THE BIG STORY

The third Heismanpundit.com Straw Poll of the 2007 college football season has been tallied and the panel–consisting of nine members of the college football media–once again has Arkansas running back Darren McFadden as the overwhelming leader in the race to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.

McFadden, who is coming off a 195-yard, 2-touchdown effort in a loss to Alabama, totaled 44 points and holds a commanding 28-point advantage over Florida sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow (16), who makes his first appearance in the weekly survey. Colt Brennan of Hawaii is third (14 points) and West Virginia’s Pat White is fourth (12 points).

McFadden captured eight out of nine possible first-place votes, with the other going to Brennan.

Heismanpundit.com is conducting a Heisman straw poll each week during the college football season. The idea is to get a good sense of voter sentiment as the season progresses. There are nine Heisman voters canvassed from across the various Heisman voting regions and they vote for five players each week. The tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, three points for a third-place vote and so on.

In a unique feature to the poll, a Heisman Trophy winner’s vote is occasionally added to the mix. The poll so far this year has included the votes of 2004 winner Matt Leinart of USC and 1995 winner Eddie George of Ohio State.

This week’s poll results, with total points and first-place votes in parentheses:

1. Darren McFadden, Arkansas, 44 (8); 2. Tim Tebow, Florida, 16 ;3. Colt Brennan, Hawaii, 14 (1); 4. Pat White, West Virginia, 12; 5. John David Booty, USC, 10; 6. Steve Slaton, West Virginia, 9; 7. Ray Rice, Rutgers, 6′ 8. Andre Woodson, Kentucky, 5, Matt Ryan, Boston College, 5; 10. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, 3

Others receiving votes: Brian Brohm, Louisville; Graham Harrell, Texas Tech; Colt McCoy, Texas; Mike Hart, Michigan.

The Heismanpundit.com Straw Poll Heisman voters are Tom Dienhart (The Sporting News), Austin Murphy (Sports Illustrated), Stewart Mandel (Sports Illustrated) B.J. Schecter (Sports Illustrated), Olin Buchanan ( Rivals.com), Neal McCready (Mobile Register Guard), Ted Lewis (New Orleans Times-Picayune), Dick Weiss (New York Daily News)
and J.B. Morris, ESPN.com

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

When it comes to switching jobs or preparing his team for every unlike situation, Alabama coach Nick Saban never says never. So that’s why at the end of every Friday practice, he goes through a list of specific game situations that usually don’t happen, but sometimes do. “Through the years you develop an accumulation of all these situations,” Saban said. “If you just cover them even in walk-through, the players can anticipate and respond to them a little bit better in the game.” Saban’s players have bought into his preparation. “(Saban) is the most detailed person I’ve ever been around,” said backup kicker Andrew Friedman, who participates in several special teams-specific scenarios. “I’d say, definitely, it was more (preparation) this year than last year.”

ARKANSAS

In each of Houston Nutt’s nine seasons as Arkansas’ coach, the Razorbacks have lost the next Southeastern Conference game played after their first conference loss. Last week, Arkansas at Alabama. On Saturday, they play Kentucky. The trend continued last season when Arkansas followed its loss to LSU with a defeat to No. 4 Florida in the SEC title game. Other losses in the streak have come against tough opponents. The Razorbacks lost at 10-win Alabama in 2005. They fell at No. 4 Auburn in 2004. They dropped a six-overtime thriller at No. 10 Tennessee in 2002. Some defeats, however, weren’t against top-notch competition. Arkansas lost at home to unranked Florida, during thie lowest point of the Ron Zook era, in 2003. The Hogs got blown out by a mediocre Alabama team in Tuscaloosa in 2001. They lost at unranked South Carolina in 2000, to former Razorback coach Lou Holtz. And upsets, as a ranked team, started this trend. Ranked ninth, Arkansas was upset in the final seconds at Mississippi State in 1998. Ranked 20th, the Razorbacks were upset at Kentucky in 1999.

AUBURN

Will Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville ever get back a running game? He might know today whether suspended Auburn running back Brad Lester will be allowed to play this year. Tuberville said Thursday that Lester’s suspension would be resolved “in the next 48 hours,” but he offered no clue about whether the decision would be in Lester’s favor, or if Lester might play in Saturday’s game against New Mexico State. “I don’t know whether that’s a reality, dealing with what we’re dealing with,” Tuberville said. “We’d like to get a little closure on it, and give him some idea what he’s doing.” Lester has practiced throughout his suspension and Tuberville said he is game-ready. “He could play this afternoon,” he said. Lester was suspended for the Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl for undisclosed academic reasons. One day before Auburn’s season opener against Kansas State, Tuberville announced that Lester would remain suspended indefinitely. The junior from Lilburn, Ga., entered the season as Auburn’s top tailback, and the offense has suffered in his absence. Without Lester, Auburn has relied on sophomore Ben Tate and redshirt freshman Mario Fannin.
While Tate (52 carries, 234 yards) has played well at times, Fannin has lost three fumbles in the past two games. A fourth tailback, converted safety Tristan Davis, suffered a broken toe in August. The Sept. 29 game at Florida is the earliest he could return.

