ORLANDO -- Eric Crouch admits that when he looks at the other three finalists for the Heisman Trophy, he gets a little jealous.

	Blessed with 4.47 speed, Nebraska's multi-dimensional quarterback may run away with the Heisman Trophy.

Jealous because Rex Grossman, Ken Dorsey and Joey Harrington each play in offenses where the mentality is pass first, run later. All three play for a head coach who relies on his quarterback's arm strength and accuracy to pick apart defenses and carry the team to victory. Passing is as much a part of the game plan as running.

That is not the case in Huskerland, where Nebraska coach Frank Solich relies on legs -- primarily those of Crouch -- to dominate football games. But little does Crouch know that the three quarterbacks are just as envious of him because of that. After all, it's a rare feat for a QB to be just as dangerous with his legs as his arm. Oh, to have 4.47 speed in the 40-yard dash.

"I wish I had half the speed. Or just one of those moves," said Harrington, the quarterback at Oregon. "The things he does running the football a quarterback has no business doing. And when you watch him play, he has that characteristic you can't put your finger on. The thing you want every quarterback to have."

It's called determination, drive, desire.

Sure, Eric Crouch may be more like your father's Heisman Trophy candidate than anything from the Digital Age. But don't hold that against him. Be it in the air or on the ground, the results for Crouch are the same as his three Heisman counterparts: they win.

In his four seasons as starting quarterback at Nebraska, Crouch has posted a 35-6 career record, the fourth-best in the NCAA for a quarterback. He's the first Husker to lead the team in total offense four straight seasons, with a school-record 7,915 yards of total offense. He's scored an NCAA record for quarterbacks with 59 career rushing touchdowns.

He's done more than his share to have his name etched alongside Turner Gill and Tommie Frazier as Nebraska quarterback greats.

"In my opinion, there's not a better college football player in America," Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said. "He can do it all. He's strong. He's fast. He's powerful and he can throw it. He is absolutely sensational. I've never coached against a more impressive offensive player, as an assistant or as a head coach. I think that much of him. He's phenomenal."

And yet just two weeks ago, he was all but buried in the Heisman race after the Huskers, then ranked No.2, stumbled in a 62-36 shocker at Colorado. But neither Grossman, Dorsey nor Harrington did much to separate themselves from the pack in the season's final week, leaving the door open for Crouch.

"If you give the award based on a career, absolutely it should be Eric," Harrington said. "If you give it based on numbers, you've got to give it to Rex. And if you give it to the best player on the best team in football, you've got to give it to Ken. It's a very tough call to make."

The loss to Colorado, as humbling and disappointing as it was in front of a national television audience on the day after Thanksgiving, was Nebraska's only defeat. And it was hardly Crouch's fault. In the game, Crouch broke a 30-year-old school record for total offense, rushing for 162 yards and passing for 198 more. He also scored two touchdowns and became the 13th Division I-A quarterback to pass and run for 1,000 yards in the same season. "If you just look at the simple statistics, I had my best game," Crouch said. "But everyone takes different things into consideration. Obviously, a quarterback has a lot to do with a team's success. But he can't control everything."

Statistically, the passing numbers aren't there for Crouch, though none of the other three candidates could clean his cleats when it comes to running the football. Crouch rushed for 1,115 yards this season and his six 100-yard games would rank behind Doak Walker finalists Luke Staley of BYU (9) and Travis Stephens of Tennessee (7).

"I definitely do it differently that the other quarterbacks," Crouch said. "I can say that I came to Nebraska to run the option, not to throw for three or four thousand yards. Don't get me wrong, that would be great, but that's not what we do here at Nebraska."

	Crouch is one of three Huskers quarterbacks who have passed for more than 1,000 yards in three straight seasons.

Crouch finished 63rd nationally in passing efficiency, completing 105 of 189 passes (55.6 percent) for 1,510 yards. He threw just seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Grossman, on the other hand, led the nation in passing efficiency, total offense and shattered a host of school and SEC records. Dorsey finished 19th in passing efficiency and led his team to the No. 1 ranking and a shot at the national championship.

"Every time I see these guys in a game on TV, I get a little jealous because they throw the football quite a bit," Crouch said. "I kind of miss out on that part. That is something we don't get a chance to do a lot at Nebraska."

Still, in Nebraska's option-oriented system, Crouch's 1,510 yards were the most by a Husker in 18 years. He ranks third all-time at NU with 4,481 yards passing and 29 touchdowns. And he is only one of three Huskers to pass for more than 1,000 yards three straight seasons.

Still, it was somewhat of a surprise, not to mention a boost to Crouch's Heisman candidacy Thursday night when he became the first Husker to win the Davey O'Brien Award given to the nation's top quarterback.

The award, traditionally given to classic drop-back passers in the mold of Dorsey, Grossman or Harrington, was Crouch's second of the night to go along with the Walter Camp Player of the Year.

"It shows that people appreciate what I did and what our team did at Nebraska," Crouch said. "I wasn't quite sure if people realized how complex our offense was. From the option to the power game to the shotgun to play action to split backs, we do a little bit of everything. And it's great that people appreciate that."

The final test of appreciation, of course, will come on Saturday.

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com.