In reality, the Heisman Trophy slipped beyond Philip Rivers' grasp Sept. 6, the day Wake Forest upset N.C. State's football team.

Wake's 38-24 victory came in only the second game of the season, but the message it sent was clear. State, which went into the game ranked 14th, would not be a national contender.

Rivers did his best that afternoon, passing for three touchdowns and 433 yards. But where the Heisman race is concerned, quarterbacks are judged heavily on where they take their teams.

Running backs and wide receivers can sometimes overcome the losses that lead to disappointing seasons for their teams. Quarterbacks cannot. On that point, Rivers never attempted to deceive himself.

"We've got to have a big, big season for me to have a chance," he said before the season. "One will take care of the other."

A week later, the Wolfpack dropped out of the national rankings, not to return, with a 44-38, triple-overtime loss at Ohio State. The Heisman dream was gone. Rivers never came right out and said it -- he certainly didn't play like a quarterback who had surrendered -- but you sensed he fully understood the personal score within the team scores.

Regardless of their statistics, quarterbacks on 7-5 teams just don't get many Heisman votes. Rivers got mine and no doubt those of some other voters who cover ACC games. But in the heartland, the deep South, the Northeast corridor and along the West Coast, Rivers quickly slid out of sight when his team slid out of the weekly polls.

It's unfair, but the Heisman has never been about fairness.

Even the best offensive linemen of all time rarely get votes. It would be a miracle if a linebacker ever won the award. Wide receivers and defensive backs are prohibitive long shots. Even running backs are finding it harder with each passing season to gain significant support.

The Heisman has become basically a quarterback's award, and winning games is the only shortcut to the podium. That's why Oklahoma's Jason White should win Saturday. That's why Carson Palmer of Southern California won a year ago. And that's why Florida's Chris Leak will be among the players to watch next season.

"I won because we've won," Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward said during his acceptance speech in 1993.

Rivers lost because N.C. State lost too often.

If the Pack had finished 10-2, with only the overtime losses at Ohio State and Florida State, Rivers would have been in strong contention. White would still rate as the favorite, but Rivers would have been close. There would have been no doubt about inviting him to the selection show.

If nothing else, Rivers will leave in fast company. Peyton Manning never won a Heisman. Neither did Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, Brett Favre or Joe Montana.

But it probably will be awhile before a North Carolina-based program produces a more viable candidate than Rivers.

The winning formula -- big numbers, a lofty team ranking -- is so difficult to achieve that most mid-level programs can only dream about having a Heisman candidate. With Rivers' departure, the five Division I-A programs in North Carolina have to worry more about whether they can produce all-conference quarterbacks, let alone Heisman candidates.

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