FLORIDA

Florida coach Urban Meyer is not taking any chances on his team being stuck in traffic on its way to its first road game of the season. The team will promptly rise at 6:30 a.m. CST Saturday at its hotel to begin its preparation for Ole Miss. With UF finally traveling away from The Swamp, Meyer had concerns at the beginning of the week about taking such a young team (48 players that have seen game action are either freshman or sophomores) on the road after an emotional 59-20 win over Tennessee. Mostly, he was concerned about the play of the defense. After Thursday’s practice, it looks as though he is getting more comfortable with that defense traveling to Oxford. “I believe in our ability, but the experience (is a) factor,” Meyer said. “Now we’re heading across another bridge and that’s on the road. I like our ability on defense.” Meyer might be more confident in the way he expects his team to play Saturday, but there are still moments where he has to remember that this team is still pretty immature.”

GEORGIA

Georgia is 36-16 in SEC play under Richt, but has lost five of its last seven conference games. Knocking off a top-20 Alabama team would even Georgia’s SEC record at 1-1 and perhaps change a perception that the team isn’t as formidable as it was from 2002-2005 when it won two SEC titles.
“I think winning this game would help a lot,” Richt said. “I don’t know how people perceive us. Probably not like a big giant.” ESPN College GameDay will be in Tuscaloosa before the 7:45 p.m. game. “This is a sport that’s kind of what have you done for me lately and are you winning now?” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “It doesn’t matter how many years ago we won the SEC.” Said Richt: “You’ve got to win and you’ve got to look good doing it sometimes so when people turn your film on, they’ve got some respect for what’s about to happen.”

KENTUCKY

UK receiver Keenan Burton (sprained ankle) did not practice again Thursday, but Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said that he will play Saturday night. “I would expect that he would be about 85-90 percent,” Brooks said. “It’s the same thing he has had for the last two weeks.” Burton first injured the ankle against Kent State and was limited in practice the week leading up to the Louisville game. Burton ended up starting and caught a team-high nine passes for 99 yards. “I don’t think it’s something that’s going to stop me from playing this week,” Burton said. “I’m not sure how many reps I’ll get, but if we have 84 plays, I’ll play 83 of them.” Burton, who has battled through wrist and foot injuries in the past, insisted that this latest injury is nothing to be overly concerned about. “I’ve been doing a lot of rehab, trying to stay in shape,” Burton said. “A lot of people are saying things about my ankle not being healed or it’s worse than what it really is. That’s not true. I’ve just got an ankle sprain, that’s it. Inside, I’ve got a bone bruise, and I’m just trying to let that heal. My ankle doesn’t hurt. I’ve heard a lot of things from a lot of people, and I think it’s foolish because how can you say something if you’re not really aware? I know nobody knows except the trainers, the coaches and the doctors. I went to the doctor yesterday, got an MRI and everything. There are no broken bones or anything.”

LSU

LSU starting defensive tackle Charles Alexander of Breaux Bridge seriously injured his knee on Wednesday at practice and is out for the year, LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette confirmed to reporters on Thursday. Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 292-pound junior, has made six tackles this season along with two quarterback hurries. He has split time with fellow junior Marlon Favorite and sophomore Al Woods. Favorite or Woods will start Saturday when the No. 2 Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) host No. 12 South Carolina (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at 2:30 p.m. on CBS. Alexander made 28 tackles last season with two sacks as he started six games and played in all 13 games. Miles has often said how well Woods has played this season. Woods, who is 6-4 and 316 pounds, has made four tackles this season with one sack and one fumble recovery. . .LSU will also be without starting wide receiver Early Doucet (groin) and backup left guard Will Arnold (viral infection). Starting quarterback Matt Flynn (ankle) is expected to start as he continues to near 100 percent after missing last week’s win over Middle Tennessee. “There isn’t any question he’s much closer to 100 percent at this point on Wednesday than he was anywhere near last week,” Miles said of Flynn. “And he could’ve played last week.” On his radio show Wednesday night, Miles was more forthcoming about Flynn and Doucet. (Practices are closed on Thursdays.) “Flynn practiced and really looked good,” Miles said. “I would say he took 70 to 80 percent of the snaps and really had no complaint, moved very quickly, made all the throws that he needed to do, all the play action. I mean just really looked good. I just anticipate him being ready to play.” Miles said there was a chance Doucet could be ready for next week’s game against Tulane in New Orleans. “I don’t think Early will be ready (for South Carolina), but we’re not going to refuse an opportunity there. But we’re realistic and think maybe next week.”

