was hurt after being completely shutdown by Auburn last week". He had a hip pointer, he was in so much pain he was almost in tears. Which says a LOT considering just how tough of a runner he is. And yeah, he was shut down by Auburn. When a team says going in that they are going to forsake all other aspects of their defense and sell out to keeping one person from performing, then yeah, that person isnt gonna do crap. So the coaches shifted the game plan to Richardson and McElroy, who did very well because Auburns defense had one objective and one objective only : STOP INGRAM. Alabama plays to win, not to get a player his stats. So when one player is having more success than another because of defenseive schemes, they go with the player that is hot. Seems to have worked pretty well for them so far too imo. But don't sit there and try to say he was running away from the game when you obviously know nothing about Ingram.

Posted by: Shivand007 | Dec 9, 2009 3:01:20 PM

This is to TL. Are you kidding me? Ingram faked getting hurt in the AU game with 1:00 left in the game? Dude you are pure nonsense. Actually the websters probably has your picture next to the definition. Learn something about football, try to understand what a fact is before posting, and then come back here and have a relevant point.

Posted by: Billy | Dec 9, 2009 7:25:21 PM

the h...... trophy is for the years most outstanding player, so lets look at the word outstanding ...( standout) for a d lineman to get all the attention that suh has generated, to me that's outstanding. he has stood out more than any of the other finalists.just my 2cents GBR

Posted by: daryl cyr | Dec 10, 2009 1:19:54 PM

This guy in Long Beach is walking proof of the saying that it is one thing to be thought a fool but another to open your mouth and confirm it to be so. Last night's award shows just made me perplexed beyond belief at all of these people throwing hardware at Colt McCoy. The highest ranked team Texas played all year was Oklahoma State!!! Where was McCoy during every big game the Longhorns had this year - MIA and playing pretty crappy! If McCoy somehow breaks in and wins this award, even Gerhart with all respect- where was he in Stanford's four losses and the end of the Cal game, sidelines anyone?- then it just proves AGAIN how unimportant the Trophy is. And Billy, you are the one whose face is next to the definition of pure nonsense in Websters because Ingram didn't fake crap! Were you there? NO!! Do you know ANYTHING about the SEC, the season, the players? Of course not! I was in Jordan Hare Stadium, very close to where Ingram was, and I saw the hit in person - go get a hobby, hater!

Posted by: bamagrad1998 | Dec 11, 2009 8:31:17 AM


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