Here is what our panel of national writers thought of our scenario heading into the season:
CHRIS DUFRENSE (Los Angeles Times): Boy, that's a tough one. I'd give the advantage to Notre Dame if it was Quinn vs. the tailback from any school -- except Oklahoma, USC or Texas. The Oklahoma Heisman factor is huge in this case, given that a Sooners quarterback won the Heisman three years ago.
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The key thing, as always, is how the GameDay boys at ESPN sell it on Saturdays. Meanwhile, on ESPN radio, Beano Cook will be singing the Notre Dame fight song and ranting that finally, after all these years, he'll finally be right about a Notre Dame quarterback winning the Heisman.
GENE WOJCEICHOWSKI (ESPN.com): OU has its own mystique, so let's not underestimate the power of the Sooner. But Notre Dame has its own TV network (NBC), which helps. A lot. So all things being equal -- and they never are -- Quinn might have an advantage. Might. Peterson needs to stay healthy. He needs to put up good numbers against good teams. He needs OU to win those big TV games. If he does all that, I'd have no problem using my No. 2 pencil to write his name on my Heisman ballot.
BLAIR KERKHOFF (Kansas City Star): If they were dead-even on the field and the teams had similar success, I don't know. I don't buy the Notre Dame mystique thing, and I'm not sure that's as much of a factor as it might have been. There's a new generation of media out there that has to be told there is a Notre Dame mystique. And Oklahoma has been more successful -- much more so that Notre Dame -- in this century. How about a Sooner mystique?
TEDDY GREENSTEIN (Chicago Tribune): I really hate to be evasive -- like, say, Bob Stoops -- but my answer to your question about what Peterson needs to win is lame: It depends.
I can tell you that the Notre Dame mystique would mean absolutely nothing to me. I didn't have Quinn in my top three last year. I had: 1) Bush; 2) Young; 3) Michael Robinson.
DENNIS DODD (CBS Sportsline): Soooo many variables. When are the losses and to whom? Who knows how the whole Nelson Peterson thing is going to play? Brady Quinn will be shoved down our throats.
Notre Dame would have the upper hand promotionally, but I think at some point there is a backlash because it's � Notre Dame. A lot of people hate them, too -- Huarte history or no Huarte history.
There is probably one sure way that A.D. (Peterson) could win it: fulfill his goal to run for 2,200 yards.
TOM DIENHART (The Sporting News): All things being equal between Quinn and Peterson team-wise, I think Peterson is going to need a few spectacular "Heisman" moments. He also will need at least 2,000 yards rushing. Even with those things, he still may not win it. What will help Peterson most in the Heisman is if a Big Ten or Big East player is in the hunt. I think that will take votes from Quinn in the regions he could dominate (Midwest and East).
DICK WEISS (New York Daily News): All things being equal between Quinn and Adrian, it might be hard to overcome the Notre Dame mystique in the big cities -- LA, New York, Chicago -- and the amount of publicity Notre Dame gets in those cities. I know Notre Dame really resonates with our readers. They have a huge subway alumni following in the East Coast.
IVAN MAISEL (ESPN.com): It could come down to the big games and how each player performed in them, right? If Peterson rushes for 43 against Texas, not good. If he gets 143, good. If he gets 243, game over. That said, Quinn has a powerful pulpit from which to preach. It's probably not a level playing field. But he will be held responsible for Notre Dame's wins and losses, a responsibility that A.D. won't have with OU.
KIRK BOHLS (Austin American Statesman): There are probably more who would side with Quinn because of the freshness of the Irish on the national scene again. I'm not saying Peterson is yesterday's news, but Quinn's the new kid on the block and he is a quarterback. Notre Dame would have a slight advantage in the mystique department. Bottom line, if the stats were as equal as stats for two different positions can be, the guy with the best team record would probably have the edge.
JOHN HENDERSON (Denver Post): Peterson must have a bigger impact than Quinn to win it. Quinn has the advantage of having a tremendous year in 2005, while Peterson operated under the radar. Quinn's already touted as the Heisman favorite, so it's his to lose. He and Notre Dame will have to stumble along the way, and Peterson and Oklahoma can't have any missteps. If that happens, Peterson will pass Quinn, mystique and all.
Frankly, I think Oklahoma's defense could win it for Peterson. (Oregon coach Mike) Bellotti said it was the best defense he's ever coached against (in last year's Holiday Bowl), and it'll be just as good as this year.
TONY BARNHART (Atlanta Journal-Constitution): Because so many people vote on the Heisman, it really comes down to the guy who makes the big plays in the big games in November. It's one thing to roll up a lot of stats, but what sticks in the voters' minds -- right or wrong -- is the big play that makes SportsCenter. So if Adrian finds himself in a two-man race come the stretch drive of the season, big plays are very important. I think he has to get Oklahoma to the Big 12 championship game. Most of the votes will be in by the time the game is played. A huge game against Texas sure wouldn't hurt.
PAT FORDE (ESPN.com): I say this with absolutely no empirical evidence, but Big 12 voters seem to vote as a bloc more than in other parts of the country. The league's Heisman candidates and the best teams always do well in the popularity contests -- sometimes better than they deserve. Yes, Notre Dame has something of a national constituency -- but does it have enough voters in its backyard who think Fighting Irish first and foremost? I'm not sure about that.
If anything, there might be a Notre Dame backlash in some precincts, especially when it comes to the school's Lone Ranger approach to conference affiliation.
The Notre Dame mystique is no small thing. Propaganda shouldn't matter at all. Everyone is fully familiar with Quinn and Peterson, their teams and their programs' traditions. If it comes down to your scenario, it should all be settled on the field. The way it oughta be.
VAHE GREGORIAN (St. Louis Post-Dispatch): If Peterson plays like he did as a freshman, I think it would actually be hard for Quinn to beat him since he looked like one of the great backs ever to play the game -- not just the best of the season.
As for the Notre Dame mystique, that definitely will be a factor for some voters.
Compiled by John Rohde
