Two more Saturdays. That’s what we have left of the 2007 college football regular season, a year that can be at best described as exciting and unexpected, but is more aptly considered a year full of mediocrity.

There have been bright spots certainly, but if there is one lone definable quality to the 2007 college football season, it is this: plenty of folks are good, and absolutely no one even approaches greatness.

Sure, that’s an appropriate description of the top of the polls right now. We are, quite likely, looking at someone from the group of Kansas, Missouri, West Virginia and Ohio State playing in the national title game. But while the best of the best in terms of teams are anything but amazing, the crop of contenders vying for the 2007 Heisman trophy is equally unimpressive.

Until Thursday – soon to be known as “The Day Which Shall Not Be Named” among college football’s elite teams – we had one shining star who seemed destined for the Heisman. But then Dennis Dixon, the athletic senior quarterback at Oregon, suffered a season-ending injury, and took his Heisman hopes (and the Ducks’ national title hopes) with him.

Now the list of contenders is short, and barring a staggering surprise, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow seems to be the obvious winner. Dixon will still be a finalist, Kansas’ Todd Reesing, Boston College’s Matt Ryan and Missouri’s Chase Daniel will each get a few votes, and those fading running backs – Arkansas’ Darren McFadden and Michigan’s Mike Hart – will earn some attention, too, but the award is all but in Tebow’s hands now.

The sophomore signal caller became the first quarterback in college football history to throw and rush for 20 touchdowns in a season last week, and that’s just the type of stat that the voters love to hang their hat on. But is Tebow really Heisman-worthy?

His team hasn’t been legitimately part of the national-title hunt since early October. Against LSU and Georgia – by far Florida’s two toughest opponents – Tebow has completed just 26-of-48 passes and run for just 52 yards on 29 carries (a dismal 1.8 yards per carry). Shouldn’t college football’s best player be at his best against his toughest competitors?

In fact, Tebow has really padded his stats against some of the weaker competition. Of his five games in which he threw more than two touchdown passes, only one came against a team with a winning record (a four-TD performance vs. defensively challenged Kentucky). He ranks 49th in the nation in completions per game, 20th in passing yards per game and even including his excessive running, he is only sixth in total offense per game, behind Louisville’s Brian Brohm, Hawaii’s Colt Brennan and Missouri’s Daniel, among others. Add to that the fact that a sophomore has never won the Heisman, and you have a good case against Tebow. Still, it probably won’t be enough to keep him from taking home the hardware. And to tell the truth, this year, he probably does deserve it.

But that’s not to say there aren’t other strong candidates who aren’t getting the press. Go beyond the names of Reesing, Daniel, McFadden and Hart. Think outside the box. There are some great performances from 2007 that aren’t getting much attention, and certainly won’t get hyped on Heisman day. But we’ll give them props here:

Graham Harrell (QB, Texas Tech) and Michael Crabtree (WR, Texas Tech).
I put the two Red Raider teammates together, because they’ve been helping each other to stack up insane numbers all season. Harrell, a junior, and Crabtree, a freshman, might be the most deadly QB-WR combo in the nation, but the attention has been minimal thanks to Texas Tech’s 4-4 record in the Big 12 and a system known for putting up awesome passing numbers. Still, it’s one thing to have a system that works, it’s another thing to have the players to make it work. That’s exactly what Harrell (5,298 yards passing, 45 touchdowns) and Crabtree (1,861 yards, 21 touchdowns) have been. Harrell leads the nation in passing yards and scoring and is sixth in passing efficiency. Crabtree leads the nation in receiving yards, receptions and receiving touchdowns. System or no, these guys are good. Maybe their big win over Oklahoma will get some Heisman voters to take notice.

Knowshon Moreno (RB, Georgia).
If Tebow’s underclassman status precludes him from winning the Heisman, there’s no way Moreno, a red-shirt freshman, is going to win. Besides, a crowded Georgia backfield that included seniors Kregg Lumpkin and Thomas Brown, kept Moreno from getting a full compliment of touches early on. But since he’s become the Bulldogs’ primary back, he’s been nothing short of brilliant. Five straight 100-yard rushing games, nine touchdowns in his last four, 1,228 yards rushing on the year and a yards-per-carry average of 5.5. No wonder Bulldogs fans are making Herschel Walker comparisons.

Chris Long (DE, Virginia).
At 6-4, 290 pounds, Long is a beast. He has racked up 12 sacks this year (fifth in the country) for a Virginia defense that has kept the Cavaliers to six wins by five points or less. Virginia is allowing opposing runners just a shade over 3 yards per carry, due in large part to Long’s game-changing talent coming off the end. Perhaps no defensive player in the country is more intimidating.

Jim Laurinitis (LB, Ohio State).
There’s a reason the Buckeyes are still alive for a national title. In a year in which things could have fallen apart in Columbus (virtually the entire offense left for the pros after last season), it was the defense that kept Ohio State undefeated until its Nov. 10 loss to Illinois, and it is Laurinitis who drives the D. The senior has 103 tackles on the season, including 11 for a loss, he’s a Butkus Award favorite and he’s the biggest reason (other than a joke of a schedule) why Ohio State ranks first in the nation in total defense.

J Lehman (LB, Illiniois).
Sure, Laurinitis gets all the pub among linebackers around the Big Ten (and maybe a bit goes to Dan Connor of Penn State, too), but it is Lehman who may be the real star. The senior has 124 tackles on the season, including 12 in Illinois’ huge upset of then-No. 1 Ohio State, including three for a loss. It’s the second-straight year Lehman upstaged the more publicized Laurinitis in head-to-head play after racking up 19 tackles in 2006 against the Buckeyes.

Glenn Dorsey (DL, Louisiana State).
Injuries have quieted Dorsey through the last half of the season, but make no mistake, offenses plan their games around avoiding this guy. LSU ranks second in the nation in total defense, and is allowing fewer than 79 yards per game on the ground to opponents. Dorsey’s bulky frame and intimidating presense are the primary reasons why.

George Selvie (DL, South Florida).
Wow, this guy is something. Selvie leads the nation with 30.5 tackles-for-a-loss, including 14.5 sacks. The sophomore is a big reason why South Florida was ranked in the top 5 early in the year, and he’s just two tackles-for-a-loss away from setting the all-time record. The guy is a quarterback’s worst nightmare

Ian Johnson (RB, Boise State).
Sure, it’s Hawaii that has gotten most of the small-school hype this year after last year’s Cinderella, Boise State, lost an early game at Washington in Week 2. But since then the Broncos have been unstoppable, and Johnson – who proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend after last year’s Fiesta Bowl victory -- has been the catalyst. Boise State has topped 50 points five times this year behind Johnson’s playmaking ability. The junior running back has 1,217 yards of total offense this season and 15 touchdowns (14 rushing) to lead a Boise State offense that ranks 10th in the nation. When it comes time to hand out the BCS bids, it’s certainly possible last year’s Cinderella might be wearing the slipper once again – and Johnson will be a big reason why.
 
Aqib Talib (CB, Kansas).
Maybe the most dynamic player in college football, and most fans have never heard of him. Talib plays both ways, and has been a huge playmaker as both a wide receiver and a shut-down corner. Talib has just eight grabs as a receiver, but four have gone for scores. On the other side of the ball, however, he has become a star. Sure, he has just four interceptions, but opposing quarterbacks simply don’t throw to his side of the field. Sure, Kansas ranks just 41st in the nation in pass defense, but that’s up from dead last in the country in 2006, and Talib, who didn’t play last season, is the reason why. Oh, and did I mention the Jayhawks could be bound for a trip to New Orleans for the national championship game?