Odds Still Seem Against Greene Becoming a Heisman Finalist

This will be edited as more information filters in, but early returns Sunday show it will be an uphill run for Iowa's Shonn Greene to become a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2 1/2 weeks.

From sportingnews.com Sunday: "He has the numbers to get to New York, but the name recognition still isn't there."

In Heisman watches in the Denver Post and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Sunday, four players were listed. None were Greene.

Before Saturday's games, a McClatchey Newspapers panel of nine Heisman voters listed the way they would fill out their ballots (you only get to vote for three players). Only Jeff Shain of the Miami Herald listed Greene, and at No. 3. Quarterbacks Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Colt McCoy of Texas, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tim Tebow of Florida had every vote covered by the third-place vote for Greene and a third-place nod for Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree.

Greene's 1,729 rushing yards lead all of Division I-A football, but it's the Year of the Quarterback. Not that a running back with a dozen straight 100-yard games wouldn't be a shoo-in for the Heisman ceremony had he played for a team headed for a BCS bowl, but an unranked 8-4 club has a harder time getting drum beats sounded for a Heisman candidacy.

It doesn't help, either, that Greene isn't glib or eager to do any self-promotion. Normally, the latter is a good thing.

Nonetheless, Greene will be making the rounds in December when national awards are handed out. He absolutely has to win the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back. There will be other honors, and a first-team All-America spot. Those aren't bad consolation prizes if he isn't invited to New York.

Then there's a bowl game. You know, Greene is only a 271-yard game from a 2,000-yard season ...

In an unrelated matter, congratulations to former Iowa defensive lineman Howard Hodges for being a member of the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders. Hodges played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year, they went 3-15, and Hodges got waived. He hooked on with the Stampeders and played a significant role for the league champs.