HEISMAN TROPHY Can he win it Sooner than all?

Adrian Peterson would be the first freshman to claim the award.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Adrian Peterson's arrival at Oklahoma was accompanied by impossible expectations. Before he even stepped on a practice field, he was hyped as one of the nation's best runners who would carry the Sooners to greatness.
Then, in just one season, he proved it wasn't so impossible after all.
Now, the 19-year-old running back will try to become the first player to win the Heisman Trophy as a freshman. No sophomore has won it, either.
He's one of five finalists, joining Sooners quarterback Jason White, Utah quarterback Alex Smith and Southern California teammates Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. The award will be presented Saturday night.
Closing in on Dayne
Peterson has rushed for 1,843 yards and 15 touchdowns. He's had at least 100 yards rushing in 11 games -- an NCAA freshman record -- and is only 20 yards from breaking the NCAA's season rushing record for freshmen, set by Wisconsin's Ron Dayne in 1996.
But Dayne, whose Badgers were 8-5 that year, didn't even break the top 10 in the Heisman voting. The last freshman to make it to the top five was Virginia Tech's Michael Vick, third in 1999.
Not even Maurice Clarett, who rushed for 1,190 yards and 16 touchdowns as he helped Ohio State win the 2002 national championship, found his way into the top 10.
Peterson, though, has run right past Clarett's numbers. And he hasn't made the typical freshman mistakes. He hasn't lost a fumble all season despite leading the nation with 314 carries, helping the No. 2 Sooners (12-0) to an Orange Bowl berth against No. 1 Southern California (12-0) for the national championship.
Along the way, Peterson shrugged off the records and the attention. He's not on a mission. He's just doing what he does best.
Improved as a pass blocker
"I really don't feel like I have to prove anything to anybody," he said. "I just go out there and run the ball."
Teammates no longer view him as a liability in pass blocking -- his lone weakness at the start of the season -- and White said he's comfortable with Peterson protecting him.
White has even said he'd cast his Heisman vote -- as a past winner -- for Peterson.
"Adrian brings a lot to the team," White said. "Just his presence being out there, the defense has got to be ready for him."
Colorado coach Gary Barnett, whose team was routed 42-3 by the Sooners in the Big 12 championship game, viewed Oklahoma last year as a one-dimensional, pass-only team the Buffaloes could blitz mercilessly.
"The reason we could do that is because they didn't have Adrian Peterson at that time," Barnett said. "Adrian Peterson takes you out of that mode. He makes you become a really sound, fundamental, basic football team. If you are taking any chances, they better be thought out. That's what he does to you."
One of Barnett's cornerbacks, Terrence Wheatley, said this after facing Peterson: "I have never seen a guy that big, that strong, that fast."
Tackle Jammal Brown, one of three seniors on Oklahoma's offensive line, would vote for Peterson for the Heisman if he could.
"He's the real deal," Brown said. "He makes plays on his own. We block well for him, but a lot of times the things he does are all him. He'll make the first guys miss and he'll outrun the last guy.
"He's the future and will take Oklahoma a long ways in the next few years."