But during those showtime seasons, Bush was, if not at the top of the marquee, highly placed in the credits.

He may not have been technically eligible for the award… well, now, which doesn’t change the voting that took place during the season.

His performance on the field showed that he was at least the second best player in college football that season. And my vote would have been for Bush even though he was later bested by Young (and an untimely fumble) in the National Championship game.

He was the most explosive player in college football that season and deserved the award with his play on the field.

Sure he might have had a small advantage given that many of the players around him were also likely benefiting financially from their attendance at USC, but in the end, he still had to carry the ball, and he still had to work for his stats just like everyone else in the Heisman race.

Trying to forget that he won that season is akin to stripping teams of wins, or vacating appearances in the Final Four in basketball. It isn’t like the games didn’t happen.

We know the outcomes; we saw the games. “Punishing” a team by taking away the banner doesn’t erase the experience from their minds or make them give back the actual accomplishment on the field or court.

With that in mind, you might as well let him keep the award and the trophy.

Instead of taking back the award, just brush off that old tool for records we don’t like: the asterisk.

OK, enough nostalgia. On to this year’s race.

Admittedly, the first few weeks of the season make it a little tough to guage the real standings, but here is where I would play the top five contenders after the first week

1. Ryan Mallett (QB, Arkansas) - Only three incompletions which matches the number of touchdowns that Mallett threw against Tennessee Tech. Mallett played deep into the game which padded his numbers a bit. Still Mallett’s performance was so strong that there is no reason to doubt he is at least near the top of the list for the Pose.
   
   
2. Terrelle Pryor (QB, Ohio State)- Pryor was only slightly less impressive against Marshall than Mallett was against his patsy party. 247 yards and three touchdowns makes for a pretty good evening of football. Part of me though wonders what happened to the running game that Pryor used to display. Against Marshall, shouldn’t he have been better than 2.1 yards per carry? For his career, he was averaging 4.7 yards against much tougher defenses than the Herd. So if you need a reason for him not to be in first place, there you go.
   
   
3. DeMarco Murray (RB, Oklahoma) - Hey, Oklahoma, that was Utah STATE not Utah on the other side of the field. No excuses can make up for almost giving that game away, especially when you have bigger goals than just a conference crown. Murray did his part, gaining a crucial first down in the fourth quarter and gaining 218 yards while scoring two touchdowns. Now Murray needs to get the rest of the team as focused as he is.
   
   
4. Kellen Moore (QB, Boise State) - Gets leadership points for bringing his team down the field to score in the final moments against Virginia Tech. Wasn’t as crisp as you would like, but performances like that get you more votes than stats ever will. Now the question will be if the voters remember that final Bronco drive by the time the ballots are due. For those of you who like stats, here you go: 215 yards and three touchdowns.
   
   
5. Matt Barkley (QB, USC) - One of the highlights of the USC win over Hawaii, Barkley tossed for 257 yards and five touchdowns. He made every important pass, especially after returning to the game when Hawaii made it interesting. Last week, I had Barkley on the outside looking in, but too many more performances like that and the sophomore winning streak in New York might extend one more year.
   
   

Others: Jake Locker (Not bad against BYU, but getting no help and couldn’t close), Jerrod Johnson (Only completes 67 percent of passes against Stephen F. Austin), Noel Devine (Efficient enough against Coastal Carolina).

Small time performance: This week this goes to a duo which is not the normal order of things. Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne and East Carolina quarterback Dominique Davis combined for almost 800 yards passing and 10 touchdowns in a 51-49 win for the Pirates. Davis also added a rushing touchdown in the shootout win that earned Instant Classic status from the WWL.