Maybe Larry Johnson's on to something.

After rushing for 279-yards on Saturday against Illinois, Johnson said he still felt he was not getting the respect he deserved from the national media.

He also said he didn't think he'd get a fair shot at winning the Heisman trophy.

"It's all political," Johnson said. "I'm not a quarterback. I don't throw for 500 yards a week. I don't score a lot of touchdowns."

According to the self-proclaimed "definitive look at the race for the Heisman Trophy" Johnson isn't on the voter's minds at all.

ESPN.com's weekly poll samples 11 ESPN and ABC college football experts on how they would vote for the Heisman after each set of games is played.

There are currently six running backs on the list, and Johnson is not one of them.

Miami's Willis McGahee is the highest ranked at No. 3.

Through eight games, McGahee has gained 1,034 yards on 160 carries for a 6.5 average per carry.

Johnson is averaging 7.1 yards per carry and has run the ball 173 times for 1,221 yards.

Johnson has more receptions than any of the backs listed ahead of him (35). Only MaGahee (301) rivals his yardage numbers (308).

But Johnson also returns kicks, and has gained 179 yards in nine attempts.

He is second in the nation in all-purpose running yardage with 189.78 per game and trails Central Michigan's Robbie Mixon by less than seven yards per game. The only other player on ESPN's list that ranks in the top ten all-purpose list is McGahee, who's eighth with a 166.88 average.

There are several reasons Johnson is being overlooked. First, his team has three losses and in each of those losses he has failed to be a factor. Iowa held him to 68 yards, Michigan to 78 and Ohio State to 66.

Johnson could easily have more rushing touchdowns than 11. Early in the season, Penn State was fond of giving the ball to backup quarterback Michael Robinson near the goal line, a practice that led to him scoring a touchdown on five straight touches. The Lions have since given up on that, but it's not much of a stretch to think Johnson would have scored on those red zone tries.

And unfortunately, the Heisman voting panel, which is made up of 175 writers and broadcasters from each of six regions, often resorts to stats to make its final decisions. Of course, any talk of the Heisman wouldn't be complete without the philosophical discussion of what the Heisman stands for. Is it the best player in the nation or the most important player on a good team?

Preferably, a player would be a bit of both. Johnson, a fifth-year senior, has carried the load during Zack Mills' struggles lately and is also a team leader on and off the field. McGahee is a sophomore running against spread-out defenses geared toward stopping another Heisman candidate, quarterback Ken Dorsey. After being named Big Ten co-offensive player of the week for the second time yesterday, Johnson may not be overlooked much longer.

"He's as good as they come," senior center Joe Iorio said.