Life after Heisman

Colt is looking ahead to the Sugar Bowl after finishing third in the voting

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NEW YORK » Colt Brennan talked about life not being fair at the Heisman Trophy presentation last night, where it was announced that the Hawaii senior quarterback came in third in the balloting for college football's biggest individual honor.

No, he wasn't whining about the Heisman. As usual, Brennan talked much more about his team than any personal honors.

"Life's not fair, I learned a long time ago, and it's not meant to be fair," Brennan said. "But Hawaii made the best with what we were given this year."

It was in response to yet another question about UH's undefeated regular season (12-0) and whether the 10th-ranked Warriors should've been given consideration to play in the national championship game, instead of the Sugar Bowl.

Brennan conceded that UH's weak schedule kept it out of consideration for a higher ranking, but said a victory against No. 4 Georgia on New Year's Day would be a "statement."

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is the first sophomore to win the Heisman in its 73 years of existence. Arkansas junior running back Darren McFadden was second for the second year in a row. Missouri junior quarterback Chase Daniel placed fourth.

Tebow passed for 29 touchdowns and rushed for 22 more, the first player to ever throw and run for 20 or more TDs.

"I'm a big fan of Tim Tebow," Brennan said. "Anytime you see a quarterback running over linebackers that brings you joy."

Brennan was scheduled to return to Hawaii today after a whirlwind weekend of appearances and trying to dodge human and vehicle traffic on the streets of Manhattan.

"It was pretty tough, scrambling through the people today, the crowds, it's like the biggest shopping time of the year out here. They close down sidewalks just to make the sidewalk not so jammed. Boise's (defense is) probably just a little tougher," said Brennan, who got full star treatment from people who recognized him on the street. "It was crazy, it's amazing, to think you're all the way in New York and people know who you are. We stopped sometimes to take pictures, a great feeling, obviously."

Starting Thursday, it's back to practice for the Jan. 1 Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

"We understand that's a beast waiting for us down there," Brennan said of the Bulldogs (10-2).

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NEW YORK » As Colt Brennan's college football career nears its completion, the Hawaii quarterback hopes his personal notoriety and the Warriors' unprecedented success lead to bigger and better things for the UH program.

Tim Tebow Quarterback Florida Sophomore Passing statistics 217-for-317 (68.5%) 3,132 yards 29 TDs, 6 INTs Passing Efficiency: 177.85 Rushing statistics 194 carries 838 yards 22 TDs

Brennan was more than willing to address the topic after last night's Heisman Trophy ceremony, at which it was revealed Brennan placed third. The first- and second-place finishers, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, come from programs with budgets that dwarf Hawaii's by millions.

And it was a fitting time and place to talk about it, amid the glamor of college football's biggest showcase for individual talent, in America's largest metropolis.

Brennan's third-place finish is an incredible individual accomplishment, made possible by his own skill and savvy, and that of his teammates and coaches. The 12-0 Warriors are major college football's only unbeaten team, and UH's No. 10 ranking is its highest ever.

The Warriors can improve it in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1, against No. 4 Georgia. It is Hawaii's first BCS bowl game. If underdog UH wins, many people who watch college football -- and not just those in Hawaii -- will say the Warriors deserve consideration for the national championship.

If Hawaii is to keep the success going that has it 23-3 the past two seasons, Brennan said its infrastructure must be worked on.

"I really do hope the school improves things, because it's a long time coming. We talk about the facilities and the way things are," Brennan said at last night's ceremony. "But we have to stop fooling people by telling them our facilities are good -- they're not. We've got to start telling our recruits how good our facilities are going to be. Maybe not their freshman and sophomore years, but by their junior and senior years they'll have the best facilities we can provide."

Brennan said the school's athletic facilities are an embarrassment.

"It shouldn't be that place that you drive by on the H-1 and it's kind of falling apart. It should be a diamond that shoots out of Manoa's campus," he said. "That's where this step took us, and we need to get the whole school, the whole community to ride this momentum and take the school to the next level."

He said the facilities didn't improve in the three years he was at UH.

"They stayed the same. Soap, that's all we got," Brennan said, referring to a donation for empty dispensers in the locker room showers.

Brennan was scheduled to return to Hawaii today.

"We live in paradise, so the joke's on you," he said, good-naturedly, at his news conference after the order of the finalists was announced.

Practice for the Sugar Bowl starts Thursday, and he graduates next Sunday with a degree in communications. He will be selected on the first day of the NFL Draft next spring. And after he's done with playing football, he might want to get into broadcasting.

He definitely displayed some analytical skills last night.

"It's been a crazy college football year. That kind of helped us out, watching some of the teams get upset," he said. "Why not? Why not Hawaii going to a BCS bowl game? Winning every game, we really worked hard for that and I'm glad we got there."

As it does with football players and coaches, it all eventually comes down to the next game. For Tebow, it's the Capitol One Bowl. For McFadden and fourth-place Heisman finalist Chase Daniel of Missouri, it's the Cotton Bowl.

Brennan is the only one of the four men feted last night headed for a BCS game, and the game brings $4.5 million to UH that might help the program get a start on those facilities.

The on-field implications are obvious. National respect, of the highest order, at least from some corners -- UH already has a first-place vote in each of the three major polls.

"Playing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl is a great opportunity for us to get some respect," Brennan said. "When we played Alabama at Alabama (in 2006), we struggled. We didn't have that pop we come out with, that confidence. As the game progressed, we started to get it, but time ran out on us. If we can come out and limit mistakes and not turn it over, we're going to be a productive offense. We have to get ready for a war, a battle."

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