Sometimes I amuse myself.
Each year I receive notices that it's time to vote on honors like the Heisman Trophy, Kennedy Award and Associated Press All-Big 12 football team. And, lo and behold, each year I get fired up to do my research.
Until, that is, I'm knee-deep in the research - and want to drop-kick it off my desk. (Know of a really good Big 12 offensive guard for my second team?)
You guys know I take pride in my votes. You know I don't hit the send button until the last moment. I did, however, do some preliminary work this week. And I thought you might enjoy following along.
Of course, the most fun vote is that of the Heisman.
It's a strange animal because, technically, the award "annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity." But, uh, good luck to defensive linemen like Joey Bosa of Ohio State or Robert Nkemdiche of Ole Miss. You're not winning it. (Actually, I like Oklahoma State's Emmanuel Ogbah and his 13 sacks.)
Now, have I voted for defenders in the past? Yes. Many times. It just doesn't look like that will happen this year. The most outstanding season in regard to sacks has belonged to Penn State's Carl Nassib, the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year. He has 15.5 - nice, but not enough. The top tackler has been Missouri's Kentrell Brothers, who averages 12.7. Again, nice but not enough to sway this vote.
So where do we go from here? Well, my first stop was to those most in control of games: quarterbacks. I scanned all the NCAA statistics and allowed the names and numbers to jump out at me.
In my mind, there are four to consider: Clemson's Deshaun Watson, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, California's Jared Goff and Memphis' Paxton Lynch.
The first two have been the main cogs in their teams' run toward the College Football Playoff. They are marquee teams and probably have the best chance of making the trip to New York as Heisman finalists. Just don't scoff at the other two. Lynch is a 6-foot-7 kid who might be the first QB taken in the 2016 NFL draft. Goff, a 6-4 junior, might be the second taken. Or vice-versa.
I looked at four categories I believe to be important: pass efficiency, passing yards per game, points responsible for per game, and total offense. And when the number crunching ended, here was the result: 1. Goff, 2. Mayfield and 3. a tie between Watson and Lynch. It was close (that's why I wait until the Sunday before the Monday deadline) but Goff is No. 15 in pass efficiency, No. 4 in passing yards, No. 7 in points responsible for and No. 5 in total offense. The problem is his team is 7-5. So I'm leaning toward Mayfield. He not only has the numbers, but he's exhorted his team to its status. That man has led, folks.
Bringing us to the rushers, and one doesn't have to look far for a star-studded statistic. Punch up your NCAA rushing leaders per game. You'll find No. 1 Leonard Fournette of LSU (158.3), No. 2 Dalvin Cook of Florida State (150.7) and No. 3 Derrick Henry of Alabama (149.8). At No. 6 you'll find Ezekial Elliott of Ohio State (139.3). At No. 7 you'll find Christian McCaffrey of Stanford (136.7).
Forget thunder and lightning. That's a blizzard, tornado, monsoon, hurricane and cyclone.
You could make great arguments for any one of them. I've boiled it down to this though: No. 1 Henry, No. 2 McCaffrey and No. 3 Fournette.
If you look deeper into the stats, you see Henry has the most touchdowns with 22. He plays for a probable CFP team. And he's, well, just a frickin' beast.
McCaffrey is the nation's all-purpose leader by far. He's averaging 252.9 all-purpose yards. The next closest is San Jose State's Tyler Ervin at 200.8. That's a big gap.
Fournette is the nation's leading rusher. There's still something to be said for that. (If it weren't for that pesky Crimson Tide ...)
As for the receivers, well, the Big 12 has the proverbial market cornered. Again. TCU's Josh Doctson is the best statistically at 132.7 yards per game, while Baylor's Corey Coleman is next at 119.5. If you want to go there, I'd suggest Coleman, who has 20 touchdowns. That's five more than the next best, Western Kentucky's Taywan Taylor.
In the end I'll probably lean toward the running backs (and I do hate leaning toward the running backs because it's so cliché) with a quarterback thrown in there (cliché squared). However, I'm not allowed to publish my final decision before the announcement. Might lose my vote. (And then what the heck would you read on your Friday?)
In regard to my Big 12 vote, I can be more candid. Expect Oklahoma's Bob Stoops to be coach of the year and his QB, Mayfield, the offensive player of the year. More than likely, Ogbah will be the defensive player of the year.
What will be fascinating is the Big 12 first- and second-team running back voting. I'm voting in an unorthodox way: Oklahoma's Samaje Perine and WVU's Wendell Smallwood on the first team and Oklahoma's Joe Mixon and Baylor's Shock Linwood on the second team. Yes, even though Deandre Washington of Texas Tech is leading the league in rushing and Iowa State's Mike Warren is averaging more yards than either Sooner runner. Give me those OU guys.
The high school Kennedy Award? Here's my ballot: 1. Tyrhee Pratt, Capital; 2. Elijah Bell, Wheeling Park; 3. Reese Donahue, Cabell Midland.
It's a bunch of research. But, yeah, OK, in the end, a bunch of fun.