Many people in and around college football believe Saturday night's Heisman trophy is a battle between Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
After Thursday night's College Football Awards at Disney World, that belief has been turned into fact.
Te'o won multiple awards at the presentation, including the Maxwell Award as the most outstanding player in the nation. Manziel made history with his win of the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, becoming the first freshman to take home the trophy.
"I'm at a loss for words," Te'o said of winning the Maxwell, according to the Associated Press. "The last time I ever dreamt of winning that award was on a video game. So to win it is a mind-blowing experience."
According to the Associated Press, Te'o has won six major awards this season, including the Bednarik Award for top defensive player and Walter Camp Foundation player of the year award on Thursday. He became the first defensive player to win the Maxwell Award since 1980, ending a string of nine straight quarterbacks.
Te'o has been outstanding on the field all season while dealing with hardships off of it. He lost his grandmother and girlfriend just four days apart from eachother during the season.
I never thought that me coming back for my senior year would be the best situation for me with the tragedy," Te'o said. "It's a testament that the Lord answered my prayers and that I had 80-plus brothers there with me, sacrificing for me."
Notre Dame's defense is the top-ranked in the nation and only allowed 10 touchdowns all season. The Irish allowed only 10.3 points per game and outscored their opponents 81-19 over the final three games.
Te'o finished had 103 tackles, 1.5 sacks, four passes defended and a nation-high seven interceptions. He had interceptions in back-to-back games against Brigham Young and Oklahoma and made a season-high 12 tackles against Michigan State on Sept. 15.
In the final game against USC, Te'o had five tackles and one interception in Notre Dame's 22-13 win. He registered double-digit tackles in six games this season and had two interceptions in Notre Dame's 13-6 win on Sept. 22.
Te'o became the third defensive player to win the Walter Camp award after defeating Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein, USC receiver Marqise Lee and Oregon running back Kenjon Barner.
He will face off against Manziel and Klein on Saturday in New York for the Heisman trophy. Te'o won three awards on Thursday, adding to his Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Lombardi Award wins.
Head coach Brian Kelly took home the Coach of the Year Award after leading Notre Dame to an undefeated regular season
"Everybody knows you don't do it with one guy," Kelly said. "Collectively, everybody just bought in. ... We still got one (game) left. We want to finish it off the right way."
The next game for Notre Dame will be the BCS National Championship against Alabama in Miami.
Manziel won the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award as a freshman, something that has never been done before. He will look to do the same on Saturday for the Heisman.
"I had high expectations, but I never would have expected this for myself," said Manziel. "I'll be with two of the best players in the country, all eyes are on you. It's the biggest award in college football. I think you're gonna have a few butterflies."
Manziel defeated Klein and Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller, who led the Bukeyes to a 12-0 undefeated season.
The statistics for the freshman are off the charts. He broke Cam Newton's Southeastern Conference-record for total offense with 4,600 and threw for 3,419 yards 24 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. He completed over 68 percent of his passes and had a rating of 155.9.
In the final game of the season he passed for 372 yards and three touchdowns and combined for eight touchdowns and two interceptions over the final three games of the season, all wins for the Aggies.
Manziel threw touchdown passes in every game but two this season and had a season-high 453 passing yards against Arkansas on Sept. 29.
The race is clearly set between Manziel and Te'o. The last two winners of the Davey O'Brien also won the Heisman (Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III), while one of the last two winners of the Maxwell has (Newton, Andrew Luck).
Other winners included Wisconsin's Montee Ball, who won the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the nation. The senior had 1,730 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns this season and also set the record for career rushing touchdowns.
Ball defeated two Pac-12 running backs in Kenjon Barner from Oregon and UCLA's Johnathan Franklin. In the final game of the season, Ball had 202 yards rushing and three touchdowns as Wisconsin defeated Nebraska 70-31 to win the Big Ten championship.
USC wide receiver Marqise Lee won the Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in the country, while Texas A&M junior Luke Joeckel took home the Outland Trophy as the most outstanding interior lineman.
Mississippi State senior Johnthan Banks won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back, while Tulane's Cairo Santos won the Lou Groza Collegiate Place Kicker Award.
For a full list of the awards, click HERE.
