Cam's haul

Cameron Newton's season was (is) one for the ages. He led the country in quarterback rating (188.2), 3.2 points higher than Boise State's Kellen Moore), was 10th in TD passes (28), 10th overall and 2nd in rushing yards for a quarterback (1,409) behind Oregon RB LaMichael James (1,682) and Michigan QB Denard Robinson (1,643) and was 2nd in TD rushes (20), behind James (21), and tied with Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick and NIU RB Chad Spann.

He led the SEC in rushing yards, rushing TD, total offense and scoring, and was 6th in all-purpose yards. Yes, it was a magical season.

On Thursday night, Newton collected three awards for his 2010 performance: the Davey O'Brien Award as the best quarterback, the Walter Camp Award honoring the player of the year and the Maxwell Award for the outstanding player of the year. Of course, this is all a run-up to Saturday's victory lap, Heisman in hand.

There has been a little chatter about voters dropping Newton on their Heisman ballot -- or leaving him off altogether -- as punishment for his father's actions demanding payment for his son's commitment. That may well happen, but Newton not winning -- and winning big -- is about as likely as TCU playing for a national title. Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

Of course, the NCAA could have taken care of all of this by declaring Newton ineligible. Or, rather, keeping him ineligible instead of reinstating him only hours after they snatched his season away. The NCAA was protecting the athlete, and punished the crime by restricting his father's access to the program. Yawn.

I, for one, cannot wait for ESPN's latest "30 for 30" installment set to air immediately after the Heisman ceremony. The topic? The SMU program of the 1980s and their subsequent "Death Penalty" for a pay-for-play scandal. (As an aside, do you know who split time with Eric Dickerson in the "Pony Express" backfield? Craig James, father of locked-in-a-closet Adam James.)

I'm sure there will be some hand-wringing about the placement of the show, but considering the events of the last season I think it's fantastic. Imagine a live read promo toward the end of the Heisman presentation. Chris Fowler: "Thanks for joining us tonight, and a final congratulations to Cam Newton on a phenomenal season, the Heisman trophy and closing a loophole the NCAA hoped would never be exposed. Stay tuned for 'Pony Excess,' chronicling the SMU program of the 1980s that helped expose payments to student-athletes as a problem and the subsequent penalties that killed the program and restored college football to the pure and innocent game that you see today."

One can wish.