OLE MISS

Ole Miss offensive line coach Art Kehoe told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger said his up-and-down group has had communication problems this season. So, naturally, Kehoe tried to express his concerns the best possible way this week. “We talked about that,” Kehoe said with a smile Wednesday. “In a nice, friendly way.” The Rebels (1-2, 0-1 SEC) are hoping the verbal problems will be sorted out in time for Saturday’s game against third-ranked Florida (3-0, 1-0) in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. It sounds simple, but Kehoe said part of Ole Miss’ struggles at Vanderbilt was the group’s inability to tell him what happened on busted plays and what assignments they might’ve blown in certain situations. With the communication gap, Kehoe said it was much harder to correct the errors during the game. It was all part of the lowest rushing effort this season (54 yards). It also was the second time in three games the Rebels were held under 100 yards. They ran for 74 at Memphis. . .Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said quarterback Seth Adams practiced Thursday and should be ready to play against Florida. Adams has missed much of the week because of a sprained throwing shoulder he sustained at Vanderbilt last Saturday.

MISS. STATE

Misissisppi State coach Sylvester Croom still doesn’t know who he’ll start at quarterback on Saturday in a non-conference game against Gardner-Webb. “Right now you could probably flip a coin and that might be what I do,” Croom, the MSU coach, said. “I’m not real sure yet. I’ll look at film tonight and think about a few things and see what we do.” True freshman Wesley Carroll, who turned 19 on Tuesday, and junior college transfer Josh Riddell are vying for the starting job after Michael Henig was injured in the first half of Saturday’s 19-14 win at Auburn. Croom said earlier in the week that Carroll had the inside track to be the team’s starter, but that both would play. He didn’t offer much in terms of resolution Thursday and said he’ll have to meet with his offensive coaching staff to determine who will get the starting role. “I’ll just wait and see,” Croom said. “I don’t want to make any comments further than that because I don’t want to pin myself down on anything.”

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier praised former LSU head coach Nick Saban heavily for LSU’s current success under Les Miles. “LSU, I don’t need to sit here and tell you how good a team they are,” Spurrier said. “Everybody has said that. Their recruiting has been outstanding over the last four or five years. Any time your recruiting is ranked in the top five in the country, which I know Nick Saban’s last three years there they were like 1, 2 and 2 in most of the polls in recruiting. So those guys are now in their third, fourth year, something like that.” Spurrier is correct. Three of Saban’s last four recruiting classes — 2001, 2003 and 2004 — were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation by various national polls. Miles’ first class in 2005, largely due to the fact that he could only sign 13 because the previous classes so filled the roster, drew a No. 22 ranking by Rivals.com. His 2006 and 2007 classes, which are starting to put players on the field, were ranked No. 7 and No. 4, respectively, by Rivals.com. Signees from Saban’s last class in 2004 are all over the field in 2007 — Charles Alexander, Glenn Dorsey, Early Doucet, Marlon Favorite, Brett Helms, Jacob Hester, Ali Highsmith, Tyson Jackson, Herman Johnson, Tremaine Johnson, Luke Sanders, Curtis Taylor and Craig Steltz. Ten of the 11 starters on the nation’s No. 1 defense were signed by Saban. “So they’ve got a big time football program at LSU,” Spurrier said, “and again give Nick Saban credit for coming in there and doing a super job fund raising. Their academic center. Facilities really improved when Saban got there. They’ve got it rolling right now.”

TENNESSEE

The Vols are last in the nation in punt return defense. Tennessee is the only team in the nation that has allowed two punts for touchdowns. “It’s frustrating to everyone on the team because we’ve worked on it as much as anyone can possibly work on the kicking game,” Coach Phillip Fulmer said. “We certainly preach it to the team how important it is, being a third of what we do.” The UT players who are in position to make tackles take most of the blame. But punter Britton Colquitt understands it’s on him, too. “He’s accountable,” Fulmer said of Colquitt. “He came right to me and talked to me and said he couldn’t quite get it out of bounds.” Colquitt admits he wasn’t at full strength at Cal and was still hampered by a minor quadriceps injury to his kicking leg. He said he had a hard time going full bore and the precision of the kick suffered. “I definitely take a lot of responsibility on it,” Colquitt said. “I have to get more hang time on it and give our guys a chance to get down there. I didn’t really do that.”

VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt Coach Bobby Johnson has a pair of former head coaches on his staff — offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Ted Cain, who spent two seasons at Virginia Military Institute during the late 1990s; and receivers coach Charlie Fisher, who spent five seasons at West Georgia during the mid-’90s. “They’ve been through it,” Johnson said of the pair, who both worked with fellow Commodore offensive assistants Robbie Caldwell and Jimmy Kiser at North Carolina State, though not at the same time. “We all sort of coach by committee,” Johnson said. “We discuss everything. It’s not a bunch of decisions I make without referring to the staff. I lean on them all the time, and not just (Cain and Fisher) — everybody.”