Heisman Longshot No More : College football: Colorado’s Salaam started the season as the second, maybe third, candidate on his team.

Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam is the logical favorite to win today’s 60th annual Heisman Trophy award. But in a season rich with surprises, who said anything about logic?

Think about it. Five of six finalists for the coveted stiff-arming statuette were considered Heisman longshots at season’s beginning. Now look at them.

--Salaam was the second, maybe third candidate from Colorado. That was before the former San Diego-area high school star became only the fourth player in NCAA Division I-A history to gain 2,000 or more yards. Suddenly no one was talking about teammates Kordell Stewart or Michael Westbrook.

There’s a reason for that: Each of the previous 2,000-yard rushers--Nebraska’s Mike Rozier, Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders and USC’s Marcus Allen--won the Heisman.

--Forget being ranked among the top three quarterbacks when the season began. Penn State’s Kerry Collins wasn’t even the best Collins. Michigan quarterback Todd Collins supposedly had that title.

But then Kerry led the Nittany Lions to an 11-0 season, a No. 2 ranking and put up some impressive aerial numbers.

--Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair was the curiosity piece, a Division I-AA player who put up huge statistics at a small school in a relatively obscure conference. He finished the regular season with 44 touchdowns passing, nine touchdowns rushing, 4,863 yards passing and 936 yards rushing. He probably won’t win the Heisman, but he was good enough to dispel the myth that the best players always play in Division I-A.

--Alabama quarterback Jay Barker ended the regular season with nearly half as many yards passing as Georgia’s Eric Zeier. Then again, Zeier finished with nearly half as many victories.

What Barker lacked in highlight footage, he made up in victories. His record at Alabama: 34-2-1, the best in Crimson Tide history.

--Miami’s Warren Sapp is a defensive lineman, which tells you about his preseason Heisman hopes. Then Sapp went to work, and offensive lines parted.

--Only Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter among the finalists was listed as a preseason Heisman hopeful. Carter suffered a hand injury against Temple but recovered in time to help take the Nittany Lions to the Rose Bowl. John Becker, director of player personnel for the Rams, says Carter is the most complete back in college football.

Whoever wins the award will have benefited from a seemingly inordinate number of injuries to some of the country’s best players.

Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier, easily one of the premier Heisman candidates, missed most of the season because of a blood clot in his leg. UCLA wide receiver J.J. Stokes suffered a thigh injury and spent all but a few games on the sideline. Michigan running back Tyrone Wheatley hurt his shoulder and couldn’t make up enough ground to seriously challenge for the award. USC quarterback Rob Johnson and Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom also were banged up.

Meanwhile, Washington running back Napoleon Kaufman faded down the stretch. Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus suffered from inexperience and a so-so offensive line. Ohio State’s Joey Galloway had an off year. Florida quarterback Terry Dean was benched. Zeier played on an average team and threw too many interceptions.

Emerging was Salaam, the first Heisman favorite to publicly say he didn’t want the thing because it brought too much attention and pressure.

Like it or not, Salaam probably gets the trophy today. And in a season of strangeness, it only makes sense that one of the 920 ballots was sent to O.J. Simpson, whose Heisman status guarantees him a vote--jail or no jail. Wonder who he picked?