White still haunted by 2003 postseason nightmare
Published: 12/9/2007 11:34 AM
Last Modified: 12/9/2007 11:34 AM
Jason White's place in Oklahoma history is secure. The record book says so, and so does that statue that went up across the street from Owen Field last September.
Outside of Norman, however, the revisionists lurk. And, with Tim Tebow's well-deserved Heisman Trophy having been presented Saturday night, they are pouncing.
Cory McCartney of SI.com implies that if it was OK to award the Heisman to a sophomore four years ago, Pitt wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald would have won it over White, then an OU junior.
"White turned in a dismal performance vs. K-State in the Big 12 title game," McCartney writes, "but it wasn't enough to dissuade voters."
White was 27-of-50 for 298 yards, 2 interceptions and no touchdowns that bone-chilling night in Kansas City.
Worse, of course, was his 13-of-37 debacle in the BCS championship Sugar Bowl against LSU a month later. Holding that against White, Pete Fiutak of CollegeFootballNews.com recently argued that the OU quarterback would have dropped completely out of the Heisman's top three had voters waited until after the bowls to cast their ballots.
Matt Leinart, despite coming in sixth in the actual vote, would have won the Heisman, Fiutak claimed, for his 331-yard, 4-touchdown showcase in USC's Rose Bowl victory over Michigan.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
