Some years the Heisman Trophy announcement drips with drama. In 2015, Alabama running back Derrick Henry edged out Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey. The same schools were involved in an even closer battle in 2009, when winner Mark Ingram received five more first-place votes than Toby Gerhart.
Then there are announcements like what we will see on Saturday.
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to win going away. His favorite status is so strong that Bovada, an online sports-betting service, took the Heisman race off the board in late November, calling Mayfield too big a favorite.
How did this happen? Mayfield continued his excellence throughout the season while other top challengers and early favorites _ like last year's winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville, Southern California's Sam Darnold and Ohio State's J.T. Barrett _ faded.
One service, Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, listed Darnold as the preseason favorite at 5-1, followed by Mayfield (7-1) and Jackson (8-1).
Darnold didn't get invited to New York as a finalist. Mayfield and Jackson did, along with Stanford running back Bryce Love. They'll all be there to applaud the next Sooners quarterback to win college football's biggest individual prize in the award's 83rd presentation ceremony.
Still, we'll engage in an exercise for the finalists: Why they'll win it, and why they won't.
