College Football Awards 2008: The Contenders

2007 Butkus winner James Laurinaitis is a finalist for the award once again this season, but he faces some stiff competition. USC 'backers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing lead what many say is the nation's best defense, while Rolando McClain has been a steady force all season for No. 1 Alabama. Maualuga and McClain are probably more deserving, but it wouldn't surprise me if Laurinaitis doesn't win this win, if only because he's received so much hype over the years. About the only guy with a chance to upset Laurinaitis is Maualuga.

The finalists for the Lombardi include two Butkus finalists: Ohio State's Laurinaitis and USC's Maualuga. They are joined by Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo and Alabama offensive lineman Andre Smith. Once again, it's safe to assume that this one comes down to Laurinaitis and Maualuga. Give the edge to Maualuga here. Besides, he's outplayed Laurinaitis all season—plus, there's that little issue of the Trojans having demolished the Buckeyes way back in September.

Though there are many other deserving candidates (Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant, Texas' Quan Cosboy, Minnesota's Eric Decker and especially Rice's Jarrett Dillard), it's almost unthinkable that anyone but Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree will take this one home. For the season, the sensational Crabtree has 93 catches for 1,135 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Fittingly, it's a battle of Big 12 South quarterbacks for the O'Brien Award. Texas' Colt McCoy, Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford have been the nation's best quarterbacks all season (sorry, Tim Tebow). And while each of them have had their moments, I think the edge here has to go to Harrell, who has put up simply ridiculous numbers (4,747 passing yards, 41 touchdowns) and taken Texas Tech football to heights its never seen before.

Way back in August, it was Ohio State's Beanie Wells or maybe Georgia's Knowshon Moreno would be taking this one home. But Wells suffered an early-season injury, and while Moreno is one of three finalists for the award, the fact that his team has so badly underachieved will hurt him. Michigan State tailback Javon Ringer was a workhorse, and carried a surprising Spartans team all season. But Iowa's Shonn Greene—a guy who was a true unknown before the season started—figures to run away with this award. He ran for more than 1,700 yards and is the only back in the country to pick up more than 100 yards in every game of the season.