The 1989 Heisman race might come down to a photo finish.
One month from Thursday, the Downtown Athletic Club will announce the winner of the most coveted award in college football. Most years, that announcement carries all the suspense of a Mike Tyson fight. But this year's Heisman race may be the closest ever.About the only thing the experts agree on is the list of leading contenders: quarterbacks Tony Rice of Notre Dame, Major Harris of West Virginia and Andre Ware of Houston and running backs Anthony Thompson of Indiana and Emmitt Smith of Florida.
Others getting serious support are quarterbacks Dee Dowis of Air Force, Darian Hagan of Colorado and Ty Detmer of Brigham Young, plus flanker-kick returner Raghib "Rocket" Ismail of Notre Dame.
But no one is considered a clear front-runner.
"You can punch holes in every candidate. There's no bulletproof guy out there," CBS commentator Mike Francesa said.
That's been demonstrated in recent polls of Heisman voters. For instance, the last three weekly surveys by the New York Post have produced three different leaders - first Dowis, then Ware and now Harris.
"I've covered seven or eight Heismans and every single time I knew who the winner was going to be," says Richard Rosenblatt, who conducts the Post poll. "This time, it's almost impossible to predict."
Each contender has major strengths . . . and significant weaknesses:
RICE - He's the undisputed leader of the nation's No. 1 team and plays for a school that has produced more Heisman winners (7) than any other. But his stats aren't very impressive.
HARRIS - The nation's third-leading passer and one of the best scramblers around. Doesn't get nearly as much TV exposure as Rice, though.
WARE - His passing numbers are mind-boggling (419 yards and 4.3 touchdowns per game), but some people won't vote for him because Houston is on probation.
THOMPSON - He's the No. 2 rusher in the country and just tied the NCAA record for career touchdowns. Unfortunately, he plays for a school that's better known for basketball.
SMITH - Leads the nation in rushing with a 161-yard-per-game average. Like Ware, he may suffer because of the sins of his school.
A random sampling of a half dozen Heisman voters this week showed the closeness of the race. Harris got two first-place votes, while Rice, Ware, Ismail and Hagan each received one.
Rosenblatt voted for Harris.
"He's a great athlete and he means so much to his team," he said. "Without him, West Virginia wouldn't even be ranked."
Ivan Maisel of the Dallas Morning News is a Ware supporter.
"Barry Sanders showed last year that sheer numbers can overcome anything, and Ware has more of those than anyone," Maisel said.
No matter what Ware does, he won't get the vote of Steve Kornacki of the Detroit Free Press. "I won't vote for any player whose school is on probation," he said. "I know Ware wasn't involved (in any violations), but he's still part of a program that cheated."